Fan Fiction |
by Jenny Tran
The funeral was well put together by the three siblings, they worked the whole day on Saturday preparing for the wake. Most of the relatives came respectfully even though they didn’t want to be there. The next day was the burial; it was over the hill top. Their father had originally bought the land for his grave, he thought ahead for his family. He never wanted to burden anyone, that was one thing that Freddie always respected about his father.
Virginia stood in the back as she watched the service taking place. Dressed in a black suit, she had on her black sunglasses which hid her eyes carefully. She didn’t want to pull Freddie away from his family so she was aloof with everyone there. But it wasn’t enough for him not to recognize her. He saw her at the corner of his eyes but waited until most of the crowd was gone until he snuck up behind her. “Ahem.” He cleared his throat.
She jumped at the sudden sound, when she spun around, she found her friend smiling back at her “I didn’t want to bother you.” She whispered.
“Why are you whispering?” he whispered back. “The dead can’t hear you.” He said.
She muffled a giggle “I just wanted to be respectful.”
He shook his head “You are by just coming here.”
She smiled and her eyes wandered to the female figure behind him. She was kneeling on the ground crying “Your mother’s not doing well huh?” she nodded. “Come on.” She motioned for him to follow her.
“She’s taking it very hard.” He sighed as he bent over the crying lady and gave her a hug. “Mom, this is my friend Virginia.”
The lady sniffed a few times before controlling herself “Thank you for coming.” Her voice cracked.
Virginia gave a grim smile “I may not have known your husband but Freddie is a good friend of mine. I still need to be respectful, auntie.”
The lady nodded “Son, why don’t you greet the guests, I’ll be fine.” She took the tissue that Linda gave her and wiped her tears.
Freddie nodded “Yes mom.” He stood up and gave Virginia a pat on the shoulder “Thanks for coming. You should go home, I’ll be here for a while.” She nodded in reply and went back to her car.
***********
Jim didn’t have that much of his belongings, just a few pairs of jeans and some t-shirts. It wasn’t hard to move into Deana’s apartment. “Thanks again for letting me stay, I promise, as soon as I find another place, I’ll move out.”
Deana smiled “That’s fine. Whenever you get sick of me, just let me know.”
He laughed “I’ll never get sick of you.” It was almost scary the way he said it, yet she pushed it aside.
“Anyways, I’ve got to go home and visit my parents. So you might have to be on your own.” She checked his face to see if he was uncomfortable but he looked as normal as ever.
“That’s okay, I’ll just make myself comfortable. Don’t mind me.” He said brightly.
She wrinkled her nose “You’re so different from that guy that was holding me hostage earlier.” She joked.
Jim smiled as he gave a slight shrug “People change. Anyways, I was crazy then, now Im normal. Well, go on. You’re gonna hit traffic.” He pushed her out the door.
She laughed “Okay, there’s food in the fridge, help yourself to anything but my room!” she yelled as she caught the next elevator.
***********
Virginia got home around noon but she had no intent on staying home. She changed into her jeans and a simple tee as she headed towards the mall. On the way to her car, her cell phone started to ring. “Hello?” she picked it up.
“Ginny?”
“Yeah. Who’s calling please?” she asked politely.
“Its Jeff. Um, I was wondering if you would….uh…” he didn’t know how to word it.
“Have you ate lunch yet?” she smiled at his awkwardness.
“No!” he replied quickly.
“Wanna join me at that The Frying Fish in the mall? Its Japanese food.”
“Yes! I’ll see you in ten minutes.” He said before she had the chance to change her mind “Bye.”
“Bye.” She shook her head. It was strange, she’s not use to having guys ask her out yet she didn’t feel uncomfortable when she talked to them. She had a quick perception to people and knew right away that Jeff and Jeremy both were attracted to her.
She got to the mall in fifteen minutes and by the time she got to the restaurant, Jeff was already waiting for her. He got up from his chair as he waved her over. “Is it traffic outside?” he asked casually.
Virginia smiled “No, not really. I just drive slow.” She joked.
“Well, what do you want to start off with?”
She shrugged her shoulders “Salmon? Yellowtail? I don’t know. Im up for anything.”
He smiled “Easy going huh? That’s good cause I already ordered one of each.”
Her eyes widened “What? That’s a lot of food!”
“I eat a lot.” He said slyly. The food came out and it practically filled up the whole table “Oh my gosh…” he whispered.
“I told you!” she exclaimed before digging into the sushi. They ate most of the dishes and after half an hour, Virginia sat back in her chair “Oh gosh, Im full. I can’t eat anymore.” She rubbed her tummy in pain.
“Come on, you did pretty good there. Have another one.” He put the rolls on her dish.
“Maybe in a while, Im too stuffed.”
He smiled as he sat back “Okay, sounds fair enough. Ginny?”
Her eyebrows raised “Hmm mm?”
“Can I ask you something personal?”
She smiled “Nothing’s too personal.”
“Do you have a boyfriend?” he asked straightforwardly.
She looked away “No. I don’t think I’ll ever find a guy that will accept my profession and passion for helping people.”
He felt like saying ‘I will!’ but fought back the urge. “I see.” was all he said.
“And how about you Lai Sir? Do you have a girlfriend?”
The blood rushed to his face as he blushed profusely “I did, but it didn’t work out. She couldn’t accept my on call job. You see this?” he pulled his pager from his belt. “This is my heartbeat. Once it starts to beep, Im there wherever they need me.”
She nodded “I know what you mean.” She sighed “Sometimes I wonder why we work so hard at saving people when they will all die one day. You will not believe the patients that come into my office. They’re such a mess with their lives and Im not sure if I even help them.”
“Why would you assume that?”
She sat up in her chair and leaned on her elbows “Well, we both work with suicidal victims. I mean there is something in their lives that makes them want to die. I wonder sometimes why they would want to do such a thing? Its an easy way out of your problems.”
“That’s very true. I think some people give up too easy. You need to stand up and fight. If life gives you a bad thing, you take it and throw it back in life’s face.”
Virginia grinned “That’s very strong of you to think. Such a shame that most people don’t think that way. Believe it or not, I’m really a pessimist.”
“Really?” his eyes widened with curiosity “That’s surprising considering you tell people to cheer up every day.”
“Just because I know the concept of wishful thinking, but in truth, I tend to think of the worse scenario out of a situation. That way, when something bad happens, it won’t be too bad compared to the worse thing.” She wrinkled her forehead “Do you understand?”
He smiled “That’s deep, but I think I understand your concept.” He picked up his chopsticks “Okay, let me at em!”
She chuckled as he attacked the sushi and stuffed it in his mouth “Its all yours!” she teased He mumbled something incoherent and she laughed louder “You want some more. Okay.” She picked up her chopsticks and dug into the eel as she stuffed it in his mouth.
He didn’t want to decline her sweet gesture so he opened his mouth and took the food in. His cheeks were blown up like tiny balloons as he tried to chew faster.
**************
After the funeral, the family returned to the house where tables were set up in rows for the gathering. They had prepared a big meal for the guests. Freddie saw a lot of family members that he hasn’t seen in a long time, none of whom acknowledge him. They all talked to Linda and Michael while Freddie hid in the kitchen helping the cooks.
Outside, friends began to arrive as the doorbell was rung nonstop, the tables were beginning to fill up. Linda was showing some guests in when the doorbell rang again, she opened it. Her face brightened “Jerry!” she gave him a warm hug as he smiled and embraced her back.
“I told you not to call me that. That was my high school nickname, call me Remy.” He pulled away as he examined her from head to toe. “You haven’t aged a bit since the last time I saw you.”
She laughed “I’ll take that as a compliment since I haven’t seen you since high school. Come on in.” she pulled him through the door.
“I heard about your father’s death so I came to give my condolences.”
She nodded “Yeah, its been a mess since he left. But at least I have my brother back.”
“Oh? The one that’s gay?”
“Yeah.” She smiled grimly “He’s still my brother afterall. I can’t ignore him for life.”
“Really? I believe I was the one that quoted that line?” he said with a bit of snobbish tone.
“Oh yeah, I knew I remembered it from someone.” She laughed as he stuck his chin up in the air. “Come on snobby, I’ll introduce him to you.” She looked around but didn’t see him in the living room so she tried the kitchen. She found him helping the cook set the dishes “Freddie!” she called and waved him over.
Freddie looked up and saw the guy behind his sister, he looked so familiar “You, have I met you somewhere?” he pointed to Jeremy.
Linda looked from one guy to the other “You two know each other?”
Jeremy smiled “A big misunderstanding. My little sister and your brother got in a fight.”
“The one at the bar you told me about?” she asked, her eyes widened. Freddie nodded with a huge grin on his face. Linda burst out laughing “Oh my gosh, and all this time you were here brother. Oh boy, you’ve got one feisty sister, my friend.” She tapped Jeremy on the shoulder.
“Oh no, don’t tell me you used you tongue slashing language on her.” He asked half in fear and half jokingly. After all she was still his sister and it was natural reaction to protect her.
Linda nodded weakly “Im sorry. I didn’t know.”
He sighed “That’s okay, she needed a lesson anyways. Well, you need help with anything?” he asked Freddie who shook his head in response.
“No, you’re a guest. I wouldn’t hear of it. Freddie, if you get tired, have Michael help you.”
“I will.” He answered before bidding them goodbye.