11

Harmony woke up to the sound of silence. It was a little after ten am she realized as she sat up and stretched with a yawn. She took a quick shower before squeezing into her black dress suit. She pulled her wet hair back in a bun and dug around in her makeup case for waterproof makeup. She had a feeling she would be in tears by the end of the night.

Once she had her face on, Harmony made her way downstairs and put on a pot of coffee. She toasted herself an English muffin, loaded it up with butter and some left over cheese, and then settled in for a long morning alone. She devoured the muffin, refilled her coffee cup and made her way into the den. She took a book from the shelf and continued to the bench seat in the sitting room where she read contently, enjoying the view of the fog on the water.

Time had nearly gotten away from her. Before Harmony knew it, it was time for her to head into town. The viewing would begin around five. She wanted to make a quick stop to check in at work before she had to be at the funeral home. It was already a little after three, so she hustled to the car and sped off into town.

Karen was surprised to see Harmony when she walked through the door carrying Chinese takeout. She cleaned off the desk and Harmony set the food down. Karen dug in excitedly.

"It's been a quiet day." Karen said thankful for the distraction.

"That's good. You haven't missed me too much then." Harmony joked.

"You'd be surprised." Karen shook her chopsticks at her.

"I'll be happy when this is over." Harmony sighed.

"Yeah, the whole funeral thing has got to be nerve wracking."

"You're not kidding. There was a whole life John had that I never knew about and I got thrown into it." Harmony shook her head.

"I'll tell you all about it later. I'd better get going. The funeral home is clear across town." She said sadly.

"Thanks for dinner." Karen hugged her tightly. "Call me later and tell me how it goes."

"You're welcome, and I will." Harmony hugged her back tightly and then scampered out before she lost her nerve.

Once on the other side of town Harmony met Thomas Seers for the first time. He directed her to a parking spot near the side entrance of the funeral parlor. Thomas didn't fit the profile that she had imagined. He was only a few years older than she was. He was dressed neatly in a black suit and tie with kind blue eyes and short brown hair. He shook her hand firmly and held open the door as she was escorted inside.

Harmony was fifteen minutes early so she was the first to see the grand showroom lined with red curtains over the windows and filled with rows of chairs aligned to the left and right of a center aisle. The coffin sat open at the head of the room and was surrounded by white and yellow lily bouquets on massive white pedestals. Red roses with extra long stems had been placed on the closed half of the coffin in a bouquet totaling four dozen.

Harmony was nearly brought to tears as she looked at the pictures on each side of the room that depicted John in his business suit standing at the grand opening of the downtown museum. The other was of her and John on vacation at the beach squeezed in closely and smiling wide. She could remember the day he took that picture and that was all it took for the tears to flow down her cheeks. Thomas handed her a tissue and directed her to the guest sign in sheet to the left of the door. She put her name on paper and stood at the end of the aisle hesitant to proceed to the coffin holding her deceased love.

"Take all the time you need." Thomas said as he excused himself.

Harmony knew she had to suck it up. People would start arriving at any minute and they would expect to find the grieving widow next to the coffin. It took all the strength she could muster up to put one foot in front of the other. She made it to the coffin as her hands shook uncontrollably. She peered into it and nearly heaved as sobs came pouring out. She raced for the bathroom as fast as her heels allowed and splashed cold water on her face and then blew her nose. As her composure returned she made her way back to the show room intensely refusing to gaze back into the coffin beside her.

Harmony was beside herself when the first to arrive was the mayor and his expensively dressed younger wife. They shook her hand as the mayor's wife muttered.

"Such a shame. We're sorry for your loss." She patted Harmony's hand affectionately.

"If you need anything at all you call me." The mayor stated as they moved aside.

"Thank you." Harmony managed to choke out past the shock.

The chief of police came with his wife in tow. They were accompanied by their two grown boys and their wives. As they came forward and stood with Harmony looking at the casket, she shivered in realization. John had been important to more than just her. They gave their condolences and moved off to chat with the mayor. She could hardly believe the amount of politicians and well-to-do members of the community that had put off their busy schedules to be there for just a viewing.

The place had filled up with all the well known people in the community leaving harmony feeling as if she were on the outside looking in. Karen waded through the crowd as she managed to find her way into the middle of the fiasco.

"I'm so glad you're here." Harmony said as she hugged her friend tightly.

"I couldn't leave you to deal with it alone." Karen said as she hugged her back just as tight.

"Thank you." She replied as a hush fell over the gathered crowd.

As the room divided Harmony could finally see what all the fuss was about. In the doorway, James stood dressed all in black. Chains hung from his pants in loops as long as his knees. His black t-shirt was tight across his chest and his hair was wild in his face. He had brought the whole band with him dressed to match complete with strange make up. As they walked up the aisle they formed a 'v' shaped formation with James in the lead. She thought that the only thing that was missing was the accompanying music with a haunting melody.

As James stopped before Harmony the band members came forward one at a time. Seth bowed, took Harmony by the hand and held it tenderly in his for a moment before he spoke.

"You have my sympathy my lady." He said and then stepped aside.

Ethan came forward second. He had been opposite of Seth in the procession line. He took Harmony's hand looked into her eyes and spoke softly.

"He will be missed." Ethan smiled.

Cary came forward. He had been standing behind Seth. He bowed respectfully and stepped aside without saying a word. The final member of the band, Michael, stepped forward and took harmony's hand.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He said and then joined his band mates.

"Thank you all." Harmony replied.

It was down to James. Harmony couldn't help but smile as he stepped forward. All eyes in the room were on them as he took both her hands in his.

"I'm glad you made it." Harmony kissed his cheek politely.

"I am too." He replied as he returned the affection before nodding at his band mates.

The silence was broken as everyone returned to their conversations. The band members exited far quieter than they had entered. As people began to file out of the funeral home they expressed to both James and Harmony their condolences. They nodded and responded politely. Karen threw out one last hug before she too left for the evening. In the matter of two hours it came down to only the two of them left.