The Cover Is Not the Story Ch. 02

I nodded and said, "I want you to meet Sandy's Mom. Crystal, this is Megan. Megan, this is Crystal." Megan handed me the stack of cards, greeted Crystal and gave her a hug. When I gave the cards back to Megan she said, "We had them put thirty chairs out. I don't know if that will be enough."

It was exactly enough. At the appointed time Mike got up from his chair and stood at the small podium near the south end of the casket. There were fifteen chairs on the east side of the casket and fifteen chairs to the west. All the chairs except the one Mike had been in were full.

Mike said, "Thank each of you for being here today. Since Carol died suddenly I have found myself spending many hours thinking about her, our beliefs, our training and what I think about her death specifically and death generally."

He paused. He didn't have note cards or a script. He was speaking from his heart.

""I believe in love. Carol and I talked a lot in the last year about love. She believed in God. The God she believed in looks like a man, answers prayers and has high expectations of his children. I guess now she has found out if that God is the one she met when she died. If he is I hope he forgives her for the last moments of her life. I have."

Tears flowed down his cheeks and he looked at me, Sandy and then at Lee. His eyes then focused on the wooden casket in front of him. We were both raised in God fearing Christian communities and trained to believe that certain things were true. When we met people in the family our thinking changed. The measuring stick for right and wrong changed. Over the last year we dropped a lot of the beliefs we used to accept without question. I found out that some of those beliefs die harder than others. Carol had trouble accepting the belief that Love was more important than the rules. She went along with me and she participated actively in the family, while holding a belief that we were breaking the rules and needed to repent."

Mike paused and blew his nose. He spoke again, "Most of you were told that Carol died because her heart suddenly stopped. That is the truth. What you were not told was why her heart suddenly stopped. Carol waited until I was asleep, left our bed, dressed and took my revolver from the closet." Some people gasped, making up the end of the story before he told it. "She wrote me a note, took her car and drove to an apartment across town, somehow got the door open, went inside and tried to kill the two people who live there! She believed that the only way God would forgive us for the life we were living, and the way the family was corrupting us was to kill those two people! Her heart suddenly stopped because the man of that house protected his wife and himself and put three bullets through her heart!"

He paused again while the audience sat stunned. When he spoke again his voice was softer and loving. "I was hurt that she didn't talk it over with me, that she took such dramatic and powerful action on her own. Then I realized that she did what she did because her training was stronger than what had happened to her over the last year in the family. She was not trained in love. She tried to kill two people so she could follow the rules as she understood them. I am grateful to the man who shot and killed the woman I love. He saved her from spending the rest of her life in prison. He protected himself and one of the women he loves. If her God forgives her and welcomes her into the Heaven she believes in, I am grateful. Her stone will read, "Carol Miller, 1982 -- 2010, I loved her."

"Lee has been kind enough to offer to host at the family home. If you need directions please see Megan for a map. Food will be served. All of you are welcome. Thank you."

Every member of the family echoed his "Thank you." We stood and the service was over. I was grateful that he didn't say who killed Carol. As others did, I went to Mike and hugged him. The hug was manly, strong and Mike only sobbed once. As we stepped back I said, "See you at the house, brother."

Sandy hugged him too and introduced her Momma to him. The thirty people slowly wandered to their cars and headed wherever they decided to go.

In our car it was quiet almost all the way out of the cemetery, then Crystal said, "She tried to kill you."

Sandy had held herself in check well to that moment. She burst into tears and sobbed into her hands. I pulled over and said, "Yes. We didn't say anything because we had no idea how the service would be done. Mike asked us to be there. He wanted and needed our support."

"His wife tried to kill you both!" I heard the anger in her voice.

"She didn't hurt either of us. It cost her, her life. It cost Mike his wife. We can't do anything about Carol. We can take care of helping Mike heal. In our minds that helps us heal too, helps us grow and be better lovers."

Sandy looked at her Momma and said, "Mike was right. She was trained to see me as a freak, something that didn't even have the right to live! Nick protected me! Protected us! In the family every time we say "Thank you" it's an expression of gratitude, a blessing given and accepted. Mike said "Thank you" to all of us. I say it to Nick every day. I say it to Mike, Lee, Megan and every other member of the family. I love them all."

"I can't wait to meet these people." Momma said. I put the car in Drive and we went to Malibu. There were lots of cars and when we found a spot to leave the car it wasn't too far from the house. I spotted three vehicles with stickers from Mugu as we walked.

Sandy saw them too and said, "Some of the family are in the Navy, stationed at Point Mugu, just up the coast from here. I see some cars from there."

"Some good looking sailors?" Momma asked.

"And some good looking nurses, too." Sandy answered.

The front doors were open. We walked in and were greeted with hugs and kisses. Momma was included both before introductions and again afterwards. When we made it into the living room/family room/great room and the throng of people Momma stopped. It was sudden enough that I saw it as shock. I stopped too and Sandy held her mother's arm. We heard her say, "Abraham Evans."

I looked and across the room I saw Abe talking to Corine. Both were in their whites. Before Sandy or I said anything he looked up and his eyes locked on Crystal. The look on his face was shock and joy. He excused himself from Corine and set course for us.

Crystal shook loose of Sandy and set course for the Captain. People moved out of the way. Sandy and I stood and watched as they met in the middle of the room. Abe took Momma in his arms, picked her off the floor and embraced her completely. Their faces met and the kisses began.

He turned around three times slowly as they kissed. I could hear Momma's giggle even through the kisses. A circle developed around them as conversations stopped and people stared.

Abe sat Crystal down and their lips finally parted. I heard him ask, "Crystal, are you married?"

She laughed, shook her head and said, "No!"

He laughed and asked, "Do you want to be?"

She kept laughing and said, "Depends who's askin."

"I am. If you'll have me, I want to marry you. I've wanted to marry you since we were in high school!"

Crystal asked loudly as she looked around, "Is there a minister here?"

Lee answered, "I think that would be a yes."

The room erupted in laughter, cheers and celebration. Within half an hour the date was set for one month later, the place was set, and a guest list was being compiled. Hours later over dinner we found out about Abe and Crystal. Crystal had been pretty popular in high school and Abe was pretty shy. She liked him and he was too shy to pursue. He left for college right after graduation and she moved to Illinois to go to a different college. The next time they saw each other was at a reunion. Crystal was married and Abe was finishing med school. He hadn't known she was married and asked her to marry him as they danced their first and last dance at the reunion. She cried as he asked and confessed that if he had asked a year earlier she would have said yes.

I did the math and that reunion was the year Sandy was born. I kept my mouth shut.

Crystal told her part of the story and Abe kissed Sandy, acknowledging her as Crystal's daughter. The noise level had come down quite a ways and many of the people who had been at the funeral had gone home. I sat holding Sandy's hand until I felt almost pushed to say something.

I opened my mouth and said, "As long as we're having a wedding, and as long as if Sandy and I were getting married we'd invite the same people or almost all the same people... why not make it a double wedding?"

The two second pause almost caused a heart attack. I suddenly had the thought, 'what if Sandy doesn't want a wedding?'

Sandy and Crystal flew into each other's arms squealing and both talking at once. Abe looked at me and said, "I think they like the idea."

I said, "It'll be a strange wedding. Abe's the only one who can wear white!"

We all laughed. Some time later Lee said, "It's almost eleven. I have a recommendation. I don't think it's a good idea for Abe to drive back to the base tonight. He can have the blue bedroom. I don't think it's a good idea for Nick and Sandy to drive home either. They can have the green bedroom. Crystal, that leaves you with a choice. You can have the peach bedroom, you can share the master bedroom with whoever's in there or..."

Abe said, "Or, you can see if you like the blue bedroom."

Crystal stood up and said, "I've waited almost thirty-two years for the chance to go to bed with a sailor. When my chance finally gets here my daughter is here, watching!"

Sandy covered her eyes with her hands. Crystal grabbed Abe's hand and Lee pointed the way to the bedrooms. The rest of us laughed as the two raced out of the room. Alex had been sitting slightly to the side of the conversation and he said, "I was afraid you were going to give my room away."

Lee said, "I wouldn't do that. I might send someone in to share it with you."

"Sir, I have two requests. It be a she and she's not a nurse."

Megan said, "Oh! Send me Daddy! Send me."

"Go!" Lee said.

Alex stood up and hopped down the hall holding Megan's hand. Even from behind I could tell he was grinning widely.

I was still smiling when the door closed to our bedroom and we started getting undressed. It didn't take long. No girdle to contend with. I was a little surprised, but figured Sandy didn't expect to get turned on at a funeral. As she stepped away from the closet we heard a knock on the door.

Sandy said, "Come in." All Sandy had on were nylons and her shoes. The door opened and Corine stood there, smiling.

"I rode down here with Captain Evans. Kat and Pam went back to the base. I..."

Sandy interrupted her, "You want a place to sleep or a place to play? Either way, come on in." Corine came in and closed the door. I was near the closet so I handed her a hanger. She handed it back, removed the dress and then took the hanger. Like many men I'd wondered what nurses wore under all the starch and white. I began to harden as I watched her undress. She wore lots of white lace under the starch. Nylons, not pantyhose and a cute lace garter belt with no panties.

Sandy grabbed my swelling cock and said, "You thinking about using that to fill someone up?"

"I don't want to force anyone, but if there were a volunteer I could gladly use that to fill a vacancy."

"What if we both volunteer?" Corine asked.

"Then I'd do my best to fill both vacancies."

As I held Sandy's legs spread wide and pushed into her vagina we heard a Navy Captain bellow from down the hall. I pushed all the way in and Sandy called out loudly, "Thank you! Thank you!"