Disclaimers: This work is a work of fiction and is my property.
The story and characters are fictitious and any resemblance to anyone or any actual event is coincidental. There are three distinctly different main characters that will appear as the story progresses.
You should be legally allowed to read this type of material before continuing.
As it is based on an actual book, I had published a few years ago – free for your enjoyment – the story will not contain explicit material in all the chapters BUT don't fret, as it is more the exception than the rule.
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CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE James
Another day passes, with Mark stopping by to make sure I'm eating and taking care of myself, in all areas.
It's time to call my mother.
She answers after a few rings. "Hey James. Nice to hear from you. How are you and your boy-toy getting along down there?"
I try and answer her but my voice fails me. She realises my pause means something's seriously wrong. "What's happened, James?"
"Daniel's dead, mom." Is all I manage.
"No! I'm so sorry to hear that. What happened?"
I take my time to keep my emotions in check and then relay what has happened to her in as much detail as I can handle, without falling to pieces. She simply listens until I'm done.
"That's awful. I'm terribly sorry for your loss. I wish I could be there right now to comfort you. Do you want me to come?"
I straighten up. "Oh, no mom. Thanks, but that won't be necessary. I'll be coming home soon, after Daniel's funeral."
"Ok, son. Let me know the details when you're ready and I'll make sure to collect you from the Airport. I'll be in New York for two weeks, starting Monday and we can then head on home. You need some TLC and I'll take some leave to take care of you, as soon as my project's finished. Will that be ok?"
"Yes, mom. Thank you. I miss you."
"I miss you too."
I disconnect the call and go sit on the armchair.
Oh crap! I have to cancel the reservation at the Twelve Apostles. I call the receptionist downstairs.
She answers. "Good afternoon, Mr Leonard."
I have asked them a million times to call me James but they insist on keeping it formal.
"Afternoon. Can you please contact the Twelve Apostles and cancel my reservation for me? I don't have the energy."
"Will do, sir. Anything else?"
"No, that's it, thank you." And I drop the call.
Sam's next.
She answers excitedly, probably thinking I have some early good news for her.
"Hello James! Nice to hear from you."
"Hey Sam. I'm afraid it's not good news. I phoned to tell you that I won't be needing that house anymore. Daniel's passed away in an accident, two days ago."
"What? No! I am terribly sorry to hear that. And under the circumstances, I fully understand. You don't want to maybe have a look at another house or have you decided not to stay in Cape Town anymore?"
"No. I'm going home. Thank you for your understanding." I want the call to end.
"Very well. Again, I'm sorry to hear that about your friend. Let me know if you need any help with anything, you hear?"
"Thanks, Sam."
She disconnects the call and I go back to staring at the ocean.
Mark contacts me the next day and tells me that Daniel's parents have arranged the funeral for Tuesday and decided to bury him in Cape Town. I'm relieved not to have to travel up north to attend it in some small town, full of bigots and religious fanatics. I don't have the strength or temperament and may in fact lose it altogether.
However, Mark also tells me that they refused me to attend, when he told them about me and that I wanted to.
"What did they say exactly?" I asked him.
"I'd rather not, James. Just make sure you're dressed on Tuesday at 9:00 am and I'll pick you up. They don't even know you and you'll go as my guest. We can attend the church service and then join them at the cemetery in Maitland."
I can only imagine what they said.
"Sure, and thanks. I'll be ready." He disconnects the call.
The rest of the weekend goes by painfully slow and when Tuesday arrives I'm ready for Mark, when he comes to pick me up.
We drive silently in his sedan to the church in Pinelands.
Once there, we enter the church and sit in the back while the preacher reads a passage from the bible about death and resurrection and so on, and so on.
Daniel's dad, a big burly man, who I can see is where Daniel got some of his looks from, stands up and gives a eulogy while his mother sits in the pew sobbing.
He talks absolute crap and doesn't know or recognize the real Daniel. I sit there quietly and bite my tongue. Let this fucking charade just be over with.
When the church service ends, everyone stands up and the pallbearers come forward to carry Daniel's coffin out of the Church and into a waiting hearse. His father is one of them, and I assume the others are family and friends. One of them is a young teenage boy and I can only deduce that, that's Daniel's younger brother.
We sit and wait, as everyone leaves their pews to follow the coffin, with his mother walking out in front, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. We wait to join the last of the people leaving the church.
As his mother passes us, she stops to look at me. Confusion comes over her face, probably wondering who I am and then as Mark grabs my arm to let me stand up in the pew, her face turns to disapproval, assuming who I might be. She turns her face away from me and pushes her nose up in the air and marches out the door with everyone in tow. That woman's no picnic to live with, I'm sure.
Mark and I make our way to the cemetery in his car and when everyone's gathered around the gravesite, we stand to one side under a lush Black Stinkwood tree.
I can barely hear the preacher's farewell rites. The drama of the parents each throwing a dark crimson rose on the coffin is something to behold, considering those fucking assholes had disowned him only a month ago and it takes everything in me not to lash out at them.
That will piss them off, as Daniel would say and I swallow hard at the memory of Daniel's voice.
I look down and wait our turn to say goodbye.
Eventually, when everything's done and everybody has left, Mark leads me to the open grave with a bit of gravel on the coffin, from where his father and brother had ceremoniously shovelled up a bit of soil from the heap next to the open hole in the ground, and thrown it on there. I take a pink Carnation out of my inside jacket pocket and kiss the already wilting flower and throw it down on the coffin.
"Good bye my sweet, sweet Daniel. I will never forget the short time we had together and will miss you always. Hope you are safe and at peace now and know that I have and always will love you." I don't have any tears left to cry.
Surprisingly, Mark also takes out a white Lilly from his jacket and drops it on the coffin with the words, "A promising life lost so young is a loss to this world but a gift to the heavens. Go well, my young friend, and be happy wherever you are. You are innocent once more."
That's so unbelievably sweet and I turn to him and kiss him on his cheek. He doesn't budge.
"Thank you, Mark."
He smiles and leads me by the arm away from Daniel's grave.
As we get into his car, I turn to him. "I need a fucking drink."
"I'm with you." He replies and we head of to the nearest decent place he can think of.