Eye Candy (15 page)

“What the hell is going on with this car?” she said in a frantic voice.

“Mommy, you said a bad word,” Brandon stated while looking out the window he was seated next to.

“Brandon, be quiet while mommy is driving.”

Without alarming the boys, something was terribly wrong, Monica attempted to remain calm. Meanwhile, the vehicle’s speed was now up to almost sixty miles per hour and steadily increasing. She took both of her feet and pressed firmly on the brake pedal which went all the way to the floor board. The vehicle didn’t stop.

“Mommy, I like it when you go fast,” yelled Braylon from the back seat as he noticed cars zipping by in the opposite lane. “Let’s go faster!”

“Hey, you just past the pizza place, mommy,” Brandon screamed out loud. “Turn around and go back.”

Ahead of the vehicle awaited a bigger dilemma. Monica noticed the rear end of a dump truck. On the opposite lane cars were zooming by and she couldn’t afford to turn into that lane like last time.

“Hey, slow down you asshole!” shouted out an angry man sticking his head out of his car. He passed the Tahoe on the other side of the road going in the opposite direction. “This is a public street.”

“Monica didn’t pay any attention to his comment but only noticed her vehicle’s speed was now up to seventy miles per hour. The posted speed signs clearly stated forty-five on the slow-moving road. Both of her feet continued to press the brake pedal to no avail. Quickly, she pushed the OnStar emergency button located on the rear-view mirror. She could see the fear that now existed in her sons eyes as the vehicle continued to pick up speed.

“OnStar emergency services,” said the friendly woman’s voice through the vehicle’s system. “Who am I speaking with?”

“This is Monica Malone,” she said practically screaming by now.

“Yes, ma’am, I’m showing you as the owner of the vehicle. Is everything okay?”

“No, the brakes on my Tahoe don’t work. I’m about to collide with a dump truck in front of me.”

“Mrs. Malone please remain calm. I’m going to try and override the braking system on your vehicle.”

“Please hurry!”

Monica’s heart raced faster as she could hear the woman typing away on her computer. Meanwhile, her Tahoe had now reached a speed of eighty. The twins were beginning to cry as they knew something was wrong.

“Try pressing your brakes now, Mrs. Malone.”

“Nothing is happening!”

Monica continued to hear the woman frantically typing as she noticed the vehicle speed was now up to ninety. It was either slam into the vehicle in front of her or turn into oncoming traffic.

“Mommy, we’re scared!” yelled the twins from the back.

“Mrs. Malone, please try to press your brakes again,” said the OnStar emergency operator.

Monica didn’t even have time as she did the only thing that her instincts told her to do. She turned the vehicle off the road thus avoid striking the dump truck or oncoming traffic. The Tahoe’s two left wheels rose off the payment causing it to flip multiple times down a ravine. The operator could hear cries and screams from the passengers inside. During the rollover, the Tahoe struck a large oak tree cutting the tree in half. The upper portion of the tree came crashing down on top of the vehicle as it came to a halt.

“Mrs. Malone can you hear me?” asked the friendly operator. “Mrs. Malone are you alright?”

Smoke, dust, and the smell of oil and gas filled the area where the vehicle was now positioned on its side. The front windshield was completely removed from the vehicle. A young man who witnessed the Tahoe leave the road a few seconds ago rushed down the ravine to help.

“She’s shaken up pretty bad,” shouted the young man to the operator as he stood in front of the dangled mess. Monica let out a faint moan which he barely heard. “Shit and it doesn’t look so good for the kids in the back! I’m going to get help.”

CHAPTER 17

Today had to be the worst day of my life as I sat next to my wife on the front pew inside New Hope C.M.E. Church in Sandy Springs. Heavy tears continued to flow down her face and onto her black dress as I wrapped my arm around her attempting to comfort her. The handkerchief I had given her earlier was already soaked which served little purpose now. Next to us were Dr. Carmichael and his wife, Allison, who was emotionally distraught as well. Allison’s crying and moaning was uncontrollable as her husband did his best to calm her down. Everyone in the church has long faces as the organist, positioned near the pulpit, continued to play the dreaded funeral music while a few more people walked in.

My eyes were glued onto the two white caskets that were in front of me. A colorful arrangement of flowers adorned on top of them. Inside the caskets, lay Brandon and Braylon who had perished in the wreck four days earlier. Their bodies were so mangled we were compelled to keep the caskets closed instead of the traditional view of an open casket. I still couldn’t bring myself to believe my sons were gone and no longer with us. Some psychologist called this ‘denial’ which is the first stage of grief. Up until the funeral, I still hadn’t even shed a tear. I felt guilty for my emotions or lack thereof. Before I could think any further, the soft music faded out, the pastor rose from his chair, and walked up to the podium on the pulpit.

“Today, I stand before you as a man of God,” began Pastor McGregor to the church. “And to let you know this is a day of celebration rather than a day of sorrow.”

“Oh, I want my beautiful grandchildren back!” yelled out Allison before Pastor McGregor barely finished his sentence. She was crying more frantically now and looked upwards towards the heavens.

“Allison, please try to hold it together,” whispered Dr. Carmichael as he held his wife tighter.

Monica turned away from the view in front of us and simply buried her head in my chest while sobbing even more. I tried to console her as best as I could but I knew there was little I could do now.

“For the word says in the book of Philippians for to me, living is Christ and dying is gain,” continued Pastor McGregor. “I am here to let you know that Brandon and Braylon have gone on and gained an eternal life with Christ so rejoice and do not be sad.”

“Amen Pastor McGregor,” said a woman clapping her hands sitting in a pew a few rows behind us.

Those were the last words I heard from the eulogy as my mind mentally blocked out everything else that was being said. I could only think of all the prior joyous occasions with my sons as the images flooded my mind. Like when the two were born and how I almost fainted in the delivery room. And their first steps I captured with my digital camera recording the entire event. Even more recently, the twins’ birthday party which only seemed like seconds ago.

“Aaron, we have to go now,” said Monica snapping me out of my trance. “The service is over and we have to join the procession to the cemetery.”

“Are you okay, Monica?” I asked as I noticed the service had ended.

“I guess so but I still can’t believe our sons are gone, Aaron.”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart, we are going to get through this. I promise you that.”

“But I feel so guilty for what happened. If only I could have done something different.”

“Monica, it’s not your fault,” I said continuing to hold my wife. “We’ve already discussed that.”

Without saying another word Monica buried her face into my chest again and continued to sob more. Then momentarily I helped her to her feet. The Carmichael’s stood up slowly next and followed us as we made our way towards the aisle. Once there, a few familiar faces approached us.

“Mrs. Malone, may I extend my deepest condolences and sympathy to you and your family,” said the well-dressed man extending his hand to my wife.

The friendly man was no one other than Mr. Bradshaw. He went above and beyond making us feel secure during our time of crisis once he initially heard about the car accident. He even rushed to the hospital and showed unconditional love and support. Surprisingly, he even offered to pay for the entire funeral expenses.

“Thank you again, Mr. Bradshaw,” said Monica shaking his hand then she gave him a warm hug. “You’ve been so supportive all this time.”

“You’re more than welcome,” he said to her then focused his attention to me.

“So how have you been doing, Aaron?” he asked.

“I’m managing, Mr. Bradshaw.”

“Well, you just hang on in there. It’s all going to work out and get better.”

We both hugged as if we were related and I felt a sense of genuine love I thought a man like him could never possess. It was the human and kind side of him I had never seen outside the corporate doors of Donaldson and Bradshaw. When our hug had concluded, Mr. Bradshaw stepped over to the Carmichael’s extending kind words of sympathy also.

As soon as Mr. Bradshaw was out of our view up walks my good friend and colleague from work, Sebastian. His eyes were heavy, as if he hadn’t been asleep, and a worried look was on his face. Next to him was Tiffany who had a disbelief demeanor about her. At the moment, I couldn’t get upset she was at the twins’ funeral and this was definitely not the place to let my emotions show, especially in front of my wife.

“Aaron, how have you been holding up?” asked Sebastian as he came into our circle.

“I’m holding on, Sebastian.”

“You have to remain strong in these tough times, Aaron. Although, you know I’m here for you if you ever need anything.”

After his comment, I simply nodded as if to let him know I already knew that. He was a close friend I had counted on for so many years and it was times like these he was still there for me. Sebastian then quickly turned his attention to Monica.

“Monica, I’m so sorry for your loss,” he said with a straight face. “I know the twins meant everything to you.”

“Yes, Sebastian, they were everything and much more to Aaron and I,” Monica said as her eyes began to fill with tears again. “But we thank you for all the love and support during this tragedy in our lives.”

As the pair hugged, I looked directly into the eyes of Tiffany who was still standing nearby. She looked at me as if she didn’t know what to say or how to react. Then Sebastian interrupted my stare.

“Hey, you all remember Tiffany from the twins’ birthday party,” he said looking at her.

“Yes, I think we all became quite familiar with Tiffany at the twins’ birthday party,” I said in a monotone voice.

“Thank you for coming out for the service, Tiffany,” Monica said as she looked towards her.

“Oh, Monica, please don’t hesitate to let me know if there is anything I can do for you or Aaron,” Tiffany said in a kind and relaxed voice. “I cannot even begin to phantom how you feel right now. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Monica simply gave a hint of a smile at Tiffany’s goodwill gesture.

“Well, we better get going, Monica,” I said as I stepped closer to her. “I’m sure our limo is all lined up outside and awaits us.”

The Carmichael’s continued to follow us after they also spoke to Sebastian and Tiffany. Then a few steps into our short stride we encountered a few more people we knew including Jane, Shanna, Marilyn, and plenty of our coworkers. They all were very welcoming and sadden by what had recently happened. Monica had missed Marilyn’s speech and the graduation ceremonies but everyone from the school understood. When our brief conversation had ended with all of them, we finally made it inside the limo and were off to the cemetery.

At the gravesite, the mood was more dismal than it was inside the church. Both caskets were hoisted above an empty grave with the unearth dirt nearby. Only a handful of people attended the burial as we only wanted it to be viewed by a selected few.

Pastor McGregor stood in front of the caskets preparing to say a few words as the small crowd gathered around. I noticed two men in the distance dressed in overalls and holding large shovels in their hands. They had taken off their hats in observance of the burial and to give respect for the dead. It was obvious it was their job to shovel the unearth dirt back on top of the caskets once they were retired to the ground below.

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want,” said Pastor McGregor firmly as he commenced the recital of Psalm 23. “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, he leadeth me besides the still waters, he restoreth my soul.”

The mechanical pulley system inched the twins’ caskets slowly downward into the dark and black grave as Pastor McGregor continued to speak. It was at this point, Monica and I stood and watched as our sons were being buried. It seems as if all the emotions I had been holding in for the last few days came pouring out of me all at once. Tears were running down my face like a raging river and I didn’t attempt to wipe them away. Ironically, when I looked at Monica her face was dry and her eyes were tearless. I figured she had shed enough tears and now it was my turn.

“It’s all my fault, Aaron,” she said maintaining a sober face while continuing to watch the caskets being lowered into the ground. “I should have pulled the emergency brake or shift the vehicle into neutral.”

“No, sweetheart, it’s not your fault,” I said finally wiping away the tears off my face. “You have to stop blaming yourself.”

“I can’t Aaron. I just can’t.”

Monica began to cry again as she had done before in the church. I quickly latched onto her and pulled her into my chest.

“It’s going to be alright,” I said to her in an emotional voice. “The twins are in heaven looking down at us smiling. They’re in a better place, Monica, and you have to believe that.”

As I continued to hold Monica, I noticed Allison sobbing a bit louder as the caskets had almost reached their destination. Dr. Carmichael was doing his best to hold back his tears but eventually they came down his face.

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,” continued Pastor McGregor coming to the end of the verse. “And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

It was as if the mechanical pulley system has a mind of its own because it stopped once Pastor McGregor had finished his last words. I reached down and took a handful of unearth dirt and evenly tossed it on top of Brandon’s casket first. Then I repeated the process for Braylon’s casket. After which, I took Monica by the hand and led her back to the limo so we could go home.