Page 48 of The Facilitator, Part 2

There wasn’t much I could say to that. I wouldn’t have been satisfied with that letter had it been my parent, either. Mack obviously had his reasons and we were never going to know any more than he’d wanted Mackenzie to know.

Kelsey was every bit the sweetheart I thought she would be.

She came into the house and immediately gave me a hug.

She cried, and she laughed, sharing memories of her time with her father.

She was also conscious of the fact Mackenzie didn’t have the same memories.

No amount of him telling her it was okay would satisfy her.

She sat and held Sandra’s hand as if she was her lifeline in that moment.

The only time I detected the slightest sadness in Mackenzie was when she brought out a photo album.

She told us she had five such albums. She was a keen photographer and each album held snaps of her with either her father or her elderly mother.

Other than in his wedding album, Mackenzie didn’t have one photograph of his dad.

He’d had to ask Sandra for one to display at the service.

“Can I give you this?” Kelsey asked. She handed Mackenzie a photograph she’d just taken from the album.

He stared at it, and then he smiled as he showed me. It was a lovely photo of Kelsey and Mack. They were standing against the railings of a boat, either on a large lake or the ocean. The resemblance was uncanny. Whereas Mackenzie didn’t look like his father at all, she was every bit Mack’s child.

“Thank you, I’m going to treasure this.”

The happiness at the memories was soon replaced with anxiety as a car arrived outside.

Vivienne, Gabriella, and Alex arrived soon after.

Introductions were made and Kelsey remembered meeting Vivienne that one time.

A sombre mood descended when it was time to leave.

Mackenzie held Kelsey’s hand as we walked outside.

She reached out for me to walk the other side of her.

Sandra, Kelsey, Mackenzie, and I climbed into the first car; Vivienne, Gabriella, and Alex took the second.

We drove slowly to the church where we were met by most of the occupants of the condo complex, the diner staff, and what appeared to be half the town.

The church was packed and it was obvious the whisperers wanted to know who Kelsey was.

She held her head high, ignoring it all.

We sat through a sermon, Father Dickhead droning on about Mack and his life, his family.

I thought it discourteous not to have once mentioned Mackenzie’s mother.

I could feel him bristle beside me. When it was done, Father Dickhead was quick to climb into a car and follow the coffin to the graveside.

Mackenzie wrapped his arm around Kelsey who, at that point, broke down.

“Do you think I might just go home?” Kelsey asked. We were back in the car and heading towards Vivienne’s house.

“Of course. We can take you now if you want,” Mackenzie said.

Kelsey nodded and he asked the car to divert to her address. “Will you walk me in, Lauren?” she asked. I smiled and nodded.

Kelsey walked me through reception and to her apartment . It was a home for adults and each had a mini-apartment, a bedsit, really. Kelsey stood and smiled sadly at me. She reached out and hugged me.

“Will I see you again?” she asked.

“Of course. Mackenzie has your number, doesn’t he? We’ll call you tomorrow.”

I left her and made a point to introduce myself to the receptionist. I then climbed back in the car.

“Is she okay?” Mackenzie asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. We didn’t know her well enough yet to know when she was hiding anything. “She seemed to be, but who knows? Pam will be with her shortly.”

Pam was her companion, and although we fully expected her to attend the funeral with her, Kelsey had decided she wanted to attend alone.

We arrived at Vivienne’s, along with many other cars.

A glass of wine was handed to us and for a while we were separated.

Mackenzie didn’t get a chance to even take a sip of his drink, and I was sure he sorely needed it.

There was a queue formed to talk to him and offer their condolences.

I stood with Gabriella and she told me, as much as she could, who was who.

Waitresses mingled holding trays of finger food, glasses of wine were refreshed even though Mackenzie hadn’t sipped from his. Eventually, he made his way back to me. He placed his arm around my waist and kissed my temple.

“Is Sandra okay?” I asked. She seemed to have been embraced into the group of people from the complex.

“Yeah, she’s as good as can be expected. She told me she found his will. He left me the house, obviously, the condo to her, and he has a savings account for Kelsey. She wanted to know if I was happy with that. I doubt she knows I bought the condo, not that it matters.”

“Do you want the house?”

“Yes, I do. It was my childhood home, and somehow it doesn’t feel like it was ever his, if that makes sense.

He was never there when my mom was alive and less after she died.

I think we might get the decorators in, though.

It’s been a while, and since I know you love the house so much, I’m signing it over to you. My wedding present,” he said.

“You can’t do that,” I said.

“I can and I will. I’m hoping you’ll let me share the house with you, of course.”

“I love you,” I said.

“I love you more, and that’s not some kind of term of endearment we’ve got going. I really do believe it.”

There wasn’t much arguing with him, of course. When Mackenzie had made up his mind, or made a decision, there was no changing it.

“Another hour and I think I’ll need to get out of here,” he said. I nodded in agreement.

One hour later, and we had kicked off our shoes, removed our socks, and were walking barefoot in the sand. We sat, we toasted Mack, even if Mackenzie was hesitant, and we watched the sun set.