“Thanks.” Arrow said. “Rachel was an angel. When I first came here, she always treated me as part of her family even though I was messed up.” He then swallowed hard. “I can’t believe Pat would do that.”
“What did Tumultus mean when he said he already had you?”
Before Arrow could answer, the police came over to question them. Everybody explained what they had seen and that they weren’t sure where Pat had gone. Harmony knew though, and told them what she had seen. They immediately checked the supply closet, but for some reason, the entrance to Oblivion had disappeared.
These police officers looked the same as the ones that had come to Harmony’s door so they did not speak audibly, but instead asked most of the questions through typing out messages. The paramedics barely spoke either, but they had the option of speaking if they chose to. Once Rachel was loaded onto the stretcher, they covered her in a blanket and began taking her out the door. Zion followed close behind.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
THE FUNERAL WAS a much bigger affair than Harmony had expected. Rachel had so many connections to the community and beyond. Feeling obligated to attend, Arrow and Harmony dressed in black formal attire and found a seat close to the back of the sanctuary during the funeral service. The pastor talked about what a giving person Rachel had been and how God’s light shone out from her. He talked about how she was leaving behind a legacy of goodness that would certainly be continued by the people she had impacted. Zion was visible in the front of the room, his eyes red-rimmed from crying.
The more the pastor spoke, the more sorrow Harmony felt. Every so often she looked over at Arrow to get an idea of how to respond, but his eyes were dry during the entire service. He had cried a lot before the ceremony so Harmony wondered if he had cried his last tear before they arrived.
When it was over, Arrow drove them both to the cemetery and they stood in the cold and blustery weather listening to the pastor share a few more words of encouragement for the grieving family as Rachel was lowered into the ground. They had already agreed that it would be too uncomfortable to speak with Zion on such a terrible day, so Arrow slipped his hand in Harmony’s and they walked back to the car. Wordlessly, they climbed inside and Arrow began to navigate his way out of the cemetery before other vehicles began clogging the exit.
“Do you want to get some food?” Arrow asked.
She nodded. “Yeah.”
Arrow already knew where to go apparently because he didn’t ask what she was in the mood for. They ended up at a small Italian restaurant called Merchelli’s and the name struck a chord in Harmony’s memory.
“Have we been here before…when I was Heidi?”
Arrow bit his lip and said reluctantly, “Yes.”
“Was it a good memory?”
“One of our last good memories.” Arrow answered.
“Oh.”
When Harmony stepped out of the car, she took Arrow’s elbow and they went in together. The walls were covered in murals of old Italian architecture and white columns were at various places around the room wrapped in faerie lights. There also were potted ferns hanging from lattice work on the ceiling.
“It’s a beautiful place.” Harmony admitted.
Arrow smiled for the first time that day and her heart fluttered.
Once they had been seated by the host, they looked through the menu. The waitress arrived at the table and they both already knew what they wanted to order. Harmony chose the chicken carbonara and Arrow chose steak linguini.
Once the waitress left, Harmony asked, “What are we doing?”
“Having lunch together. It’s been a hard day and I think we both need it.”
“That’s true.” She bit her lip and still found herself wrestling with her thoughts.
“This doesn’t have to be a date.” Arrow said finally.
“But I want it to be.”
Arrow was silent for a long moment. His face had no expression but his eyes seemed to waver with indecision.
“Then it’s a date.” He breathed and his face broke into a grin.
Harmony smiled back and grabbed for her cup of water to hide her joy. It felt wrong to feel so excited. The last few days had made her think even more about how fragile life was. She didn’t want to allow things to pass her by just because she was scared. She also had seen how Arrow was now and he was such a different person compared to who he was with Heidi.
Just then, Arrow’s cell phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and his eyebrows wrinkled in concern. “It’s Zion.”
He looked at Harmony as if waiting for permission to answer it. “You can talk to him.” Harmony said earnestly.
Arrow nodded and answered the call. “Zion?”
There was silence and Harmony’s brain bounced around trying to guess what he could be calling about. His wife had just died and it made no sense that he would be calling people already. If Harmony had lost the love of her life, she would have been holed up in her bedroom watching TV and crying.
“Of course, Zion. We’re just having lunch but then we can be right over.” Arrow said reassuringly. After a brief pause, Arrow then said, “Of course. Well, we’ll see you soon. Bye.”
“What did he say?” Harmony asked.
“He wants us to come back to the rehab center. He said he has some ideas.” Arrow said. “I’m surprised he’s ready to get back to work, but maybe he’s just making excuses to try to get us to come back. He’s probably lonely.”
Harmony nodded thoughtfully but didn’t respond because the waitress returned with a basket of bread and salad.
***
When they returned to Zion’s, they were surprised to find him waiting for them in the foyer. He was missing some of the spark he usually had but he looked much better than he had at the church.
“I’ve been thinking and I wanted to bounce some ideas off you all.” Zion said. “Will you follow me?”
Arrow nodded for the both of them and they followed Zion to the conference room. It seemed so barren without Clive, Rachel, or Pat.
