Cadence looked up at the crowd and froze. The room was packed. In fact, despite the cold weather, the doors in the back were propped open so that the dozens of people standing outside could hear and feel as if they were still a part of the service.
Cadence set the paper down on the podium and cleared her voice, trying to gather her thoughts. She glanced at the paper, but it was just a blur. She looked out at the faces in the front two rows, including the Cooks and all of her friends from high school. Her parents were there as well, and Cassidy, who was wiping her eyes with a tattered tissue.
"Take a deep breath, clear your mind, and just talk to me," Aaron said, and Cadence realized he was somewhere in the room. She looked up and saw him standing by the back door on the right side of the cafeteria. Even though she was so far away from him, she could see that he was smiling at her, and she suddenly had the confidence to read what she had written.
"Good afternoon," she began, the words on the page suddenly legible again. "When I was first asked to say a few words about Jack, I was both honored and terrified. To be given the task of summing up such a significant life in just a few moments seemed nearly impossible to me. Though Jack wasn't with us nearly long enough, the impact he had in that short time can only be described as profound." She paused for a moment, looking at the faces in the crowd. Many of them were nodding in agreement. She locked eyes with Aaron again and then went back to the paper, hoping she hadn't lost her place. "When we think about Jack's life, we immediately remember what an amazing athlete he was. Watching Jack pitch a baseball game made young girls’ hearts melt and old men talk about the greats, such as Cy Young and Sandy Koufax. I should know," she added, "I was one of those young girls swooning." This remark got a bit of a chuckle, lightening the mood somewhat. "I watched from the sidelines with the others for a couple of years before I finally caught those beautiful brown eyes of his. And we were inseparable for years. Even when we realized life had taken us in separate directions, I couldn't help but keep Jack in my life as one of my best friends. Because, that's what Jack was to everyone--a friend. He would do whatever he could to help anyone. I remember one time, our senior year, one of the freshmen was getting picked on by a group of juniors. Jack not only stepped in to defend the smaller guy, he also gave him his lunch money--all of the money he had on him--to replace the money that had been stolen. That was the type of guy Jack was. When I asked him why he did that, he said, 'He needed the good.' I asked him to clarify, and he simply stated, 'You know, the good. We always say we have to take the bad with the good, but there aren't a lot of people handing out the good anymore.' I think that might have been the moment I fell in love with Jack. And I don't think it's ever possible to fall out of love with Jack. I think that's why all of us are here, because we love--not loved but still love--Jack Cook. He was the kind of guy who would never quit on any of us, so how could we possibly quit on him?" Cadence glanced up from her paper just then and froze again. In the back of the room, by the door on the left side, she saw a quick flash. She felt her stomach tighten up and fought an instant bout of nausea. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and reopened her eyes. The face in the crowd she had thought she had seen was gone. She glanced back to where Aaron had been standing, and he was gone as well.
"You're almost done; just finish the last few lines," Elliott reassured her.
Cadence looked back at those front two rows and realized most of those seated there were crying. She knew they thought her pause had been an emotional one as well, so she returned to her paper, absently swiping at her eyes as she did so.
"Like all of you, I will miss Jack. I will think of him every day. I will pray that the impact I have on others in my lifetime is at least remotely comparable to all that Jack has done for others. And someday, I know we will all . . . see Jack again. . . when we are reunited . . . in Heaven."
When she had finished, she made a little nod, as if to say, "Thank you for listening," and made her way off of the stage. A few shouts of, "Amen" were called out from the crowd. She walked to her seat as quickly as she could in her dress shoes, and sat back down, taking a deep breath. Sydney put her hand gently on top of hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
Despite the fact that she was speaking at his memorial service, Cadence was certain she had just seen Jack Cook in the crowd.
Elliott had watched Jack approaching the cafeteria even before Cadence began her speech. In fact, he had been hanging out in a copse of trees on the far side of the baseball diamond prior to Aaron and Eliza arriving. Though Elliott couldn't get a visual on Giovani, he had a suspicion he must be around there somewhere.
When Elliott reported Jack's presence to Aaron, he had insisted that Elliott just keep an eye on him unless he broke the perimeter of the parking lot. Then, he wanted to know. As a precaution, Eliza was hanging out in the crowd standing around the back of the building. Aaron had gone in when he realized Cadence was having trouble with her speech, but as soon as Jack made a bolt for the door, he had cut him off, staying in position so that, if Jack made an attempt to hurt anyone or approach Cadence, he could take him out. And he wouldn't hesitate to do so.
But Jack apparently just wanted a glimpse. He had run to the door, looked in, and backed out so quickly, most of the humans never even knew he was there, and those who did wouldn't have gotten a good enough look at his face to even contemplate the idea that the dead man whose life they were celebrating had just strolled into his own service.
