The flight from Shenandoah to Kansas City was both short and silent. Cadence spent most of the time trying to concentrate on what she was planning on saying at the memorial later that afternoon, rather than focusing on the fact that her morning had not started out the way she expected it to; she had, once again, woken up alone--something she was certainly not anticipating, not already anyway.
Aaron had a perfectly good explanation--he had gone to get her breakfast--which she appreciated. But when she turned over to an empty bed, panic had set in pretty quickly. He had returned within a few moments, breakfast from the local donut shop in hand, as there were no Starbucks in Shenandoah. She had not given him an opportunity to explain himself before flipping out, and he had listened to her rant for almost ten minutes before pointing out to her that his IAC was on, and she had access to it, that he had been gone for less than an hour, and that she was only awake for a few minutes before he returned. Ultimately, he had apologized profusely, and she had felt like a prude for giving him such a hard time. Still, thoughts of what she had gone through just a few days ago when he wasn't where she thought he should be were fresh, and she knew it would take a very long time before she was willing to go even a few minutes without knowing precisely where he was.
Her parents and Cassidy were along for the ride, and they all seemed pretty impressed that he knew how to fly a plane. From time to time, her mother or father would ask a question about how the Citation operated, but Cassidy did not say a word. Cadence wondered what she would think when she saw headquarters for the first time; her parents had expressed a bit of reserved excitement at the idea. That certainly wasn't their reason for the trip, but it was an experience they had only heard about.
Once they landed, Cadence began an attempt to prepare herself for what she was about to endure. Upon deplaning, she was momentarily jarred from her melancholy mood by the sight of a familiar face waiting for them. "Jamie!" she exclaimed, embracing her friend. "How are you feeling?" She hadn't seen the Healer since he was wounded, and it was a nice surprise that he was waiting to drive them to base.
He hugged her tightly, and for a moment the joyful reunion slipped back into the throws of sorrow at the occasion. Eventually, he assured her, "I'm completely healed," and released her to greet the rest of the party.
Cadence breathed a sigh of relief, finally seeing for herself that Jamie really was all right. It was one thing to have him assure her over the IAC that he was okay, but it was quite something else to be in his presence and see that he was back to his old self.
They loaded into the SUV and headed toward headquarters. Cadence wasn't angry at Aaron anymore, though she was still fairly silent. She took comfort in his hand on her leg as they approached their destination. They had given themselves enough time to change clothes before the memorial began, but before she knew it, she would be attending an event she couldn't even fathom. How can Elliott be gone? she contemplated as Jamie drove them to their apartment building. Even though she'd had a few days to ponder the idea, it still seemed very surreal. It was as if she had been leaning back against a brick wall for the last six months, a solid support, completely unwavering. Now, without warning, the wall was gone—and she was tumbling backward into nothingness.
* * *
Hannah did an amazing job getting everything ready. Cadence and Aaron arrived a bit early to see if there was anything they could do to assist her, but she had taken care of every detail. The chapel was quaint, like something one might find in a Thomas Kinkade painting, and the pews would fit about one hundred people. The dais was decorated in purple and blues, with an abundance of irises, which Elliott had once mentioned weren't too awful, as far as flowers were concerned, an indicator that he might actually appreciate their beauty. Hannah had worked with Christian to make sure the memorial would be televised as promised. There was also a large screen where Cadence assumed they would be watching some sort of slideshow. Off to the side, there was a large picture of Dr. Elliott Sanderson, the same one he had used for his CDC badge, and Cadence couldn't help but chuckle a bit when she saw it. It always reminded her of a pose Will Ferrell might assume were he making a fake ID badge. To the right sat a familiar urn. It was an exact replica of the one Elliott had produced to present the fake remains of Jack Cook to his parents; Hannah had explained that Elliott once joked that, should he ever meet his demise, he wanted to be collected by the Extracto 9000, his nickname for the device they used to clean up after Vampires turned to dust, and kept on display in a trophy case in the main office. Cadence was willing to grant her friend most of his requests, but that urn would be kept in Aaron's apartment on his mantle, where it would be safe and where his memory would continue to live on for centuries to come.
With no last minute touches necessary, Hannah directed them to take a seat on the front row, much to Cadence's chagrin, and eventually the room began to fill up. Cassidy and Cadence's parents were sitting further back, having decided to stay in Cadence's apartment for a bit longer before heading over, and Cadence couldn't help but feel her heart breaking again when she saw the overwhelming look of sadness on her baby sister's face. As excruciating as this entire experience had been for her, it was even worse to know how much Cassidy and Aaron were hurting; the latter was doing a much better job of showing a brave face, but she couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose someone who had been with him every single day for over forty years.
He noticed her staring at him and she managed a small smile, asking quietly, "Are you going to be okay?"
He nodded. "I'll find a way," he assured her.
"Good," she replied.
"What about you?" he asked, squeezing her hand.
"Somehow," she exhaled.
"I'm really sorry I upset you this morning," he began, no longer meeting her gaze.
"No," she stated dismissively, "don't worry about that, not right now. It's fine. I overreacted."
"You had every right to," he admitted, looking back into her brown eyes.
"It might take me some time, but eventually I will figure out a way to keep from jumping to the worst conclusions every time I don't know where you are," she replied, looking back up at the stage, seeing that Hannah was directing the pastor, someone Cadence had never seen before, that it was about time to begin.
