DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by 
sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading 
now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes 
without the consent of the author.

John Carter
By
Lazlo Zalezac 
Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezak, 2003


Part 1: Shield, Staff, and Compass
Chapter 20

John looked around at his surroundings slowly realizing that he 
recognized this place. It was where he had met the Goddess for the 
first time. This time, the stream was not in a ravine, but ran 
naturally along side the meadow. The region retained that eerie 
feel to it that threatened to overwhelm the senses. Maybe it was the 
fact that the life force was so close to the surface here that you 
could almost see it pulsing in each living thing.

She was kneeling by the side of the stream, a hand in the water 
feeling the current while fish swam past gently brushing her hand. 
She was nude and just as beautiful today as she had been in the 
past. Looking upon her mesmerized him. Today she looked sad 
rather than sexy or forbidding.

John looked down at himself seeing that was undressed. His cock 
was erect and hurting. He felt exposed, as though all of his 
thoughts were visible to her. He wondered if he was about to be 
raped again. He corrected himself, wondering if he was going to 
make love to the full force of nature again. 

The woman looked up at him with sad eyes. "I'm glad you came to 
my summons."

"What do you ask of me?"

She came to him and embraced him gently. It was the most 
amazing embrace of his life. The comfort conveyed reminded him 
of his mother's hug when he had fallen down as a child and scraped 
his knee.  It was more than that, though. Their was an intimacy to 
it that was like a lover expressing her love. She stated, "I'm so 
sorry John. I had nothing to do with it and couldn't prevent it. I 
have no direct power against pure evil. That is his realm and he has 
no one there."

John thought about her words. He asked, "She's dead, isn't she?"

"Yes, John. She's dead."

John asked, "was there anything that I could have done?"

"No, John. You couldn't have kept her from going. If you had gone 
with her, you would be dead too."

"Thank you," he accepted what she said. There was no reason for 
him to feel guilty. She had given an important gift him.

"You need to return to Austin by four. The other will not live if she 
gets the news while alone at home."

John woke up in a cold sweat. The top of his sleeping bag, where 
he had been lying on it, was soaked. He looked around the 
darkened room and knew what he had to do. Getting up, he went to 
the telephone.  After a long call, he had reservations on the first 
morning flight to Dallas and a connecting flight to Austin. The 
price for the ticket was outrageous. They always were when you 
bought them the day you needed to travel. 

He would have to leave soon to make the flight. He dressed 
thinking about what he needed to do. Fully dressed, he picked up 
his backpack. It had all of his clothes in it. He threw in his 
toothbrush, toothpaste, and brush from the bathroom. His camping 
gear was scattered around the house and he didn't have the time to 
collect it. He threw in the latest draft of his dissertation. He would 
give it to his advisor in the current state, it was the third draft and 
pretty solid. 

Stepping into the night, he locked the door behind him with a dull 
click. There was no moon and consequently the stars were 
unusually bright that night. He walked across the street to Ed's 
house. It was just a dark silhouette against the starry background.  
Kelly's Honda was parked in the driveway. Knowing those two, 
they went to bed early and to sleep late. He hated waking them up, 
but he couldn't afford to wait. He walked up to the door and 
knocked on it. There was no answer. He knocked again. 

He heard someone stumbling around in the house. He thought how 
Ed would react to a stranger showing up in the middle of the night. 
It wasn't likely that he would invite them in for tea. He called out, 
"Ed, it's me. John!"

Ed opened the door and mumbled for him to come in. John stepped 
in and stopped just inside the door. Ed stepped back and John 
realized that he was naked. Then he noticed the pistol in Ed's hand. 
The gun caught his attention much more than Ed's nakedness. Ed 
set the pistol in a drawer of a small table by the door. He mumbled, 
"Sorry, didn't know it was you."

"I'm so sorry to be here this early. I've got to leave town right 
now."

It took a moment for the statement to filter through Ed's sleepy 
mind, but when he had finished processing it he snapped awake, 
"What's the matter?"

John was about to answer when Kelly came out of the bedroom 
naked as well. In his current state of mind, he didn't even think of 
her nudity. However, the image was stored for later appreciation. 
She was wiping the sleep from her eyes, "What's going on here?"

"I've got to leave right now to catch a plane to Dallas and then to 
Austin."

Ed asked again, "What's the matter?"

"Betsy was killed in the middle east." Saying it aloud hurt more 
than he thought it would. He missed her already.

Kelly cried out, "Oh my God!"

The concern on Ed's face was clear. Anyone that knew them both 
would understand how much pain John had to be feeling at the loss 
of Betsy. Ed asked, "What can I do?"

"Take care of the house and see if you can get the rent extended for 
another month. I'll be back to buy it." He handed Ed the keys to the 
house. John looked around numbly and saw Kelly crying. He said, 
"take care of Kelly. She needs some comforting. I better go or I'll 
miss my plane."

Kelly came up to John and hugged him tightly. Her naked body 
pressed against him. He did not notice the nakedness, only the 
caring that motivated the hug. She cried, "Take care of yourself. If 
there's anything we can do, let us know."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it."

Ed nodded, "really, if there's anything we can do let us know. We'll 
take care of it. Call collect if you want."

John turned to the door and opened it. He turned back to Ed, "a 
man can't have a better friend than you, Ed."

The trip back to Austin was horrible. Connections were tight and 
the planes crowded. On the flight to Austin, he sat in a row with 
two other very large men; eight hundred pounds of people in a row 
that shouldn't hold three normal size people. He had the aisle seat 
and spent most of the flight leaning into the aisle. He was tired, 
hungry, and emotionally drained by the time he arrived in Austin. 
It was a little after noon before he landed, but he still had to rent a 
car to drive to the house. He stood in the rental line and ended up 
having to accept a larger car than he wanted because he didn't have 
a reservation. 

It seemed like an eon had passed between leaving Arizona and 
arriving home to Austin. Tired, he knocked on the door rather than 
letting himself in. Mrs. South didn't know he was returning and he 
didn't want to scare her. She peered through the eyehole in the door 
and then swung the door open. Happy to see him, she shouted, 
"John, you're home early!"

John smiled at the warm reception. He stated, "I missed your 
coffee and just had to stop by for a cup."

He entered the house and wearily sat down at the kitchen table. He 
glanced at the clock and saw that it was one o'clock. The news 
would get here in three hours. He wanted to stay between her and 
the telephone, but he was tired. She fixed a pot of coffee fussing 
the entire time about how tired he looked. He laughed it off, "I 
worked too hard on my dissertation."

"Oh, you kids. You need to learn how to pace your life a little 
better."

"I know. Youth is wasted on the young!"

Mrs. South laughed, "but thank god for viagra. It gives us seniors a 
chance to make up for opportunities lost as youths."

John shook his head in amusement. He really liked her attitude 
towards sex and life in general. He asked, "Where's your 
boyfriend?"

"He said that he had to go home, but I think he went to the 
pharmacy to get his prescription refilled. He asked the doctor for a 
month's supply and the doctor asked if four would be enough. Jim 
told him he needed at least sixty. Damn doctor didn't believe him 
so he only got fifteen."

John laughed, "Well, he might be home by half past three. Why 
don't you ask him to come by about that time? Give us a chance to 
talk a bit and then get out for one of those early bird dinners."

Instead of answering, Mrs. South poured him a cup of coffee. He 
cradled the sides of the mug in both of this hands drawing on the 
warmth. He hoped that it would help warm the empty coldness that 
had crept into his heart. He couldn't act as if anything was wrong 
until the news arrived. He took a sip of the coffee and sighed, "You 
make a great cup of coffee."

Mrs. South sat down across the table from him. She looked at the 
tired lines on his face and thought about his past behavior. She 
could sense that something was wrong and knew that John 
wouldn't tell her until he was ready. She nodded, "I'll give him a 
call to come down. After you finish your coffee, why don't you 
take a nap? I promise I'll wake you when he gets here."

John took another sip of coffee and held it in his mouth for a 
moment. He wondered if Betsy's alarm clock was still here. If it 
were, he'd set that just in case Mrs. South, in her desire to be kind, 
decided to allow him to oversleep. He nodded, "Sounds like a good 
plan to me. However, I could use a bite to eat."

"I just happen to have some chocolate cake here. I was gonna let 
Jim eat it off me, but I think I can spare a slice for you."

"Oh you kinky lady! If I have to eat the slice off you, I will."

Mrs. South laughed, "I'd do it, but it would make Jim madder than 
hell!"

"You don't mean to tell me that he's jealous."

"You know better than that. That old reprobate would be mad 
because he didn't get to watch you do it."

John laughed and shook his head. Those two were ones for the 
record book. They had a more active sex life than most married 
couples a third their age. When he thought about it, he realized 
they probably had a more active sex life than he and Betsy had. 
The thought brought a tinge of pain that he struggled to cover.

Mrs. South set a large slice of chocolate cake in front of him. She 
sat down, serious all of a sudden. She stated, "Something like your 
hero urge drove you back here, didn't it?" 

John finished the bite of cake in his mouth and washed it down 
with the coffee before answering. "Nothing is certain yet. I'll know 
more later."

"It must be bad."

"Probably, I'll know more later."

Mrs. South studied him carefully for some clue. She watched as he 
finished the cake and coffee. When he sat back, he looked up at 
her. He suggested, "I'll tell you what I can when I'm certain."

Mrs. South nodded, "Get some sleep. I promise I'll wake you when 
Jim gets here."

John went into his room. Betsy's alarm clock was on the night table 
where she always kept it. He set it to go off at 3:15. He looked at 
the floor and then at the bed. He didn't have his sleeping bag here, 
so he decided to use the bed. The only time he used a bed was 
when a woman was there to share it. Despite the memories the bed 
raised, he fell asleep as soon as he lay down.

The alarm rang on time. John woke up shaking his head and trying 
to rid himself the nightmares that plagued his sleep. It took him a 
minute to find the alarm clock and even longer to turn it off, but at 
least he was awake. He took a minute to collect his thoughts. He 
got up and headed out of the room. Mrs. South, seated in her 
favorite chair, watched the cable news program on television. 

He joined her. They were silent as the news program unfolded. 
This particular show was about the economy. John watched with 
interest and wondered how Jenny and Jack were doing with their 
business. The thought made him realize that he would need to call 
them tonight. He wondered how he was going to break the news to 
them.

Mr. Jensen arrived right on time. In the time John had been gone, 
Mr. Jensen appeared to grow ten years younger. Maybe all of that 
sex was making him young again. John stood up and shook his 
hand. He stated, "I see you've taken good care of my landlord 
here."

Jim had been over almost everyday since John had left. She had 
taught him things about sex that he had never known. He was still 
having difficulty walking after she had used the dildo on him last 
night. Jim chuckled, "She's taken better care of me."

Mrs. South laughed, "John, can't you tell that he's sad you're back? 
He was getting used to getting a blowjob on entering the house. 
Now he's going to have to wait until we get to the bedroom."

John acted like he was munching on his arm provoking a smile 
from Mrs. South. . John laughed, "Oh, don't worry about me. I 
want to see him eat that chocolate cake later tonight."

Mrs. South started laughing and slapping her knee. Mr. Jensen 
looked puzzled. John made an exaggerated act of licking his lips. 
She finally burst out, "You keep me laughing like that and I'm 
going to wet my pants."

John saw Mr. Jensen's puzzled look. "She told me that she was 
going to serve the chocolate cake on her body and you'd have to 
eat it off her. She threatened to make me do that, but said you'd be 
mad that you didn't get to watch."

"God above, I just love a randy woman with a good sense of fun."

It was almost four and John turned to look at the television. 
International news was going to be covered next. He sat back and 
realized how they were going to learn about it. He turned to Mrs. 
South, "Hey, have we got any of that coffee left?"

"Sure."

John made as if he was going to get up. Mrs. South saw his 
movements and stated, "Now you stay here. I'll get you a cup of 
coffee."

John made a protesting gesture, "Mrs. South, I'm more than 
capable of getting my own coffee."

"No. You stay there and talk with Jim. I'm old fashioned and don't 
think men belong in the kitchen."

John slowly nodded his head, "Okay, Mrs. South."

She went into the kitchen. John was pleased that his ploy had 
worked. He turned to the news program almost ignoring Mr. 
Jensen. His behavior did not escape the attention of the older man. 
He turned to watch the news. His mouth dropped as the first news 
story told about a number of volunteer nurses that were killed by a 
rocket propelled grenade attack in the middle east. He turned to 
John to see John looking at him. John nodded his head confirming 
the old man's fears. 

Mrs. South came back into the room with John's coffee. She saw 
the expressions on their faces and knew that something bad had 
happened. She set the cup down on the nearest table, "What 
happened?"

Mr. Jensen went over to her and put his arm around her. John 
looked over in their direction. He stated, "There was a problem in 
the middle east."

"Not Betsy!"

"I'm pretty sure. I've got to call her parents and find out for sure."

Mrs. South raced over to him and hugged him. She cried, "You 
poor man. I know how much you loved her. You must be crushed."

John thanked the Goddess. His presence here had changed the 
news from being a personal tragedy for Mrs. South to his tragedy. 
She would be strong for him, rather than weak for herself. He 
answered, "I'm so lucky to have you here to help me at this 
difficult time. You are a life saver."

John spent the rest of the afternoon on the telephone. The first 
thing he had done was call Betsy's parents. They had been 
informed only a few minutes before through official sources that it 
was definite that she had been killed in the attack. They had 
decided to have a memorial service in three days time in Austin. 
There would be a private funeral in her hometown once the body 
had been shipped back to the states. They invited him to both 
services and asked if he would give the Eulogy at the memorial 
service.

He then spent the rest of the afternoon calling everyone that knew 
Betsy in the Austin area. The news spread like wildfire. By the 
time that he had reached the last name on the list of people he was 
going to call, they had already known. When he had quit making 
calls, he started receiving calls from the EMS, police, and fire 
department personnel that he knew. All conveyed their sorrow at 
what happened. That evening, when the long distance rates were 
lowest, he called his friends and let them know what had 
happened. 

Mrs. South helped as much as she could. She made sure there was 
always fresh coffee. She cooked a very nice meal for dinner that 
the three of them ate together at the table. At random times, she 
would come up and give him hugs. He knew that at her age, she 
had dealt with the deaths of many friends and relatives. She knew 
exactly what to say and when to say it. He knew this was a hard 
time for her. She thought of Betsy as a granddaughter. 

The next day, Mrs. South and John went shopping for a suit that 
would be appropriate for a funeral service. She was pleased to be 
included in helping him pick out a suit. She enjoyed making sure 
the men in her life were appropriately dressed for major occasions. 
Personally, he was glad that she came along. He would have 
bought the first suit that he came across. She had him try on 
several suits before picking out one of them that would serve 
multiple purposes. She made very good suggestions on ties, belts, 
and shirts. He was surprised when she asked them to tailor the shirt 
to fit him better. He had never heard of doing such a thing.

Before heading home, they stopped by the university so that he 
could drop off his dissertation to his adviser. He told the 
department secretary about Betsy's death and that he would be 
unavailable for the next few days. She had met Betsy several times 
and had liked the young woman. She was pleased to meet Mrs. 
South. They had talked several times on the telephone, but never 
met. It always amazed her that he would choose to live in a room 
rented from an old woman rather than alone in an apartment. She 
knew that living with an old woman must put an awful damper on 
his love life.

Returning home, Mr. Jensen gave him a long list of telephone 
messages. He couldn't believe the number of people that had 
called. There were at least thirty names on the list. He immediately 
saw that Betsy's parents had called and returned that call first. 
They had wanted to know how many people might show up at the 
memorial service. He thought about it for a moment and suggested 
that maybe fifty people or so might attend. Of course, there might 
be more than that depending on how many people from the 
hospital attended. They had their choice of a room for fifty or for 
two hundred. They discussed it and decided on the room for two 
hundred thinking that it would be better to have empty space than 
to require people to stand. He invited her parents to stay at the 
house, but they choose to stay in Betsy's apartment.

The next day he picked up his parents up at the airport. The trip 
from Dallas was just a short flight, but crowded as always. John 
was surprised that they had checked their luggage until he saw how 
much they had brought. They had three suitcases for a three day 
visit. He used one backpack for three months. Maybe he did live 
like a monk.

He had to stop by the suit place and pick up his clothes. The sales 
staff was very friendly and several of them knew John by 
reputation. The woman behind the counter remarked that it was 
nice that he brought his grandmother to help him pick out a suit. 
She tried to flirt with him, but her attentions went unnoticed by 
him. His parents noticed, but didn't say a word.

His parents stayed in the guestroom at the house that night. It was 
the first time in a long time that he had a chance to talk with his 
parents. Everyone talked until late in the night. He didn't know 
how much his parents hoped that he and Betsy would marry. They 
had really loved her like a daughter. John understood how they 
could feel that way. Betsy had that effect on many people. After 
John went to bed, Mrs. South and Mr. Jensen talked to his parents 
for several more hours. His parents began to get the idea that John 
was a minor celebrity in the area. 

The morning of the memorial service finally arrived. John slowly 
got out of bed despite wanting to go back to sleep. There was just 
too much to do. His father came into the room while he was 
dressing. After looking at the scars for a minute, he left the room 
without saying a word. The scars disturbed his father very much, 
but it wasn't the time to bring up the subject.

John had arranged for a wake to be held at the house. Mrs. South 
was actually pleased to be entertaining people, although the 
circumstances were not the best. She had hoped to be arranging a 
bridal shower for Betsy rather than a wake. Making sure that 
everything was settled, they waited for Mr. Jensen's friend to show 
up. He was there to house sit during the memorial service. Mrs. 
South had known friends that had their houses robbed during 
funerals and didn't want that to happen to her home. The result was 
that they left the house a little later than they had intended.

Arriving at the memorial park for the service was an overwhelming 
experience for John. He had expected fifty people, but there were 
many more. As he drove up, he spotted police cars, ambulances, 
and even the fire marshals car. The parking lot was overflowing 
with cars displaying university parking stickers and tags from the 
hospital parking lot. He looked at Mrs. South and his parents, 
"What's going on?"

It was the first time that his father actually understood how many 
people knew his son. His father answered, "They've come to 
support you."

John was touched. The last funeral he had attended was that for his 
brother. He was not in any condition to even notice what was 
happening. His memories of it were just a blur. He had just quit 
drinking, he was feeling guilty, and he hadn't slept. He wondered 
how many important events, times of great stress, became nothing 
but blurred memories without detail. 

He drove around looking for a place to park and then saw a 
number of parking spaces blocked by orange traffic cones. A 
woman officer stood by the cones to move them out of the way 
when the people for whom the spaces were reserved showed up.  
John knew her and when she recognized John, she moved one of 
the cones out of the way.

It took half a minute to park the car. He got out of the car and 
opened the doors for everyone else. His father put a hand on his 
shoulder, "Son, I'll take the ladies and Mr. Jensen into the room. 
You do whatever you need to do."

John replied, "Thanks Dad. I'll make sure that Betsy's parents get a 
place to park."

"Good. We'll see you inside."

John watched them walk away. He stepped over to the police 
officer, "Hello, Officer McDonald."

"Hi, John. I'm sorry about Betsy."

"Thank you very much. Do you know if her parents have arrived 
yet?"

"We're keeping a parking space for them, but I don't know them."

"It was nice of the funeral parlor to arrange the parking spaces."

"Oh, we volunteered. All of us know you and most of us knew 
Betsy. Very sad day indeed."

John nodded, "I appreciate that. I'll wait here with you. From what 
I understood when I talked to them this morning they should be 
arriving soon."

He had hardly finished talking when he noticed their car. He 
waved to them and gestured for them to drive over to where he 
stood. He turned to the police officer, "That's them."

She removed the cones blocking the parking space and Betsy's 
parents parked the car. He opened the door for her mother. She 
stepped out of the car and stood there for a moment straightening 
her black dress. Her eyes were red from crying. She wore no 
makeup. She grabbed him and hugged him. She cried, "John. Oh 
John. She loved you so much. She wrote us that you had proposed 
and that she was going to accept."

John was pleased to hear that she was going to accept his proposal. 
He wondered if there was a letter in the mail to him. He held her 
mother and answered, "I love her so much. She's always in my 
thoughts."

John and Betsy's parents went to the building where the service 
was being held. There was a huge crowd standing in front of the 
building. John was shocked. Her parents turned to him in surprise. 
"Where did all of these people come from?"

"I don't know," answered John. He recognized everyone there. He 
added, "I know everyone, but I had no idea they were coming."

A man that he didn't know came up to them. He was the priest that 
was performing the service. In John's opinion, he was too young to 
be performing such an important ceremony, but he deferred to her 
parents decision. The priest greeted Betsy's parents and ushered 
them into a waiting room inside the building. Betsy's mother put 
her arm in John's arm so that he went with them. The priest was 
nice and did his best to make them feel comfortable.

It was quiet in the waiting room. John looked around at the dark 
wood furniture and the red carpet. The walls were white and 
covered with plain paintings of generic flowers. Each chair had a 
box of tissues discretely located within reach. It was a sad little 
room, the site of much grieving. Everyone was lost in his or her 
own thoughts. John mentally rehearsed the eulogy. 

The service began after John and the family had been led from the 
waiting room into the hall. They were lead to seats along the front 
of the hall. Before taking his seat, John looked across the hall. He 
saw that all of the seats were filled and some people were standing 
along the back of the room. John looked around at all of the faces. 
He looked at the eulogy in his hand and wondered how he would 
be able to read it in front of so many people. 

The service started with prayers and singing hymns. John was 
unable to judge the quality of the service from a religious 
perspective, but others seemed comforted by the words. Finally, it 
was time for him to give the eulogy. He slowly walked up to the 
podium trying to control his nervousness. Reaching the podium, he 
looked around the room. He took a deep breath and began, "A little 
less than four years ago, I was shot and killed. I was dead for four 
minutes before I was resuscitated by the doctor operating on me. I 
did not want to return to the living, but the Gods and Goddesses 
saw it otherwise. They sent me back to this world."

"I say this so that you will know that I speak from experience 
rather than faith or hope. Being dead is not awful and we should 
not feel sorry for the dead. In fact, for those that have lived a 
loving life, death is glorious. For those of you who believe in 
heaven, let me assure you that it is heavenly.  No words can do 
justice in describing it."

"Do not be sad for Betsy. Yes, she was young. It is true there is 
much of life that she didn't get to experience. She didn't get a 
chance to be a bride, a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and all of 
those other things that a women can experience." 

"However, I must remind you that she is in a much better place 
now. She has no regrets for those things that she didn't get to do. 
She is happy now. Again, I say this from personal experience."

John paused as he looked across the people gathered there. He was 
surprised by the expressions on their faces. The elderly looked 
relieved, the middle aged thoughtful, and the young entranced. He 
continued, "Despite what I know, I am saddened by the loss of 
Betsy. You might wonder why I feel that way considering what 
I've said. It is simple.  I am saddened by the things that we didn't 
get to do together. I know there will be times when something 
happens and I will think to myself that she would love to hear 
about it. The sun will rise and set, but we won't share the 
experience. I will have to live with my regrets for all the things I 
hadn't had a chance to say to her and that saddens me."

"What was there about Betsy that made each day together a 
beautiful day? She was a very pretty woman, but there are many 
pretty women. She was intelligent and witty, but there are many 
people with those same traits. The one thing that separated her 
from the billions of other people on this planet is that she truly 
cared about her fellow humans. As a nurse, she gave of herself to 
her patients. As a person, she took that extra moment of time to 
learn about the people around her. She listened to them, really 
listened. She helped those that were worse off than her. As a 
friend, lover, and daughter she gave of herself totally and without 
reservation."

He had to pause as emotion threatened to overwhelm him. He 
noticed a glass of water at the podium and took a sip from it. He 
continued, "Her giving nature took her into danger. She didn't 
concern herself with the danger. She thought about the people that 
she could help. She thought about people living in tents, eating 
poor quality food, and suffering from disease. Should we have 
stopped her from going? No, for that would have denied that 
quality in her that made her special. We must accept that she 
valued serving humanity far more than she valued her own life. 
This is a noble trait. She was a noble person." 

"For those of us who knew her, we have lost a priceless jewel. For 
those who hadn't met her yet, they have lost a great opportunity. 
Yes, we are all saddened today. We are saddened that such a huge 
gap has been introduced into our lives. The world of the living is a 
lesser place. It became that when she died."

He was at the point where his prepared talk had finished. He had 
not expected so many people to attend and felt that he had to 
address this. He added, "Looking over the crowd gathered here, I 
know she would have been overwhelmed that her life had touched 
so many people. She didn't keep score identifying those she 
helped. I feel her here in this room. I believe that she is pleased 
with the knowledge that so many care so much. There is no greater 
legacy that one can leave."

He returned to his seat and watched the rest of the service. He was 
drained emotionally. When the service was over, her parents and 
he were led outside the hall to greet all those that had attended. It 
was decided that since he knew most of the people here, that he 
would stand first in line so that he could perform introductions. 

The emergency services people were the first to leave. Harry, 
George, Officer Rickert, and others gave their condolences. He 
was amazed to see so many of them there. The Mayor commented 
that he hoped John never ran for political office because no one 
could compete with his ability to make a speech. Her coworkers 
from the hospital filed by, all of them teary-eyed. They all thanked 
him for such a wonderful eulogy. The people from the university 
all exited together. He had not expected any of them to attend.

His mother and father came out. He introduced them to Betsy's 
parents. Her father stated, "You've raised a good son. His eulogy 
was quite moving."

His father laughed, "You just don't know him as well as we. I 
never knew what she saw in him. She was too good for him and we 
told her so."

John shook his head. His father was his father and couldn't come 
out with direct praise. He had to hide it in humor. 

Behind his parents were Jenny and Jack. Jenny hugged him with 
tears in her eyes. She cried, "Oh John, I'm so sorry for you."

"Thank you for coming. You are coming to the house later, right?"

"Of course," replied Jack. 

Jenny turned to Betsy's parents. Unsure how to describe the 
relationship that she had with Betsy, she chose the broadest 
interpretation, "She was my best friend and taught me so much 
about love."

 More people passed by and the faces became blurred. He looked 
up and saw Beth hardly recognizing her. Beth, eyes swollen and 
red from crying, was devastated, "John, I loved her so much. How 
could this happen? I find happiness only to have it wrestled away."

John hugged her wishing he could help her with her grief more. 
"Beth, you know that she loved you too. Please come by the house 
so that we have a chance to talk."

"Of course."

He introduced her to Betsy's parents and turned to see Ed and 
Kelly standing in front of him. He greeted them, "Oh, thank you 
for coming."

Ed shrugged his shoulders, "Hey, I figured you probably needed 
us. I know that Beth needed us."

Kelly added, "She's cried ever since I told her about Betsy. I've 
been staying with her through this difficult time. I'm really worried 
about her."

John nodded, "That's very nice of you. I know you'll take good 
care of her, but she appears to be very fragile at the moment."

Ed nodded, "We will. Kelly's been staying the night in the hotel 
room with her. Beth doesn't want to be left alone."

He introduced Ed and Kelly to Betsy's parents. Turning back, he 
was shocked to see Shirley. Standing next to her was Maria. He 
stated, "My goodness. I really didn’t expect you to come."

Shirley wiped her eyes, "She was a very special woman. We only 
had a chance to talk twice, but you wouldn't believe how much she 
helped me. I had to come here for you and her both."

Maria looked away shyly, "I liked you both. I'm so sorry for your 
loss."

He hugged her and kissed her forehead. "Thank you so much for 
coming. I hope you both make it to our house."

John greeted more people that stood in line. Many of them were 
from the neighborhoods where he typically walked. One of the 
surprises was the presence of Virginia Hill in the line. He hugged 
her tightly and then held her at arms length. He smiled, "So nice of 
you to come. You are looking so good. How are things going?"

"They're going fine. We've moved into a new house and things are 
looking much brighter."

"That's good. How are the kids? How's your career?"

"The kids are doing real well. I've put them in private schools. The 
career is going great. My income has almost doubled since our 
talk."

"I'm so happy for you."

It seemed like hours had passed, but the line finally ended. Betsy's 
parents turned to John. The father, with a tremor in his voice, 
stated, "John, I've never seen so many people that had such nice 
things to say about you and Betsy. I've never been prouder of her 
than this day."

Her mother added, "Your eulogy was very nice. I know that you 
aren't a Christian and that the service was very Christian. I hope 
that it didn't upset you."

John looked surprised, "Upset me? Not at all. Please understand I 
respect the Christian beliefs. Betsy was a Christian and the service 
reflected her and her beliefs. I would have questioned any other 
kind of service."

Her father looked relieved, "We worried about how you would 
react."

"Sir, you needn't have worried. I loved your daughter very much."

The mother stood there for a moment looking at John. She cleared 
her throat and then stated, "Betsy never told us that you had died."

John laughed, "I'm not surprised. It's not a common topic of 
conversation."

"She worried so much about you getting hurt or killed. Ironic, isn't 
it?" Her father looked down at the ground in embarrassment. There 
was an unstated implication that he should have been the one that 
died. 

John understood that sentiment. "She was a better person that I. 
She loved you both. I shall miss her very much."

John looked around realizing that they were the only ones left. He 
sighed, "We should get going to the house."


