When finally, we left the house…I cradled Poo-Foo in my arms, knowing that my mother wouldn't dare complain about me keeping him under the circumstances.
As Chris drove the car back to my house, I stared out the window. Watching all of the places that Lance and I had spent time in pass by the window twisted and distorted by the rain. Justin launched another sugar-packet…which thumped Joey in the side of the head. Chris told a lame joke, and laughed so hard that he spit milkshake out his nose, and JC sat resting his head in his arms, taking a little nap. I cuddled up closer to Lance in the booth, and he popped a French fry into my mouth. The waitress came to the table and made a disgusted face at the mess the boys had made. I laughed, and hid my face in Lance's shoulder. Joey took the opportunity to make a pass at the waitress, to which Ju-Ju replied with another sugar-packet upside Joey's head. The waitress walked away, shaking her head sadly.
"What?" Joey demanded innocently, "She's cute!"
No one pointed out to Joey that anything female was automatically labeled "cute"… Chris prodded JC with a breadstick, "Wake up, jerky!" He yelled into his ear. "Huh? Wha?" JC said, sitting up suddenly. Lance laughed, "All I know is, y'all better leave this girl one hell of a tip." Joey grinned cockily, "I'll leave her my number, too!" "Oh yeah, Joe…" Justin chuckled, "That oughta make her night!" I pulled a pen out of my purse, and wrote something on the napkin, passing it to Lance... "You still my baby?" It said, with a little heart drawn next to the words. He took the pen from me and wrote something underneath it...passing it back to me when he was done.
"Now and Forever!!!!" It said simply. I smiled and wrote beneath it, "You're not lying to me, are you?" He read it and laughed, then wrote: "How could I lie to someone as beautiful as you are?" I wrote back, "I love my Cowboy!" He wrote back, "I love my Princess!" I giggled and wrote: "Why are we passing notes like 7th graders?" He chuckled, and wrote back... "I don't know! Because you're cute?" I wrote back to him: "You're cuter!" He wrote: "No...YOU!" I scrawled: "I love you!" He read it, smiled, and reached over to give me a long, sweet kiss. Justin reacted by tossing french fries at us. I clutched the note in my hand. And held on for dear life to Josh's hand with my other. The coffin sat forlornly at the front of the room. Propped open, and draped with flowers. "Do you want to go up there?" Josh whispered into my ear. "I'll go with you." I gripped his hand tighter, and nodded nervously...I wanted to SEE. But by no means did I want to FEEL what I knew was about to hit me. Justin came up beside me, and put his arm around my waist. "We're all here for you Lizzy." He said reassuringly, "We all love you..." The three of us approached the coffin, none of us saying a word. I could barely hear the sounds of our breathing. He lay there...those beautiful green eyes closed forever...those strong, loving hands folded peacefully across his still chest. Tears spilled down my cheeks as I looked down on him. Justin slipped his arm around my waist, and I layed my head against his slender shoulder and cried. Joey and Chris came into the funeral home. They joined us beside the casket, and the five of us became a tangled mass of arms. We held onto one another...each of us crying...each of us asking the same question...Why? The funeral began, and I sat nestled safely between the guys...Joey and Josh on my right side, and Justin and Chris on my left. I held Justin's and Josh's hands throughout the ceremony...Feeling grateful for the strength and love that they were showing me. At the cemetary, the guys allowed me to have some time alone beside the coffin, they stayed to the side, talking with Mama Bass. I walked sadly to the side of the beautiful cherrywood casket, and ran my hand along the top of it, tears spilling off my chin to the grass below. Suddenly, my mind took me back to the night that Lance had me kidnapped by Chris...the night that he and I spent together under the stars... "The heart can stand...a thousand trials..." I began to sing to the coffin in a tear-filled voice. "The strong will never fall..." The guys heard me singing and came up behind me, Josh took me into his arms, and they helped me finish the rest of the song... "But watching stars without you...My soul cries...Cause I'm missing you - Ohh...I'm missing you." "Where are you now?" Justin sang, his sweet voice filling the evening air... "Where are you now?" JC echoed. "Cause I-I'm missing you..." I finished. I reached to the casket and slightly lifted the lid...slipping into it the note we had written back and forth at the diner, and a picture of us together with our friends... "I love you, cowboy...Now and forever..." I whispered, laying a soft kiss on the cold wood of the coffin. Chris and Joey each offered Mama Bass an arm, and together...the six of us walked away from the cemetary...we were each a little less than we had been when Lance was with us, true. But all was not lost...we still had each other. As Josh drove me back home, I looked to the sky...Now beginning to fill with stars. And just slightly underneath the full-moon...A shooting star began it's descent. I smiled...Knowing well that I had my very own personal angel...
THE END