The Promise ( Part 4 )

They were on their way to Stella’s funeral. It was at St. Margaret’s Church in Bexhill on Sea.

It was a slow drive down the A21, the traffic was a nightmare at that time of day, but they had given themselves plenty of time and arrived at the Church with half an hour to spare.

They were standing solemnly outside the Church waiting for people to arrive. The funeral was scheduled for 2pm, it was now 1.45pm.

A young man walked towards them, black suit, white shirt, black tie, he smiled as he approached them. Tom was the first to speak.

“You here for Stella’s funeral?”

“Yes, I am, I used to work with her at the agency”

“Oh, Ok, I’m just an old friend of hers”

“Don’t think they’ll be many here, Stella kept pretty much to herself, you know how she was, a bit quiet”

Paul interrupted.

“We only heard the sad news a couple of days ago, car accident wasn’t it?”

“Yeh, three car pile up, her car was in the middle, got hit back and front, no chance!”

A hearse pulled into the churchyard and stopped at the front of the church. Two men got out and walked to the back of the car, they were joined by two other men who had arrived in another black limousine. The four of them removed the coffin and walked silently into the church.

Paul looked at Tom.

“Bloody hell, is this all there is, those four blokes are from the funeral parlour, looks like it’s just us two and the young guy”

Tom didn’t answer; he was wiping a tear away from his eye.

“I’m sorry mate; I know how much she meant to you”

The three of them followed the coffin into the church.

Inside the church were three other people, an elderly couple and women in her mid-fifties. They were all dressed in black.

Paul and Tom took a seat at the back of the church, Paul looked across at the elderly couple and smiled, they nodded back.

“Wonder who they are Tom, any ideas?”

“No, work colleagues perhaps, neighbours?”

The service lasted about ten minutes, they sang a hymn at the start and then again at the end, the vicar said a few words, but not much, something about a tragic end to such a young life.

The coffin was carried out of the church and into the graveyard. The six of them stood round the grave and the vicar said a few more words as the coffin was lowered into the grave.

Tom walked forward and threw a handful of dirt into the grave. Paul was going to, then stopped himself, it would only be hypocritical, he still hated Stella for what she did to Tom.

They walked away from the grave and Tom went over to the elderly couple.

“Did you know Stella well?”

The old lady stopped and spoke to Tom.

“We fostered her when she was a teenager for a couple of years, she was a bit of a tearaway back then, not her fault of course, poor thing, it was just the way she’d been brought up in that dreadful children’s home. All sorts of stories have come out about it over the last few years, a few have gone to prison you know!”

The old man interrupted.

“They ought to bloody hang em, that’s what I say!”

Tom nodded in agreement.

“I was Stella’s boyfriend for a while a few years back, she told me about you, she was very fond of you both, she regretted the way she behaved back then, she would be pleased that you came, I’m sure”

The old lady fought back her tears.

“That’s very nice of you to say so, thank you”

Tom returned to Paul who was chatting with the young lad.

“Tom, this is Brian, he worked in the letting agency with Stella for the last couple of years”

“Hi Brian, did you get to know Stella well?”

“You’re joking, no one could get close to Stella, she kept herself to herself, very quiet, no one at work really liked her, they always thought she was a bit rude, but I used to say she was just shy”

Tom smiled.

“I know exactly what you mean, yep she was a shy one that’s for sure, did she have a house or flat local”

“About eight mile up the road In Little Common, she and Jennifer rented the flat above the agency”

“Was Jennifer her flat mate?”

The young lad looked puzzled.

“No, Jennifer is Stella’s daughter; don’t know why she’s not here today, probably bit too young for it, god knows what will happen to her now, probably have to go into care!”

Tom and Paul were both stunned. Tom was the first to speak.

“Stella had a daughter? How old is she?”

“She’s seven!”