President Nelson spoke of his long friendship with the O’Connor family, of watching John grow up and his pride in seeing such a fine young man sworn in as a United States senator. As the president left the pulpit, he stopped to hug John’s tearful parents.

An usher tapped Nick on the shoulder. With a squeeze for Sam’s hand, he got up to follow the usher’s directions to the pulpit.

Unable to tear her eyes off Nick as he made his way to the microphone, Sam was swamped with love and sympathy and a jumble of other emotions. She sent him every ounce of strength she could muster.

“On behalf of the O’Connor family, I want to thank you for being here today and for your overwhelming outpouring of support during this last difficult week. Senator and Mrs. O’Connor also wish to express their love and gratitude to the people of the Commonwealth who came by the thousands to stand in the cold for hours to pay their respects to John. He took tremendous pride in the Old Dominion, and the five years he represented the citizens of Virginia in the Senate were the most rewarding, challenging and satisfying years of his life.”

Nick spoke eloquently of his humble beginnings in a one-bedroom apartment in Lowell, Massachusetts, of meeting a senator’s son at Harvard, of his first weekend in Washington with the O’Connors and how his exposure to the family changed his life.

Sam noticed the O’Connors wiping at tears. Behind them, Christina Billings, Nick’s deputy and the woman who’d suffered through unrequited love for John, rested her head on the communication director’s shoulder.

Nick’s voice finally broke, and he looked down for a moment to collect himself. “I was honored,” he continued in a softer tone, “to serve as John’s chief of staff and even more so to call him my best friend. It’ll be my honor, as well, to ensure that his legacy of inclusiveness and concern for others lives on long after today.”

Like the president before him, Nick stopped to embrace Graham and Laine on his way back to his seat.

Sam slipped her arm around him and brought his head to rest on her shoulder. At that moment, she couldn’t have cared less who might be watching or who might gossip about them later. Right now, all she cared about was Nick.

The mass ended with a soprano’s soaring rendition of “Amazing Grace,” and the family followed the pallbearers down the aisle and out of the church.

Dignitaries milled about, speaking in hushed tones as the church emptied. Watching them, Sam realized this was as much an official Washington political event as it was a funeral.