Usually, she would have placed her purse on the seat beside her, but today she threw it in the back seat in disgust. She left the parking lot, going a little faster than she should and headed for the highway.

As she drove, she thought about the weekend three months ago which she'd spent in Reno with Kathy Cowan and how many funny and flattering stories they'd shared about James. She had been touched by how deeply in love Kathy was with her husband, and how close Amy herself had felt to him.

Ever since the tragic accident three days ago, she'd been analyzing her own feelings. She didn't love Cowan, but she suspected that if he hadn't been married and she had allowed it, she easily could have fallen in love with the man.

She pulled in to the parking lot at the funeral home and was pleased and pleasantly surprised to see how many cars were there already. As busy as James had always been, she didn't picture him as having more than a few close friends. Apparently, she was wrong.

She walked to the entrance, and a tall, balding man wearing a gray suit opened the heavy wooden door for her.

She removed her hat and entered the chapel area, a rather large room filled with chairs. Two aisles led to the front where a dark wooden casket rested on a pedestal; it was almost completely covered with flower arrangements and a podium sat in front of it. Amy couldn't help but notice how from this distance, the casket looked like a sleep capsule and somehow, that seemed fitting.

Centered on the casket, facing the mourners, was an eleven by fourteen-inch framed photo of James, which Amy recognized from the den wall in the Cowan's home. The podium was centered at the front of the room and partially obstructed the view of the casket.

Standing near the front of the room was Kathy Cowan; she was talking with a thin, tall young man. From the man's features, Amy was confident this must be DJ Cowan.

Ever since Amy had grown close to the Cowans', DJ had been away at college in the winter, and busy working or participating in internships during the summer. Amy had always wanted to meet him and was saddened that the long-awaited meeting would occur at his father's funeral.

Amy considered going up and talking to her friend but noticed that everyone was taking his or her seats so, she decided to wait and see her at the end of the service.

Amy found a seat in the back and was getting ready to sit when she saw RJ unobtrusively waving to her from a few rows nearer the front. She moved up and took the seat Matt Fitch and RJ had been holding for her, touched by their consideration.

“How you doing?” asked Fitch in a low voice.

“Not good,” Amy whispered.