There was no doubt that everyone attending the service, as well as the community at large, was vexed by the same unanswerable questions. An unspoken fear lurked just below the surface: if such horrible things could happen to an apparently happy, suburban family, then could they happen to our family? Wives looked at their husbands a little askance, and, within the privacy of their own four walls, parents reassured their children that they were safe.

Mitch and Carolyn were running late when they got their car out of the garage to go to the service; they then got stuck in traffic and made a wrong turn. So the church was already brimming with people when they arrived. Most of the seats were taken, and the side aisles were in the process of filling up. As soon as they entered, however, they saw Maryann waving to them to join her in the first pew with the family members. Christopher was sitting between Maryann and Danny’s brother, Tony; Tony’s wife, Emily; and his parents.

“I was starting to get worried about you guys,” she said as she sat back down.

Mitch answered, perhaps a little defensively, “We’re really sorry, but it seemed as if everyone was out on the street driving five miles an hour, and then we got lost. Crazy for a weekday morn—”

“It doesn’t matter. You made it, and that’s all that counts.”

Mitch and Carolyn nodded a silent hello to the Turner family and Mitch reached over to shake hands with his old friend Tony. They weren’t so far removed from the days when a game of hoops and a few beers were all they needed for a great night. They gripped each other’s hands for an extra-long time. Their mutual expressions seemed to say, “How did everything go so wrong so fast?” Steve and Debby Turner wore the expression of parents who were thoroughly shattered. They appeared perplexed and worn out, with Debby experiencing a depth of grief that could only be reserved for a mother and grandmother. She would not allow herself to escape the conviction that she was somehow responsible for this tragedy.

Christopher edged past Maryann so he could hug Mitch and Carolyn. Danny and Rachel had always insisted the Bianci boys call them by their first names, and so the Turner boys in turn called Mitch and Carolyn by their first names. Christopher tried to offer some encouragement.

“Carolyn, don’t look so sad. One day we’ll see Mom and Dad in heaven and it will be just like it used to be.”