As they walked away, Val kept her sights on Bethany and followed her to their next stop, in front of the single casket which was closed. Bethany’s hand rested on top, her eyes also closed, lips moving but no words coming out. Val could read the lips speaking in prayer. Hail Mary full of grace…

Val looked around, whispering the obvious to Gwen, “There’s only one?” she said of the casket.

“They’re both in there.” Bethany opened her eyes, suddenly awake from prayer, and turned towards Val, startling her. “Gabi would never want to be separated from her son. They had to close the casket because of Adam. Poor boy.” This woman, yet again, eavesdropped on Val’s conversation and answered Val’s question. Val was not going to miss another opportunity to talk to Bethany but before she could say anything more, several people moved closer to the casket and it became apparent that the three of them were backing up the line. Bethany walked away and went towards a large poster board covered with pictures of Gabrielle and Adam. Val and Gwen quickly trailed after her.

“Bethany?” Val asked.

Bethany looked at Val, perhaps confused as to how Val knew her name. “Yes?”

Val gave a somber smile. “I overheard Mrs. Morgan call you Bethany. I just wanted to say thank you for all of your help this morning, letting me know the time of the service and that both Gabrielle and Adam were in the same coffin.”

“You’re welcome,” Bethany said. Her attention went back to the photos. Silence now, and Val thought quickly of her next question.

“I don’t mean to intrude in your time of grief but can I ask how you knew Gabrielle?” Val asked.

“We were best friends growing up.” Bethany pointed to one of the photographs on the poster board. “Here we are. God, we must have been ten years old in this one.” Bethany shook her head with a smile? Val had a hard time reading the expression. No, it was really a smirk on Bethany’s face as she relived the memory.

Both girls in the photo looked… well, they looked uncomfortable. Val wondered why Bethany reacted the way she did to this memory. There were several other pictures tacked up on the board that Bethany could have chosen to point to. In those, the girls looked a lot happier. “What a lovely picture,” Val lied. “What was the occasion?”

“It’s the day we met Melinda. She was our age and had just moved next door to Gabi. The three of us eventually became inseparable.”

“Did you also live close to Gabi?” Val chose to use the nickname Bethany did.