Chapter 33

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.:Author's Note:.

Please excuse any mistakes.

Jonathan at the top. ❤️

***

Jonathan's POV:

"And then Mom threatened to beat every kids' ass in that school if Franny ever came home crying again," Conrad chuckled as he recalled a memory of Constance. "This was all before she found Jesus, of course."

The room filled with fond laughter once Conrad's story came to an end.

It was considerably late in the Monroe household – pushing almost two in the morning – but no one seemed even remotely tired as those closest to Constance decided to relay their favorite memory of her. Already we had gone through over fifteen accounts which resulted in as many tears as they did laughs.

My boyfriend was holding up better than I had imagined throughout the whole ordeal. Every once in a while, I would catch Franny or Conrad sending concerned glances his way, but Winston only waved them off, silently letting them know that he was okay. Still, I didn't remove the comforting arm I had wrapped around his shoulder, knowing that even if he claimed nonchalance, he could still use the solace.

"Even after she found Jesus, she was still not the one to be played with," Winston chuckled as he joined in. "Did you forget the time she almost murdered Dad for peeing in her vegetable garden?"

"I've never been so scared of my wife until then," Andrew jokingly shuddered. "I walked into the kitchen the following morning since I had ruined her garden the night prior after a round of drinking, and you could feel the murderous intent from a mile away. The kids were just sitting at the island uncomfortably glancing between the two of us, and I go, 'Well good morning, family.' While Conrad, Franny, and Pooh just say good morning back, Constance puts on the creepiest smile behind her mug of coffee and says, 'It is a good morning, isn't it? It will be your last if you ever pee on my tomatoes again,' before walking out. Believe me, the message was received."

"Not to mention she silently muttered how she was going to cut your peterwhacker off, "Franny added, resulting in a few unexpected snorts.

"She did?! I must have missed that," Andrew laughed again, as did the rest of us. "She was such a character."

"Yeah," Conrad sighed. "She will be missed."

The room fell into a comfortable, almost serene silence as everyone took a moment to process their emotions. Beside me, Winston visibly tensed before he cleared his throat and excused himself to check on the children sleeping in the kids' room for the weekend. We all watched him go, knowing that he needed the bit of time to himself.

"So, Jonathan," Misty, Conrad's wife, called out to me in order to break the silence. I glanced at the hallway where Winston had disappeared to from where I sat before giving her my full attention. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but I've never seen Winston as happy as he was today when he was with you and your daughters. What's your secret?"

I chuckled as a slight bashful blush invaded my face. I really did believe people gave me more credit than I deserved for the simplest of things.

"Really, Misty, I wouldn't be able to tell you," I answered before giving it some serious thought. "I think my girls and I just allow Winston to be himself, which he apparently didn't have the luxury of doing in his past relationship."

"Ugh, I can attest to that," Franny said with a slight scowl. "That no good asshole, Diego, was the worst boyfriends in the history of boyfriends."

"Well I seem to recall a not so great girlfriend from your past, Franny," Winston said with a small smirk as he returned to the living room and cuddled into my side.

"Is he talking about Sophia?" Franny's husband questioned, making his wife scoff.

"Yeah, but we're talking about boyfriends here, not girlfriends," Franny retorted, causing a playful banter to commence between her and Winston. The rest of us could only watch and laugh as they argued back and forth over a topic of no importance.

Andrew tapped my shoulder a moment later, pulling me away from his children's antics.

"Their discussion aside, I'm glad you and Winston found each other. Misty was right, I've never seen my son so happy. Constance sang your praises before she passed," he said quietly to me with a sad smile.

"I'm glad we found each other too. I guess someone was looking out for me, just like I know Constance is watching over all of you."

***

"We're ready, Daddy!" April said as she and her sister skidded into Winston's bedroom. They were both adorned in doll-like black dresses that had a single colorful bow to tie it together. While Alyssa requested for Macy to put her hair into a neat bun, April decided to go with a simple ponytail; but both girls accessorized with a headband that matched their bows. In my humble opinion, my daughters were too cute for words.

"You two look beautiful," I said with a bright smile as I squished their cheeks. They giggled adorably and shooed my hand away.

"Daddy, don't mess up our makeup!" Alyssa whined halfheartedly.

"Makeup?"

"Yes, Aunty Macy gave us lip gloss," April nodded as she pointed to her lips. They were indeed a tad glossy, but clear and subtle. "See?"

"I see," I replied with a chuckle. "It suits you."

"Thanks, Daddy," my girls grinned.

"Winston should be done getting dressed soon," I told them as I returned to fixing my hair in the mirror. "We'll head to the church in about fifteen minutes. That means shoes on and ready to go once we step into the living room."

"Aye aye, Daddy!" April saluted with a giggle before she was dragging her sister out of the room by her hand. "We're going to feed Snowflake."

"Fifteen minutes!" Winston walked into his room a moment later with raised eyebrows, silently questioning the interaction between my girls and me. "Just telling them we're leaving soon."

My boyfriend gave me a half smile before sighing tiredly and sitting on the edge of his bed. I stopped playing in my hair to take a good look at him. Instead of the traditional black suit, Winston decided to dress in a black turtleneck and black slim-fit slacks. Although it definitely wasn't the time for such thoughts, he looked absolutely yummy.

"I don't think I've thanked you enough for coming out here for me – for us."

"You've thanked me more than enough, sweetness, even when you never had to."

"I don't know, I guess I just feel like it needs to be said."

"If that's how you feel, then you're welcome, sweetness," I said with a grin before sitting beside him and kissing his temple. "Are you ready to give Constance's eulogy today?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be," Winston responded with a tight smile. "I've taken the whole week to process Mom's death, and now it's time to say goodbye – well, more like 'see you later,' but you get the gist."

"I bet what you've written will be amazing, and I can't wait to hear it."

"Hopefully I've done her justice."

"She'll be the judge of that," I joked lamely, but it seemed to work since my boyfriend released a small genuine laugh afterward. "Seriously though, you're going to do great."

***

Cars lined the street leading up to the church as the multitude of people attending Constance's funeral searched for parking spaces. Winston's family had reserved parking, so I was able to simply drive into a spot near the ceremonial building. Macy was the first to get out of the vehicle once it was turned off, followed by Winston and then my girls.

I locked the doors behind myself before accepting Alyssa's outstretched hand. April decided to latch onto Winston.

"Daddy, I'm hungry."

"Seriously, Princess? We just left the house."

"Not to worry," my sister called out over her shoulder, "Aunties always prepare for moments like this. I have some apple slices in my purse."

Alyssa squealed as she let go of my hand and hurried to Macy's side. April did the same to Winston, leaving my boyfriend and me to walk side-by-side. I laced my fingers with his and childishly began to swing our arms back and forth, making him laugh softly. Unfortunately, it was cut short a moment later.

"Maybe I'm just hallucinating in my depressive state, but is that Ellis?" Winston paused to question, causing me to still beside him. I looked to where he was pointing and frowned when I saw that it was, in fact, Ellis a short distance away.

He looked utterly out of place, standing just to the side of the church doors. When he saw Winston, an excited smile graced his lips, but it was wiped cleanly off of his face when he noticed me by his side.

"You are not seeing things." I finally responded, pulling Winston along with me since Macy and my girls had gotten way ahead of us. "What the hell is he doing here?"

"That's what I'm going to find out." Winston's pace picked up as he stormed towards Ellis. Since his hand was in mine, I was practically being dragged along. Once we were a safe distance away so that he could hear us without gaining the attention of others, my boyfriend tore into his sponsee. "Ellis, what in God's name are you doing here?"

"What are you talking about, Winston? You invited me!" Ellis replied, glancing between me and my boyfriend uneasily. "I thought you two broke up."

"What do you mean I invited you? I haven't heard from you in months," Winston stated. He paused when a few pass-byers looked in our direction in concern. Putting on a polite smile, he waved to them before pulling both Ellis and me aside. "And as you can see, Jonathan and I are very much still together."

"Haven't heard from me?" Ellis questioned uncertainly. "We talk almost every single day!"

Winston and I watched in confusion as Ellis pulled out his cell phone before turning it around to show a vast array of text messages between him and who he assumed to be Winston. Almost immediately I knew he had been texting the wrong number because the chat bubbles were green instead of blue – meaning the person on the other side did not have an iPhone like Ellis and Winston did.

"You told me about your mother's passing and asked me to come out here for moral support."

"Oh, Ellis," Winston sighed as I silently asked Ellis for his cell. He gave it over without a word, shoulders sagging in defeat. I filtered through the messages, noting that it wasn't even how my boyfriend spoke in regular texts. From what I did see, Ellis had believed he was making a connection and getting to know Winston through messages that were not at all from him. "I'm sorry, but that is not me."

"I can see that now," Ellis mumbled. I handed his cell to Winston so that he could see that Ellis wasn't lying about what he had said. "If that's the case, who have I been texting and talking on the phone with for nearly three months?"

"A sick son of a bitch, that's who," I finally voiced as Winston gave Ellis back his phone. He pocketed it before rubbing at his eyes, not wanting either of us to see him crying, but it was already too late.

"I'm sorry that this happened to you, Ellis," my boyfriend said softly. He let go of my hand to give Ellis' shoulder a comforting grasp. "It means a lot to me that you came out here anyway, despite it being under false pretenses. I wish I could help with who has been catfishing you, but it's my mother's funeral today, and I just can't focus on both things."

"Yeah, sure. I get it," Ellis said around an obvious tight throat. "I'd like to formally say that I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to stick around. But I'd understand if you want me to go."

"Of course, you can stay. I'm sure half the people here didn't know Mom personally, but she was always open to meeting new people."

"She sounds like a kind woman," Ellis faked a smile. I didn't hold it against him.

"She absolutely was," Winston nodded. "Come on in. You can sit with us."

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