Page 67 of Some Things Never Change

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

At the cemetery, there were a few weak and choked voices as we said a few sentences about how long it had been and how much we missed my dad. As our parents turned to walk away after their goodbyes, Anthony and Jonathan followed.

This left Andy and I the only two people there for a moment. I was taking my time to look at the photo my mom selected for my dad’s headstone. It was one that didn’t depict his true personality. He looked stern and serious as he stared straight at the camera. But I could tell from the curls at the corners of his lips, he was just about to smile or let out one of his gentle laughs.

Andy suddenly squatted down low, even though everyone else already left. He turned to smile at me for a moment before looking back at the headstone, coming eye to eye with it.

“Uncle Cha, this is Andy. Do you remember when Julie and I used to be kids and were completely inseparable? You used to joke around, telling my parents that we should move next door so Julie and I would always be together,” he said in a gentle voice.

“I want to thank you for that. Because of you, we could always be together and now I want to spend the rest of my life next to her. I love your daughter, Uncle Cha. I love your Julie. I wouldn’t want to spend the eternity of this life together with anyone other than her. And don’t worry. I promise to take good care of her because that’s the least we both know she deserves.”

Feeling overcome with emotions, I knelt down by his side, completely speechless. I could barely utter a single syllable as I stared at him in shock. His words completely blindsided me.

“A-Andy,” was all I could manage.

He turned to me with a wide, bashful grin. “I meant every word. I have always loved you, Julie, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.”

I stood up, and Andy followed after me. Wordlessly, I dived into his chest and hugged him tightly. As my heart drummed hard against my ribcage, I could hear Andy’s was the same as I buried my face in his chest. Tears burned the corners of my eyes as I let out a shaky whimper.

Thump, thump.

His heart pounded against my ear as I felt him wrap his arms tightly around me. “I know,” I said into his chest, smiling back.

We stayed there for another moment. I took my time to enjoy his usual light and clean scent and the warmth he embraced me in. Taking in a deep breath, I tried to calm down my still hammering heart when Andy’s had already slowed down to a normal pace.

The weight of my dad’s loss and Andy’s declaration of love all collided at once, and my heart was too weak to take it all in. I was feeling everything at once. As a cool breeze blew past us and the sky lightened up with a bird chirping in the distance, I knew my dad knew Andy Hughes didn’t make empty promises. The calming and chirping bird lulled my heart down to a calm and peaceful rhythm.

I pulled away from our hug and looked up at Andy. His hazel green gaze was gentle and tender. With his hands on both my shoulders, he gave them a quick squeeze. “We should head back. Our family’s waiting.”

I glanced over to where our families stood waiting a few yards away. It surprised me none of them had gotten in the car yet. Our parents were chatting and our two brothers were eyeing us. Jonathan’s eyes were narrowed and suspicious, meanwhile Anthony’s were curious and observant as they stood there in their own conversation, separate from our parents.

“Okay,” I said, as Andy led the way back to our families. He was an arm’s length away, and I desperately wanted to hold his hand.

“Done?” asked my mom, glancing at me. All three parents gave me slightly worried looks as they caught the sight of my red, puffy eyes.

“Yeah,” I said with a sniff. “Let’s go.”

I climbed into the car, and I found myself in the backseat with Andy as Jonathan drove and Anthony was in the passenger seat. Meanwhile, my mom was with Auntie Gao and Uncle Gary. This was intentional, though. My mom told Jonathan and I earlier that she wanted to talk to them in private.

“I still can’t believe it’s been twenty years since your dad’s been gone,” commented Anthony as Jonathan drove out of the cemetery. His tone was unusually serious and sad. “It barely felt like yesterday when our dad came to school to suddenly pull us out of class. Remember, Andy?”

“Yeah, I remembered thinking it was a little strange because Dad came around nine that morning to get us. He and Mom had never pulled us out of school that early before,” he replied. “Then we both watched him sob in the car in the school parking lot after we all got in. It was the first time we ever saw him cry.”

“I can still remember the sound of his voice when he told us your dad passed away,” said Anthony. “It was broken, and… and?—”

“And, completely devastated,” chimed in Andy, helping Anthony out.

“Yeah, that,” he said.

“I don’t think Jonathan and I even knew what was going on until after we got home,” I said.

It had been Auntie Gao, who immediately called out of work and picked the two of us up from school. She was the one who took us home. It hadn’t been our mom.

“Your mom came to get us, and she just cried the entire time she drove us home,” I mumbled. “We had just moved into our home. So, the drive from school to home was quick, but your mom’s cries were just… I knew something was wrong.”

“To be honest, she kinda scared me back then. We all cry, but there’s something about the way people cry when they grieve that sounds eerie,” said Jonathan. “I don’t really like thinking back to that time. Hearing all the adults crying terrorized me, and I used to have nightmares of them crying, over and over.”

---