The gig was a huge success. Several people attended it, and we were cheered on, and everyone was happy. A month later, we composed a song for a car commercial. I even modeled in front of a brand-new car. While we were shooting a commercial, Dolores called me on my mobile number. I believed it was urgent, so I excused myself for a little while. The director and the cameraman let me answer my phone.
“Hello?" I asked.
“Imogen, please come here as soon as you can,” Dolores answered. “I am at my cousin’s wake.” Her voice was sad.
“No problem,” I replied. “I’ll come there two hours after our shoot.”
After the shoot, I drove to Santa Barbara to attend Dolores’ cousin’s wake.
Many people attended the wake. Some mourned for the passing of Dolores’ cousin Bettina. Some came her for emotional support of those who were close to the dead. Dolores was close to Bettina. I hugged Dolores and told her, “I am sorry for your loss.” She nodded quietly. She was wearing a gloomy face and just finished crying. My friends Faye and Empress embraced her too, and they offered their sympathies and condolences.
“What is the cause of Bettina’s death?" I asked Dolores.
“Leukemia,” she whimpered sadly. Her lips quivered, and her voice shook in deep sadness.
“We can’t imagine the sadness you feel, but we are here for you,” I told her.
“It hurts right now, and even tomorrow, or even the day after, but someday it will be okay,” Faye told her.
“Just let it all out,” Empress advised her.
Dolores really let it all out. She shed a river of tears and blew her nose with wads of tissue paper.
We comforted her with a gentle touch on the shoulder, a soft pat on the back, and a sweet and tight embrace.
I remembered Bettina briefly. We used to play board games and badminton with her as kids. She would always visit Dolores on family occasions, such as Dolores’ birthday or either of Dolores’ parents’ birthdays. We saw how close Dolores and Bettina were. Even in adulthood, they stayed in touch. Bettina always paid a visit to Dolores’ art exhibits and even bought some of her paintings. Very often, Dolores ate dinners with Bettina after work. Bettina was a police officer.
Dolores’ boyfriend arrived, and she introduced him to us. “I know, one hell of a timing,” she shook her head disappointedly and smiled weakly and sadly. His name was Dexter. He was a decent-looking man dressed in black to show sympathy for the dead. He appeared to be rich since he was wearing the latest limited edition of a luxury golden watch.
“I’m sorry I am late, sweetie,” he apologized to his girlfriend. She simply nodded.
“Please show my friends to the refreshments table,” she commanded Dexter as if to somehow punish him for his lateness.
“The traffic was terrible,” he explained in a calm manner.
“I don’t care! "She lashed out. When the other mourners heard her loud, angry voice, she immediately waved her hand, shook her head, and muttered, “I am sorry.”
“God, I can’t believe he’s late, of all people!" Dolores exclaimed. “I met him through Bettina.” She smoked a cigarette. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she was frowning. She was clearly stressed. “Bettina was the one who solved his case. Dexter’s brother was murdered. Shot in cold blood in his law office. They thought it was just a random guy who wanted his money. The CCTV footage didn’t help since the guy wore a knitted black mask. But then, when Dexter visited his brother’s best friend in his house and chanced upon his diary in his bed where he accidentally left it, that’s when he found out that the one who actually murdered his brother was the best friend! He immediately contacted us. The guy was arrested. His motive, which he indicated in his journal, was that he was in love with Dexter’s brother’s girlfriend and wanted the girlfriend all to himself. He was convicted guilty by the court, so instead of having a girlfriend, he was in a prison full of lustful guys who wanted him to be their lover."
Dexter saw my pictures with Bettina on her desk. He thought I was cute, so he asked for my name and number, which Bettina gave to him. She even joked, “Please don’t hurt my best friend, or else I will cripple you. You know what I am capable of.” He even laughed and replied. “I’ll take care of your best friend, Dolores.”
“Forgive him,” I said, “it’s not his fault. Like he said, the traffic caused his lateness.”
She shook his head and continued smoking her cigarette. “He could have avoided it by going early. You know there’s a rush hour on a weeknight.”
We were led by Dexter to the refreshments table. We took mugs of hot coffee.
“I can’t believe she would lash out like that! "Faye whispered. She sipped an espresso.
“Me neither; she was always calm,” Empress remarked quietly. She had a café mocha.
“Maybe she lashed out because she was heavily grieving,” I uttered. “She lost her cousin, who was very close to her.” I drank my black coffee.
“Please always be there for Dolores,” I pleaded with Dexter.
Dexter took his cappuccino on his lips and nodded sympathetically. “Of course.”
Dolores offered her eulogy. It said something like this:
“Evidently, we are gathered here on this night to mourn and to remember the life of my beautiful, smart, and kind cousin, Bettina. Bettina was more than a family to me; she was my closest friend. I remembered the first time I met her was when we were kids, about the tender age of four and five. I was older than Bettina. I was alone in the steps of the staircase of our grandmother’s grand house when she came up to me and talked to me. I was a pretty shy kid back then. No one wanted to play or talk to me. But here was Bettina who asked me, ‘Do you know where the chocolate fountain is?’”
That question was met with laughter.
“I said, ‘It’s by the table in the middle, near the garden.’” Then, when she got her sticks of marshmallows drenched in the sweet fountain on her plate, she asked for my name, my age, and the names of my parents. Since, you know, as I established, it was the first time we met. It was our grandma’s birthday. She adored her grandchildren, so she made it a point to make us happy. So aside from the chocolate fountain, which was a hit with children on that day, we also had clowns and balloons. Bettina and I later played with dolls. Then we talked for hours about our favorite cartoons, movies, and songs. My childhood friends, Imogen and Faye, even knew Bettina since I introduced her to them. We played board games and sports with Bettina and my neighborhood friends whenever Bettina would visit our family’s home, and we also did the same at her family’s home.”
“When we reached our teenage years, we talked about art, fashion, school, and boys, in no particular order! We were there on our first days of womanhood to our first heartbreaks.”
“Fast forward to our adulthood, we visited each other on our breaktimes after work and had lovely and most cherished lunches and dinners, as much as we could. She supported my art, and I supported her cases as she apprehended the criminals and put them in their rightful places. Now, I know that this may sound biased and all, but I bet you Bettina was one of the very few good cops in this city. By the way, I met my boyfriend Dexter through Bettina. Dexter was one of his clients. He saw me in one of Bettina’s pics with me and asked for my name and number. Then we met up in a coffee shop, talked for hours, and enjoyed each other’s company. We dated. He courted me, and I said yes to him. He became my boyfriend. We continue loving each other all through these years.
“Bettina and I loved, cared, and supported each other. She was a loving, caring, and supportive friend. And I know that she showered you all with love when she was still alive. I am going to miss her. We are going to miss her. I love you, my dear sweet cousin.”