Chapter 2

     The next few days were very hard for Estelle as she learned to accept her husband's death and cope with her newfound loneliness. All she wanted to do was hold her husband and realize everything was just a horrible nightmare. Unfortunately, the tragedy was as real as the baby she was carrying inside of her. The hardest day of all had arrived and she did not know if she could keep herself together long enough to sit through the funeral service.

     Friends and well wishers flooded the house, and though she could not receive them, Estelle watched them from the window in her bedroom. Every weeping person clothed in black, every comforting look directed at her window, made it more impossible for her to push the pain away. 

"Good morning dear." Bernadette walked into the room, Rose in tow with a tray of food.

"Good morning mum."

"How are you feeling this morning?"

"I could be better" Estelle replied trying to hold back a tear.

"O my child, I know this must not be easy for you, but you have to move forward, for your baby's sake." Bernadette spoke, placing her hand on Estelle's baby bump.

"I'm trying, I just need some time to process everything. He's gone and I have to accept that." Tears flowed from Estelle's eyes and she hugged her mother tightly.

"Let me help you get ready" Bernadette said, wiping the streaks of tears from Estelle's face.

"Rose, get the new dress from the closet, lay it out on the bed with the shoes and jewelry. When you're done, tell Johnny to make the arrangements for our transportation to the church." Bernadette said to Rose.

     Estelle looked lifeless while her mother helped her put on her clothes and shoes. This was not where she imagined she would wear them to.

"You look wonderful my darling" She remembered Richard say when she tried on the dress a few moths earlier.

"I don't understand why you want to buy a dress that's twice my size. The whole point of a little black dress is that it's little." Estelle protested to her husband.

"I want to be able to take you out when you're pregnant, you'll have no excuse because you have this beautiful dress that'll fit perfectly by then." He replied and kissed her.

"Are you listening to me?" Bernadette said, bringing Estelle out of her reminiscing.

"You will sit next to me throughout the service and if you feel sick, I'll get Eddie to bring us back home" Estelle nodded her head in agreement and followed her mother out of the house, avoiding eye contact with anyone she saw.

     The drive to the church was silent, Estelle's thoughts revolved around memories of her husband and how she was not ready to say goodbye to him. Upon arriving at the church, she was carted away by her mother, her aunt Josie, and Rose, who were tasked with ensuring her emotional and mental well being. Throughout the service, Estelle stared at the casket which was where her husband now lay, forever. Her emotions stung her like a bitter poison, and she felt like she would breakdown, but thinking about her baby gave her strength.

     After the service, the body was buried, and as the black box containing the man she loved the most was lowered into the ground, Estelle felt a part of her leave, never to return. Her mother hugged her warmly and wiped the tears she hadn't realized were already flowing from her eyes like a river.

"She needs to rest, and on her behalf, I appreciate you all for coming today. I know you all loved Richard very much, but he has gone to a better place now." Estelle sat in the car while her mother addressed some of the people who came for the funeral. Many people loved Richard, he was a good man who loved helping others, even at his own detriment. At that moment, a thought that had often wandered into Estelle's mind since the incident, once again surfaced.

"Who could have possibly killed her husband?"

"It won't take long, I just want to speak with her" Estelle heard a familiar voice as she walked up the stairs, going to her room.

"Daniel?" She said to the tall slender man talking to her aunt in the living room.

"I am sorry for not coming immediately I heard about what happened" He replied, looking at Estelle with sympathy.

Daniel was Richard's best friend and business partner, he was basically the brother Richard never had.

The two talked for a while, and Daniel was able to make Estelle smile, which greatly pleased her aunt and mother who sat with her.

"I know now may not be the best time, but I do have something very important to talk to you about" Daniel said, changing the atmosphere in the room.

"I have been deciding whether or not to tell you, but you have a right to know. I know who killed Richard"

The three women in the room gasped and there was pin drop silence.  

Reviews

[Srchaud]

again, its nice how you get right into the meat of the story. Finding out the killer and seeing Estelle movtivation begin to set in is good for pacing.
I would ditch-"She needs to rest, and on her behalf, I appreciate you all for coming today. I know you all loved Richard very much, but he has gone to a better place now."
-it feels kind of tacked on as a way to transition but comes across as a bit forced.
-I would stick to glossing over the day as you did at the start of the chapter only slowing down once the man arrives.
-Also stay away from cliche lines as much as you can at least in the first 3-10 chapters. pin drop silence, although gets the point across is lost as an ending because its cliche. Maybe end it with one of the women dropping a plate, or all the noise of the world was snuffed out, or as the man spoke those words it was like his open mouth sucked all the noise from the room.
Be creative, thats the fun of writing, its letting your mind go wild. Words are colo,r the book are painting, use as many interesting combinations as possible.

[Avia]

Thanks so much for these useful comments and reviews. I find them very useful.

[Srchaud]

I want all writers to have a chance. It doesnt take long to drop a few comments and give them some encourgement and direction. Writing is hard and getting lost in the doubts and fears can be discourging. Sometimes its nice to get some real feedback from time to time. Keep writing, thats the key and always try to improve with each chapter, book and series.

[Avia]

I just feel so encouraged and I'm grateful for that, because like you said, it's easy to get confused and frustrated. This has been very good.