What's Laid to Rest Part 1

Lee Chen Wright had been missing since the devastating earthquake on May 22^nd . The police had stopped looking for his body months ago.  Reluctantly, the family had decided to have a memorial. He was thought to have fallen into the sea and drowned. Lee was 38 years old and had a reputation in Cedar Point for drinking too much, picking fights with people and leaving a trail of disastrous relationship carnage with women. There were still some who knew him hoping he was alive somewhere, but others who mourned and needed closure. There was an eclectic gathering of townsfolk filing into the Spokes Community Hall and quietly finding seating among the old church benches. An iPod plugged into a portable dock at the front of the room played a mix of Lee’s music that his sister Anna had compiled into a play list. The current song was Everybody Hurts by REM and quite appropriately timed.

Lee’s mother, Ushi Chen, sat stoically at the aisle seat on the left hand first row. Beside her was Lee’s 10 year old daughter Rosalee leaning into the crook of her Aunt Jade’s arm and quietly sobbing. Jade was crying into the top of her niece’s hair. Beside Jade Chen was Michael Chen who looked misty eyed and held the hand of his and Jade’s 9 year old daughter Lian. Lian looked sadly down at her small sandaled feet. Ushi and Michael’s other living brother Wei took up the second row with his now second wife Miyoun his two grown children; Emma and Joseph and two grandchildren Peyton and baby Chase sitting with and on Emma. Baby Chase was fussing and Emma scooped him up in her arms and walked to the back of the hall, pacing with him and trying to will him to settle. 

The Wright and Beal side of Lee’s family sat on the opposite side of the hall. Anna was seated in the aisle with her mother Tallulah Beal beside her. Tallulah’s cousin Jennifer was next over beside Tallulah’s brother Alan and his wife Patricia. Morgan Wright was not sitting among the family at the front but awkwardly perched on a bench at the back on the same side, looking ready to make a hasty exit at any time. His brother John Wright was at the front, one row back from Anna in the aisle. Uncle John was in a wheelchair so the second bench had been pushed a little further back to accommodate him.

Anna sat sideways on her end of the bench and had a whispered conversation with her uncle. She had noticed her father and his purposeful absence from the family group seating and given him a hopeful look. Morgan had smiled sadly back at her and shaken his head. Uncle John held her hand in both of his and spoke words of comfort.

Beside John were some old family friends of the Wright brothers, known to the town as some of the original Quake Takers.  The Quake Takers were said to be a cult like group that emerged in the 1970s, spouting the view that people who disappeared in the Quakes were part of some elaborate government conspiracy and cover up. Tallulah glanced back and gave the group an awkward smile as she had heard them slide into the bench after helping John position his chair. As the room kept filling up, Chief of the CPPD crept in, scanned the room and stayed purposely at the back, on the opposite side from Morgan Wright. The two men exchanged a curt nod and Nick Callahan stood right by the doorway and leaned against it, not remotely looking like he was even planning to sit. Tallulah smiled knowingly at Nick and appeared to ignore Morgan. Morgan glanced between Nick and Tallulah and quietly sighed.

Wolfgang Pots, with a cane in hand, hobbles in quietly as he can, feeling awkward to be included in such an enduring private moment. He is at the same time honor to have known Lee.. enjoying a drink after work with him from time to time.. He felt necessary to pay his last respects to his bar buddy .

He is dressing in a simple but elegant black suit and tie.. a bit more dressy than his usual garb of choice but leaning back to his rich upbringing. He removes a black felt hat as he enters.

He walks toward the Wright side.. and politely gets Anna attention. With a soft "pardon me, Miss. Anna ' he says softly "so fer yer lost.. yer brother was a hoot and the black hole is sure a bit more quite without his laughter .. ain't the same . He say in softly ..holding his hat with a look of deep sympathy ..

Anna looks up from her conversation with her Uncle, noticing Wolf approaching. She takes in the cane and the formality and swivels on her seat until she can stand, offering him open arms for a careful hug if he's so inclined to accept it.

"Thanks Wolf. It means a lot that you came today."

Wolf accepts her hug gingerly and he nods "wild drunken horse's couldn't keep me away from paying my respects to the old orney fella. He chuckles softly . "Always had a good joke fer me went I had a helluva day" he smiles and makes to go to find a seat on the Wright side

Anna steps back, chuckling and puns "Wild and drunken horses huh? You southern boys get up to some interesting farming. And you've chosen the right side." Her Uncle John and her mother both give a little groan at the pun and Anna smiles smugly as she sits back down.

The room was getting surprisingly crowded now. Anna’s friends Tamela Douglas and Stephanie Yamada arrived together and found two spots on the Wright side. Anna noticed them and they all exchanged a kind but silent greeting. Some of the custodial staff from the school that worked with Lee came in as a group along with a couple of Rosalee’s teachers and the school principal. That group took the Chen side and occupied two rows behind some more distant Chen cousins and some of the staff from the grocery store. Jack Douglas arrived with some of his staff and regular patrons from the Black Hole Nighclub. For good or ill, Lee had been a regular there. The Black Hole group settled in a scattered pattern on the Wright side. Jack ended up diagonally behind his daughter Tamela and tapped her on the shoulder before sitting down. She leaned back and gave him a hug and he exchanged some words with Tamela and Stephanie.

Brandy Miller looked apprehensively around the room and quickly took a seat in the back row at the wall on the Chen side. She was perfectly made up as always in a little black dress and a pair of thigh high boots that looked simultaneously alluring and deadly. Arriving directly behind her was Garrett Yamada. He lingered in the wake of her perfume and watched her sit down, hesitating and looking like he was contemplating trying to join her in the empty row she only took up one bit of. Brandy unconsciously flipped her silky long blonde hair.  He shifted his stance from foot to foot, thinking. Behind him, Nick Callahan stifled a chuckle and then did a little face palm like he just couldn’t watch. Tamela happened to glance in Garrett’s direction, inhaled quickly at the site of Brandy and then snorted at Garrett. She elbowed Stephanie beside her who rolled her eyes and then waved frantically at her brother and pointed behind him. Their parents Hiroshi and Sakura were arriving and they had her son Tristan with them. Tristan was in the care of his grandparents so Stephanie could be more present to Anna at her brother’s funeral. Hiro was oblivious to Garrett’s distraction and simply herded him into a row with his wife and grandson. Tamela and Stephanie looked like they were trying to keep a straight face.

Megan Douglas steps out of Adum Brate’s car as they arrive at the Spokes Hall and gives him a grateful smile "Thanks for coming with me. I hate these things....we've had too many..."

Adum closes the car door Megan came from and nods. "I agree.' he moves towards the door with her, his arm casually and comfortingly around her, remembering how scared shed been to find out about the quake.

Megan sighs "Lee was kind of a dick, but I like Anna so I'm here for her. I'm sure my sister's already in there, which is good." She starts walking but slow enough so that it's easy for her and Adum to walk with his arm around her. She just catches the back of Garrett Yamada as the door shuts behind him.

Adum smiles. "It's got to be hard on her. I haven't asked about the investigation, but ... it's pretty obvious they haven’t found his .. him." he corrects himself and avoids saying 'his body'.

Megan nods and says quietly "Just like my mom...." She reaches for the door and steps forward from being in his arm hold as they approach it. As it opens you can just see Nick Callahan face palm as he hovers by the entrance.

Adum only nods and stays close to her, offering his support. He nods to Nick and, as they move in, notices other officers, obviously either off duty or in plain clothes around. A town event, to be sure.

Megan noticed the tail end of some kind of exchange between her sister and the Yamadas. She was sitting beside Stephanie and looking back so Megan gave her a little smile. Tamela smiled back after some silliness that seemed to be happening and then poked their father. Jack Douglas turned around and saw Megan and Adum, waved, and then spoke to the Black Hole staff and patrons around him. The group rearranged, freeing up space for the two to join Jack. He beckoned them over. Megan looked at Adum in asking and head jutted back to her father.

Adum nods at the head jut and nods for her to head on over. "Ryan gonna make it?" he asks as he lifts his hand in acknowledgement of Jack Douglas.

Megan looks around and shrugs "I dunno. I don't see them...." She walks towards her father's row, hugging him before sitting down. Jack reaches out to shake Adum's hand.

Adam continues to follow. "He better or it looks bad." he grumbles softly, then reaches out to shake Jack's hand. "Good to see you again, Mister Douglas." he keeps his manners in check.

Megan observed another Yamada kerfuffle and then saw the parentals waving. She follows Sakura's gaze and gives Adum a little nudge to look back. Jack had muttered something about Mister Douglas being his father but wasn't pressing the issue. He got quickly distracted by one of his staff pulling him into another conversation.