Taking both cars, the entire family arrived together as one, pulling up beside a large Catholic church out in the suburbs of St. Louis, about ten minutes from their hotel. There weren"t too many cars in the lot, and the church was still rather empty as most of the main guests had yet to arrive. At this point, the majority of those there were still close family.As all the older members of his family rushed about to greet long lost cousins and reminisce about times past, Grace took a moment to pull Stephen to the side.
"Doing okay?" She asked, looking at him questioningly.
"I think so. I was worried about how my aunt would be, but she seems a lot better than the last time I saw her."
"She really seems to have missed you," Grace noted.
Stephen nodded, "She was practically my second mother. I spent so much time at their house growing up. Throughout all the pains of growing up, or every time Danny and I got in trouble, she was always there to be a mom. I think that"s what still worries me the most about when I see her: that she might see, and feel, my guilt and blame me for the loss of her son."
"She doesn"t, you know," answered Grace, quietly. "Blame you, at all. She knows it was an accident."
Stephen thought about that for a moment and then nodded, "I"m glad. I"d hate to have that on my conscience. I"m slowly starting to forgive myself for it, Grace. I just need time."
She smiled at him, and then enfolded him in a tight hug. "I love you, Stephen," she whispered into his ear. "Hopefully, you can point out all these other family members you have here."
Stephen chuckled lightly, "You"re asking the wrong person. Most of these people I"ve only met once or twice. Our immediate family is pretty tiny. My mom and Aunt Linda were the only children of my grandparents. My cousin Sh.e.l.ly is actually the grandniece of Grandpa, making her my second cousin, so most of these people I don"t know much beyond their names."
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"How is it that you and Sh.e.l.ly got to be so close?"
"Sh.e.l.ly actually lived nearby for most of her teenaged years, and we went to the same school district, although she was four years older than me. I have some early memories of Sh.e.l.ly babysitting me even though we weren"t that far off in age. She"s always been great though. I know you"ll like her. h.e.l.l, everyone does, who meets Sh.e.l.ly."
"Sounds like it runs in the family," she grinned.
"More so on that side," answered Stephen. "Now let"s find a bathroom before we have to take our seats!"