HE WAS REALLY GONE

As I mentioned we were returning from the wedding of our neighbor, Katie who was married earlier in the day at church a couple miles from our house. Her reception was downtown later that evening. 

We had gone to Katie’s ceremony and right before we went into the church I had broken down sobbing uncontrollably. Then Melissa called me and said that she had learned that Anthony, a good friend of Andrew’s, had gone to the beach and she was sure Andrew had gone with him. I was instantly flooded with relief and chided myself for jumping to the conclusion that Andrew was really gone from us. 

I got through the ceremony, but when I got back outside there was a message from Melissa. I called her back to learn that she had talked to Anthony and all of Andrew’s other friends. He was not at the beach and no one had seen him. My body sagged even as John was trying to reassure me. I was trying to allow for the possibility that I was once again over reacting, but I was feeling certain that he was really gone. There would be no relief this time.