Chapter 67: For Goose and Midge

It had been fitting that it rained on the day Gustaf Jones was laid to rest next to his beloved Margaret Spencer-Jones. The Heavens wept from happiness at the re-pairing of its purest angels as they welcomed him back to his celestial Home, while Apple Bay mourned the substantial loss of goodness's incarnate.

This was an honorary holiday and most of the town shut down to say goodbye as Goose deserved.

Apple Bay's original mom and pop were now legends whose numerous stories of warmth and actions of caring would be remembered as heart-touching stories whenever anyone mentioned Apple Bay.

An atmosphere of sadness wafted through the town so heavy it was almost tangible.

Paul and Serena gave each other strength during these final moments with Goose's much-loved vessel above ground, and as the coffin was lowered into the ground, they squeezed each other's hands and leaned against one another for physical support.

At the end of the burial everyone headed to the Apple Bay Inn where Paul and Serena were to host a reception for all those who cared to stop by.

Serena stood at the entrance of the inn as familiar faces trickled in; locals as well as many from the nearby towns that the endeared coupled frequented for business. She was instructing them where to leave their umbrella's and their coats and advising them they could relax in the lobby of head to the tented area in the courtyard for food and drink. The day was Wednesday, thankfully there were no guests so they could focus on the final goodbye.

After Midge had passed, in looking at Goose's immense grief, Paul told the staff to honor existing reservations but stop accepting new ones until further notice, and only accept people who physically came in looking for a room. He had planned to work Midge's shifts in the kitchen until things could be figured out, but then when Goose took ill, he knew he couldn't leave his side. That was when Serena's kitchen staff offered to take on extra shifts at the inn's restaurant so that Goose wouldn't be alone in what the whole town knew would be his final days.

The inn, Serena's tea shop and a few other businesses worked in conjunction to make sure the business didn't suffer, nor its workers when there was a lack of guests. Even her mom offered to take two more workers in her dress shop. It was important to the whole town that the lodging keep its spotless reputation and its impressive Yelp score up, which was only ever marred by the lack of an elevator.

When Goose died, only a few reservations remained during the week, but the weekends were still pretty packed. The young couple decided it would be best to move into Paul's room at the inn. They would remain until there were no more reservations and then close the place down and hand it over to the town to decide what was to become of it since no next of kin could be located.

"Honey," she heard her mother's familiar voice call behind her as she felt her warm hands cover her cold ones.

Serena turned to her mom; the tears that had covered the surface of her eyes spilled over with no effort as more tears flooded her ducts.

Connie immediately pulled her into an embrace. "Oh, baby," she felt her mom's hot breath just behind her temple. "You need to stop being brave and let it out," she encouraged. "Goose was a good man and we have all needed to grieve these two monumental losses." She released Serena, reaching into the pocket of her black dress and producing a white handkerchief. "I just saw Paul in the kitchen looking just as pained," she whispered as she gently dabbed the tears from her daughter's face. "Go to him," she cupped her jaw lovingly. "Comfort each other. I'll stand here in your place."

Serena leaned into her mother's touch and nodded. "Thank you," she whispered with a sniffle. Before leaving, she hugged her mother tightly. Her only loss came when she was a child. Now that she was older, she understood how fragile life truly was. "I love you, mom."

When she released her, she was able to see the look of tenderness in her mother's eyes. "I love you, too, honey."

Serena spun, rushing through the few people in the lobby. On her way to the kitchen, she noticed majority of the mourners were in the tent, standing around and probably reminiscing about the time the owners of the inn helped them when they were in a bind.

Serena walked through the empty restaurant and finally entered the kitchen. Paul, clad in his black suit stood still in the dimly lit kitchen with his hands in his pockets as he faced the window that was completely covered in streaming fat raindrops making their way down the surface of the glass, constantly overtaken with new raindrops, keeping the stream healthy and continuous.

Serena closed the door with ease.

"Paul?" She called out softly.

He turned his head.

She crossed her arms as she began approaching him slowly. "Mom told me you were here," she began when he remained quiet. "She thinks we both need to have a good cry, but to be honest," she wiped a tear that spilled out on its own. "I'm afraid that if I start, I'll never stop."

Paul nodded as he extended an open arm to her. As soon as she was near enough, he pulled her into an embrace resting his chin on top of her head. "I feel that if I start to let go of my grief, I'll start to let go the love I have bottled up for him and Midge." She felt him shake his head against hers. "I can't let myself ignore or let go of the love I feel for anyone ever again," he whispered. "You don't know how much I regret leaving," he tightened his arms around Serena. "I wish I'd had this epiphany years ago."

He pulled away just enough to be able to look into her eyes. "Can you imagine where we'd be now? You and me?" He wiped the few errant tears she was failing to keep inside with his thumbs. "Instead of barely embarking on a relationship, we could have been married by now. Our moms would have a few fat grandkids running around."

"And Serena and I would be true sisters," a sweet voice called from the entrance.

The couple turned to the direction of the voice to find Iris and Ellen staring sweetly in their direction.

Holding hands, Paul and Serena walked to the new presences in the kitchen.

The room immediately filled with apologies and expressions of love before everyone started hugging each other.

The weight of the sadness lifted giving way to hope.