Unlikely Bond

Arriving at the same church we got married in, I walk behind the empty coffin that is carried through. Liam, Marcus and the rest of the team are carrying it.

The church is full. People are even standing. Clearly, Jackson had a lot of team members over the years. The ceremony starts. Georgina sits on one side, hugging me, and Jackson’s Mum on the other side. A few people get up to speak. Watching as it gets to my turn, I don’t know if I can cope and do this. How can I do this without him? I get up, walking up slowly, looking at my even bigger bump. The photo of Jackson rips my chest open. I feel like I have died. He shouldn’t be gone.

“Jackson was a man who cared for everyone he knew deeply. He had lost his own baby and his sister but still kept fighting. He knew what people wanted, even when they didn’t know what they wanted.” Why am I doing this? I am accepting he is gone, yet I can’t accept it.

“He opened me up. I was hidden and scared because of my past, scared because of what happ