Gus Harris let out a heavy sigh as stared down at the open Bible at the lectern in front of him. Today was Jayson Aaron’s funeral. He’d been dreading this day for weeks. In the span of a week, Pickett County had been torn apart by violence that had been years in the making. Word was John Norman had gone on a killing spree that had claimed the lives of PCSD Deputy Scott Andrew, Ray Champion down at Ray’s bar, the boy Jed that ran with him, and even an undercover SLED agent by the name of Jerry Miller. Norman had lost its fair share. Jayson, of course, Yolanda Thomas, and Dante Fulsome were all dead. DeSean Hamilton and Chew Lewis were both in cells awaiting trial for their parts in that. Roland was lucky to have escaped with his life. Of all of it and all the killing it was Jayson’s that still hit him the hardest. The boy was pure, a gentle soul, and losing him had torn Norman apart. Yolanda’s funeral was still a couple of weeks away and Gus expected it would be well attended too but nothing like today. All of Norman were assembled before him for Jayson.

All except Michelle Lewis. Somehow Michelle had gotten away with her part in Yolanda’s death and Roland’s kidnapping. PSCD had tried to get Chew to roll over on Michelle but there was no way in hell that Charles was ever going to break. The man was like granite. Sherry had told Gus that even with his and Antwan’s accounts of what had happened, what Michelle had told them, it wouldn’t be enough to pin Michelle down. When they pulled the phone records Michelle plead the fifth and there was next to nothing they could charge her with that wasn’t more than a slap on the wrists. Any time Gus found himself inclined to forgive Michelle he’d be hit by thoughts of Yolanda’s family that would sweep the feeling from his mind. Michelle Lewis was dead to him. More importantly, she was dead to Antwan. As far Gus knew, Antwan split most of his time between Alicia Aaron’s house and occasionally Roland’s place these days.

What had happened with Chew and Dante had set Roland right some. Some men might have been scared away by what had happened but he seemed to understand that Antwan needed a real friend in his life now more than ever before. He’d stepped up in a way that nobody, especially not Gus, had expected and it had been a pleasant surprise. To think this whole damned saga had started because Michelle thought Roland was going to destroy Antwan’s chances of getting out of Norman in one piece. Yet it had been her that had put Antwan’s future at risk, costing Charles his freedom and Yolanda and Dante their lives in the process. Life was funny like that sometimes. God was funny like that.

Finally Gus looked up from his Bible and into the crowd. He saw Antwan Dixon sat in the front row next to Alicia Miller with his fingers interlocked between hers as tightly as if he were her own son. Beside him was Roland Spencer with his face still covered in bruises and a bandage wrapped around his head. Gus smiled at him gently from the lectern and Roland smiled back at him appreciatively. There in the crowd were faces that Gus knew personally and others that he related to on a more primal, instinctive basis. They were Norman-born and Norman-bred. Pickett-born and Pickett-bred. Sometimes they forgot that. The war that had swept the County ought to have shown them all that. Dead was dead regardless of which side of the train tracks the body was on.

Gus ran his fingers along the edges of the text he prepared for today that he’d annotated beyond recognition. There were dozens of Bible verses that Gus had unearthed last night that in the dead of the night he’d hoped would be appropriate for today. In the cold light of day they seemed so inadequate that he wasn’t sure he could bring himself to speak them out loud.

"It's not enough," Gus sighed defeatedly as he lifted the page towards the crowd. "I... I was up all night searching for the words, [i]any[/i] words, that would make the loss of Jayson Aaron hurt any less. He was a beautiful boy. It's not often that word is used to describe a young man, I understand that, but in his case it was true. He was a beautiful person, there was not a strand of hate in his heart, and he died... He died protecting the person he loved most in the world. Jayson was torn from us too soon, torn from this world too soon, but he died as he lived. With love in his heart. He protected others before himself and understood the importance of kindness. He understood that kindness is [i]never[/i] a mistake. His bravery, his courage, and the love he gave so freely to those around him will live on those assembled here today and all the people's lives he touched that couldn't be here."

He stopped for a second and looked towards Antwan Dixon as he cradled Alicia Miller's hand. She was sobbing. Gus cleared his throat a little to cover his getting choked up and then made eye contact with Antwan again beside her. Antwan nodded at him to indicate that he was ready and Gus nodded back. The young man stepped up from his seat, lifted Alicia's hand slightly and pressed his lips against it, and began to walk up towards the stage.

Gus gestured towards Antwan. "I believe Jayson's best friend, Antwan, has prepared some few words he'd like to say."

Antwan passed him on the way to the lectern and he patted the young man on the back supportively before standing to the side on the stage. Antwan took to the lantern and reached into the inside of his ill-fitting suit and produced a piece of paper that shook violently in his hands. He was nervous, it was clear to see, but he looked to Gus and the deacon nodded at him supportively and gestured to him to clutch onto the lectern. Antwan set the piece of paper down, clutched onto the lectern, and shifted his weight onto one leg as he cleared his throat to speak.

Through her tears, Alicia Miller smiled up at him.