One Eyed Victor

Victor gingerly lifted Eliza out of her car seat, she had managed to fall asleep on the car ride and he didn’t want to wake her. He was dressed in a black suit that contrasted the white of the eye patch. It had been damaged beyond repair by the 8-ball. He unlocked the door and slowly opened it, trying to stop it from squeaking. He headed over to the couch, averting his gaze from the place it had happened, and sat down with Eliza next to him sleeping. It had been a long and hard week. He looked down at Eliza, the girl who even now looked more like her mother, and saw that she was still fast asleep. A moment later tears started to run down his cheek from his good eye. He barely kept himself from sobbing. He still didn’t want to believe it was true, but the casket being lowered into the ground had been the last straw. Having to explain what was happening to Eliza was bad enough, but once they had got there everything just got so much worse…
	He exited the car holding Eliza, both their eyes were wet with tears but only she was still crying. He rubbed her back gently as they headed into the cemetery and to the site. There were rows of white chairs laid out, with the casket in the front with pictures of Opal on it alongside flowers. Eliza started crying harder as they sat down in the front row. He tried to put her in the seat next to him but she clung to him. They sat there for a good while, he had come early after all, and eventually her crying died down for the most part. She looked up at him. “Daddy, I miss mommy.” She sniffled. Victor could feel his heart snap in two as he leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “I know sweetheart, I do too.” Someone so young should never have to deal with something like this. It’s just not fair. “Hello Victor. Hi Elizabeth.” A deeper, aging voice called out from behind them. A man with neatly combed black hair stood there. The ever growing flecks of grey in his hair still showed of course. He was cleanly shaven and well kept in general. “Hello father.” Victor said without turning around. His dad took a seat next to him and put a hand on his back. “How are you two doing?” Victor sighed sadly, avoiding looking at the casket still. “We’re… surviving.” He had none of his usual eloquence, just thinly veiled grief. “Victor, I know it may not seem like it, but it will get easier. Just hang in there.” Victor nodded and lowered Eliza into his lap. He heard footsteps behind him and turned to see a man and a woman walking towards them. They looked awful. The woman’s hair was barely done and her makeup was smeared with tears. The man’s tie was tilted and his suit was wrinkled. Victor turned to them. “Ah… hello Mr. and Mrs. Thompson.” The man shot Victor a glare and sat down across the aisle. The woman gave him a sympathetic look and sat down. Victor sighed and put his head in his hands. Before too much longer, the other guests arrived and the ceremony started. Victor kept his cool throughout the entire thing, up until he was called up to say a few words. He kissed Eliza and transferred her over to his father’s lap before getting up. He walked up to the mic and cleared his throat. “I would just like to thank you all for coming. I know Opal would have appreciated having so many people she loved here today. Opal was a wonderful woman. She was always so caring, and couldn’t help but worry about people.” He wiped a tear from his eye. “I owe a lot to her. It was through her that I discovered so many wonderful emotions I had never felt before. It was her that got me to make my first real friends in my life. She gave me our wonderful daughter Eliza. She made me happier than I had ever been before. She- she was the love of my life, and I’ll always carry a piece of her in my heart, as I’m sure all of you do as well. I-I’m sorry, I need to sit back down.” He ran back down to his seat with tears in his eye.    When he sat down Eliza was crying again and crawled into his lap. He brought her in for a tight hug while Opal’s father walked up to say words of his own. He had tears in his eyes as he cleared his throat. “Opal was my daughter, and I loved her more than the world. I remember when she was younger and she helped me as my little nurse. We didn’t keep in contact much once she left for College, but seeing her on her wedding day was one of the happiest moments of my life.” His gaze shifted to Victor. “And now she’s gone. I have no idea what happened. I try my best not to think about what might have happened if she moved back home after college, but it’s hard. I’m going to do my best to make sure her daughter is raised in the best environment possible.” With one last look at Victor he stepped down and walked back. Victor blinked a few times, wondering what he meant by that last line. A few more people got up and spoke before it was time for the final goodbyes by the casket. He left Eliza with his dad while he walked up and put his hand on top of it. “I’m so sorry. I promised I would always protect you, and I failed. If it wasn’t for Eliza, I don’t know if I could go on without you honestly. But I will. I’ll raise her to be the most wonderful woman this world has ever seen. And then, once my time here is done, we’ll be together again forever. I just want you to know, I still love you, and you are still my best friend in this whole wide world. This isn’t a goodbye, just a see you later, alright?” He closed his eyes tightly for a few moments until the tears stopped. “Until we meet again, goodbye Opal.” He wiped his face and walked back to his father to grab Eliza and wait until the casket is lowered to go home. Opal’s father didn’t speak to him a single time.