Bonniebax Creates

The days following the death of her father-in-law and husband passed in a haze, with people coming and going all around the family. Somehow Raya survived by just doing the next thing, one minute at a time, breathing in and breathing out. They did a funeral together and for most of it, Raya felt like she was floating up above the crowd of people, watching them all mourning down below, feeling numb from top to bottom. She held Nell’s hand and stayed close to the older woman, giving and receiving courage from each other.  The pastor advised them not to tell anyone how Micah had died, so they kept it a secret. Everything about that made Raya feel like a fraud, but it didn’t feel right to air Micah’s dirty laundry in front of everyone either. Raya wondered how much Nell knew about who MIcah had become toward the end. Everyone was talking about how amazing he was as a husband and provider and Raya’s stomach felt ill at all the smiling and nodding she did throughout ...

Raya’s father-in-law Eddie didn’t live through the night. She ended up staying at the hospital with Nell, and was there when he took his final breath, which was a moment she would never forget. It was heartbreakingly beautiful, although she wasn’t about to admit that to any of her grieving loved ones. Olivia and Kevin had gone home earlier, and Nell asked Raya to call them and let them know that Eddie was gone. Raya also called Micah and left several messages throughout the day and evening, but didn’t hear back from him. She even called her neighbour to ask if Micah’s car was there, but she said they hadn’t seen him that day, which made Raya feel worried. However, she really didn’t want to upset Nell who was already going through the toughest night of her life. Finally at about 4am, after they had said their goodbyes to Eddie’s empty body, the nurses asked her to take Nell home for some rest. Nell was understandably in a state of shock, and held Raya’s arm as they wal...

The next morning, Raya was up and ready to go long before she heard Micah start the shower in the guest bathroom down the hall. She wanted to make sure she was ready when he decided it was time to leave. He wasn’t allowed to eat or drink before the bloodwork, but she had a nice cold water bottle ready for him. He took it without looking at her and headed for the car. She followed him in silence and they started the drive to the hospital. Raya asked him if he had slept well, and he responded with an ‘mmm’ sound. A few minutes later she asked if he was nervous. He didn’t respond and looked annoyed, so she gave up trying to initiate conversation and watched the world go by beside the vehicle. When they got to the hospital, they learned that Eddie had gone into the hospital the night before with difficulty breathing, and he was admitted for some more tests. The doctor sent the younger men over to complete their blood work, and shared more about Eddie’s condition, stating that it did...