There were countless things that Frank had to arrange. What wood the casket was going to be? What was she going to wear? What kind of flowers would be placed with his mother in the casket?

Emily was by him every step of the way. She was with him when he went to look at the coffins. And she had asked him questions about his mother who had gotten him to finally pick something that had a light color, as his mother liked bright things.

His mother's dried flower collection had been leafed through, and they had decided on lilies as the only flowers, seeing as they were the most dominant on the album. 

Emily had looked at all the clothes in the wardrobe, all ironed and folded, a sign that Flora Dorrens had liked order above all else, and she had settled for a bright beige flower print dress with black shoes.

It was Emily that had helped the nurse dress up Flora, and it was Emily that had sat by Frank and accepted the condolences with him. Honestly, if it wasn't for Emily, once everything had been ordered and the ball had been set rolling, Frank was sure that he was going to go to his childhood room and lock himself inside until everything ended.

But, Emily's hand was a reassuring weight in his own, so, he soldiered on.

Then, someone who Frank didn't expect to see again showed up at the funeral. It was Rebecca, and she had a visible baby bump. She wore black, but looked hesitant.

"Congratulations," Frank managed, eyes going to the bulging stomach, after Rebecca told him, she hoped he would pull through.

"Frank, we need to talk," an apprehension washed down Frank's spine. No, this couldn't be happening. Rebecca had left him and he had moved on. Found Emily, who was his rock, and he felt content, even after the death of his mother.

"Is the baby mine?" Frank was not beating around the bush. He needed to know.

"I haven't been with anyone since you," Rebecca said, worrying her lower lip. Frank believed her. Rebecca liked to play hard to get and so, not many men made it into her radar.

"I see," Frank uttered brokenly. Emily looked between Frank and the woman with wide eyes. There was a child involved now. And she, no matter how much she liked Frank, couldn't rob a child of its father.

"I am sorry I picked this moment to tell you, but, I didn't want to do an abortion," Rebecca placed a protective hand over her stomach and a couple of people sent her questioning looks.

"You think I would have asked, had you told me sooner?" Frank's disbelief was clear in his voice. Never, not even if he had hated Rebecca, which he did not, would he have asked her to take such a risk.

"I didn't know. I left you at your worst moment, and I am sorry, but," Rebecca left the words hang in the air between them. She was an office worker and, so, couldn't look after a child by herself. She simply worked too many hours. And her pay was not so big as to give the child everything it would need. It was fine for one person, but no more.

"You want us to go back together?" Frank asked, defeated. He was a man, and he knew that the child didn't ask to be conceived. So, he had to step up and provide it with the life it deserved. No matter how miserable that would make him.

"If you don't want us to, I will still do my best by our son," Frank looked at the baby bump again. There, inside, was his first child. A son. Someone who he could teach lifting weights, care for the animals of the shelter, and who was going to make him proud, he was sure.

But his son won't have Emily's strawberry-blonde locks. Rather, either his brown ones or Rebecca's raven ones. And that was a broken dream.

"Move in as soon as you can," Frank managed to get out, not looking at Emily. His almost lover stood and offered her place to Rebecca. Sure, the two had not done more than a couple of dates. They hadn't even kissed. But now, Frank felt like they had just broken up, and it hurt him.

Rebecca sat in Emily's sit, still warm from the shelter attendant, and placed a hand on Frank's knee. Frank closed his eyes as Emily exited the room. What a mess.

The following days, Emily still maintained her friendly demeanor with Frank, but she was not flirting with him, anymore. They joked, but it was about the animals. They had heart to hearts, but not about their families or things only couples would share.

Frank didn't like the distance between them, but he couldn't ignore the fact that his son needed to have parents who, if not in love with each other, at least didn't cheat on each other.

So, he came back to his house, to a steaming dinner, Rebecca doing her best to fix the fact that she had left him at his lowest, and he went to bed with his girlfriend.

But, as soon as he got on the mattress, Frank cocooned himself in his blankets and turned his back on Rebecca.

To Rebecca, the bed was the coldest thing in the whole house. For she found none of the warmth that was previously offered to her. And she knew that it was her own fault.

She wasn't blind. The pretty woman who had sat next to Frank during the funeral had looked torn when Rebecca broke the news to her ex.

Rebecca should have expected for Frank to move on. And, by the way, Frank had stopped his budding relationship, it seemed that he was taking things as slow with her as he had taken them with Rebecca.

The raven-haired woman needed to have a talk with this unknown woman. She had to find out what Frank had done while Rebecca was out of the picture. For her peace of mind.