Mary and the Bear

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Mary Elizabeth Brown sat in the crowded church, numb with grief and an assortment of other complicated emotions she just didn't have the energy to examine closely. The last few days had been a hellish whirlwind of activity, culminating today as they gathered to pay their last respects to the woman lying in the casket—her twin sister, Barbara Ann Brown-Remington, more affectionately known as Babs.

Every now and then, stray comments drifted to Mary Elizabeth's ears above the softly playing music.

"Oh, no."

"What a shame, she was so young."

"She was such a beautiful person. An angel, really."

That last comment almost pierced through the numbness and brought a smile to her face. An angel? If only they knew, she thought. Babs thrived on being wicked, on pushing the limits. Unfortunately, it was Mary Elizabeth who usually ended up suffering because of her schemes.

Mary Elizabeth allowed her gaze to drift around the church. The first two pews on the right were reserved for family. Her sister's husband of seven years, Charles A. Remington, III, sat the end of the pew, near the center aisle and closest to the casket. Seated next to him were her mother, Susan Brown, and then her father, Richard. From where Mary Elizabeth was seated, at the opposite end of the pew, huddled in the corner, she could see that the knuckles of her mother's hand were white from the grip she had on her father's hand. Her other hand, which was placed on Charles's knee in a silent show of support, was also clenched. There was no other family present.

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