A Gentleman's Funeral

A Gentleman’s Funeral

         Black suits, but no tears. He was a loving husband and a talented and fair businessman, but he passed not a moment too soon. His hair had long ago faded from a strong brown to a receding gray, and his heart finally gave out just before he circled the sun an eighty-fifth time. His family dearly loved him and sincerely mourned his passing, but they understood death was merely a fact of life. His was expected.

         Still, Frank McCrystal’s son could not help but feel a deep sadness as he approached the old man’s casket. The younger man mumbled a few words, stood in staunch respect for a moment, and moved on to graciously allow the next well-wisher to pay his respects.

         Frank McCrystal’s son’s name was Bobby. Bobby took his father’s death harder than most. He was the only son of the deceased gentleman, and he was far from the man his father had been. Bobby was possibly a superior businessman, and he was far and away more financially successful than his father. But Bobby lacked one thing his father had in surplus. Bobby lacked love, and his lack of love turned him into a manipulative, unfair and extraordinarily greedy young businessman who did nothing particularly remarkable to stand out from the heard of stampeding greedy bastards who thrived in his industry. Bobby had one advantage over his colleagues, though. He knew he was a greedy, heartless bastard, and he yearned every day to be a loving, gentle man like his father.

         Frank’s gift had been his fairness. In business, money was worth only its raw quantity. Trust was valued beyond it. Frank simultaneously protected himself from his greedy associates while maintaining pure and well-deserved trust. His fortune was made not by scheming, but by being the only man in a heard of hyenas to play by the rules. Everybody knew the rules, and while they could not follow them for their own sake, they appreciated Frank’s adherence. They knew him for his reliability.

         The wrinkly lady beside the casket was the sole source of Frank’s reliability. He was the only man to have such a woman; such a pure and sustainable connection with a fellow human being. Other men thought they had love, but their willingness to cheat and lie in business proved their loved was not true. If they only knew love like he did, Frank thought, they could never manipulate another person like they did.

         Bobby wished he was like his father. Bobby desired nothing more than to be the purely and totally loving person his father was. But Bobby lacked the complete and total loyalty and commitment to one person that his father had. As he passed through the doorway, away from his father’s casket, he wished he only knew how he could be such a wonderful man.

         Frank’s wife stood tall, proud and only slightly distressed by her husband’s passing. She watched as her son left and, a moment later, she smiled a most infatuated smile as a tall, handsome older man stepped in to pay his respects. He glanced around the room, found his woman, and blew her a subtle kiss. She was content.