Page 18 - It Ends with Us

want to do it. She said it was simple and tha t my father would ha ve

want ed me to do it. She said all I ha d to do was walk up to the podium
and say fiv e great thi ng s about my father. So . . . tha t’s ex actly wha t I
did.”
R yle lifts up ont o hi s el bow, appea ring ev en more int eres ted . He
can tel l by the look on my face tha t it get s worse. “Oh, no , Lily. Wha t
did you do?”

“Here. Let me just reena ct it for you.” I stand up and walk around
to the other side of my cha ir. I stand tall and act like I’m looking out
over the same crowded room I was met with thi s morni ng . I clea r my
thro at.
“Hel lo. My na me is Lily Bloom, daught er of the late And rew
Bloom. Tha nk you all for joini ng us today as we mourn hi s loss. I
want ed to take a moment to ho no r hi s life by sha ring with you fiv e

grea t thi ng s about my father. The firs t thi ng . . .”
I look down at R yle and shru g. “Tha t’s it.”
He sits up. “Wha t do you mea n?”
I take a sea t on my loung e cha ir and lie back down. “I stood up
there for two solid minu tes witho ut saying ano ther word. There wasn’t
one great thi ng I could say about tha t man—s o I just stared silent ly at

the crowd unt il my mother rea lized wha t I was doing and ha d my
unc le remo ve me from the podium.”
R yle tilts hi s he ad. “Are you kidding me? You gave the ant i-eu logy
at your own father’ s funera l?”
I no d. “I’m no t proud of it. I don’t thi nk. I mea n, if I ha d my way,
he would ha ve been a much bet ter pers on and I would ha ve stood up
there and talked for an ho ur.”

R yle lies back down. “Wow,” he says, sha king hi s hea d. “You’re kind
of my hero . You just roasted a dea d guy.”
“Tha t’s tacky.”
“Yea h, wel l. Naked truth hu rts.”
I laugh. “Your turn. ”
“I can’t top tha t,” he says.

“I’m sure you can come close. ”
“I’m no t sure I can. ”
I roll my ey es . “Yes you can. Don’t make me feel like the worst
pers on out of the two of us. Tel l me the most rec ent tho ught you’ve