Sorting out the funeral was more difficult than they had anticipated. Jan emailed over the details from the undertakers to Andy and he talked through it all with her.
The email talked about online funerals using amazing technologies to bring people together virtually without physical contact. Andy sat with his Mam and comforted her putting his arms around her shoulders as she had sobbed.
'It's just so unreal,' she said wondering how this was all going to work.
'Well first things first we need to make a list of people to attend and then I will send that to Jan. Darren is going to design the invite for us. Then you need to decide on the hymns and the readings. We need to choose a nice photo of Bill that we can use.' said Andy.
They both thought straight away of the photo on the mantelpiece. They loved that photo of Bill.
'I just can't get my mind around a Zoom funeral,' said Maggie. 'Look it will be alright,' said Andy 'just read through the instructions.'
Most of Bills friends didn't have an email so that was the first problem. Andy went through Bill's mobile and called a few people. In reality Bill didn't use the phone that much and didn't have many people in his contacts.
Andy saw the number for Tony who managed the pub Bill worked in and called him. Tony was noticeably upset when he heard the sad news.
'Oh no that's dreadful news,' said Tony 'Yes thank you we will attend the service. God what's it come to a funeral online he said in disbelief.' He gave Andy his email.
'I'll try and see who else I can get in touch with but you know most of the old boys don't use email so it might be difficult,' said Andy. Under normal circumstances loads of people would have wanted to attend Bill's funeral but things were very far from normal now.
A few condolence cards had started to arrive along with a bunch of flowers from Bill's sister Marion in Bournemouth. Each time something arrived it lifted Maggies spirit but because of the timing not enough people knew so she didn't get the comfort that she really needed. Her mobile had rung several times each day as the news of Bill's passing slowly got around.
Over the next days Andy compiled a list of people that would attend the Zoom funeral. Bills sister Marion who lived in a care home in Bournemouth, her children, Bill's three nephews and niece, Tony and his wife from the Good Mixer, Mr and Mrs Omar, a couple that lived in the flat on the next floor of their building and of course his own immediate family.
Bill also had some family living in Australian but they would be unable to attend because of the time difference. Andy had got himself really stressed out trying to get in touch with people and with all the lockdown restrictions it was proving really difficult. It's not like Bill was using social media and his friends could be contacted at the press of a button. In normal circumstances the news of Bills death with have spread through the community by word of mouth but lockdown had prevented that from happening.
Andy had finally gone into his bedroom and sprayed two cans of Fabreeze odour remover all over the carpet and the curtains and his old room finally started to smell better. He sat sadly on the chair his father had died on and turned on the computer. The game Bill was playing flashed up on the screen and Andy jolted back as the image of the dead soldier on the Normandy beach came up that Maggie had described. In a way it was like seeing Bills body lying dead.
The words GAME OVER, the blood pouring from the soldiers chest. It was all too much. Andy sat with his head in his hands with tears pouring down his face. He hadn't expected that so it took him a few minutes to regain his composure. Then he saw to the the chat feed on the screen. Somebody called Bitchface had left a message for Bill…'hey @Billyboy97 well done you beat my score and nearly completed level five!'
'Hey @Billyboy97 are you their let's snack and chat...'
Then a picture of a bottle of Green Goblin with the words 'cheers'.
Andy sat staring at the message for sometime taking the whole thing in. So his father had got really into these games. Level five - he was impressed. Then he impulsively replied to the message:
'Hi, this is Billyboy's son Andy here,' he typed. 'I'm afraid I have some sad news. I'm sorry to tell you but Bill has passed away.'
Immediately a message pinged back 'OMG! '
Then it pinged again with a a crying emoji.
'Can I send you an invite to the Zoom funeral?' Andy replied
The answer came back yes with more sad emojis.
He got her email and added her to the list of attendees. Her real name was Ting Wei and she was from Taiwan. She was quite surprised that @Billyboy97 had a son believing him to be a teenager like herself. But you never can tell online.
Over the coming days Andy and Maggie had settled into a routine centered around mealtimes and TV programs. Maggie died her hair with a packet of Clorol dye that they ordered with the online shopping from Tesco. It had said Light Auburn red but had in fact turned the grey roots into a bright orange. Her hair was now a two tone bright orange going into a dark red. Still she felt it looked better than before and as Andy had reassured her it won't be noticeable on the Zoom because each picture would be so small.
She got dressed properly everyday and went back to smoking on the balcony so some decorum had come back into her life. The two of them chatted endlessly reminiscing about Bill and all the happy times they had shared togetheer over the years.
They went through the box of photos to choose some for the ceremony and each evening they would look through them again remembering something different each time. Maggie chose two hymns and even though Bill wasn't religious she decided on a Catholic service. Once a Catholic always a Catholic she would say to nobody in particular. She choose her two favourite hymns 'The Lord is my Shepherd' and 'All things Bright and Beautiful'.
Darren would do a reading and spent a few days composing a short but heartfelt ode to his grandfather. He had also lovingly put the photos together as they would be shown at some point in the service, and had designed the invite with the picture of Bill smiling.
Jan had organised everything and had sent it into the undertakers who would deal with the service. They suggested that food and drinks might be a good idea and then everyone could chat together at the end of the service. Jan, although she found the suggestion a little bizarre, agreed that they would serve Bill's favourite Lasagne and chips with Lager to drink. Andy was going to prepare it for Maggie and himself and it was up to other people if they wanted to do the same. They all felt a bit silly about that part but because it was suggested they felt it was something they should include. The Undertakers would email a schedule to everyone attending.
Back in Hayes Jan had taken Bill's death badly but somehow losing the father that she had never jolted her out of her complacency. She started to look at her life and took stock for the first time. Victoria had been a great comfort staying by her side giving such support. She was lucky to have her. They still hadn't talked about the pregnancy and Jan had put it aside for now. Both of them knew they would need to address that issue in the days to come.
Darren had also been amazing. Cooking and even cleaning buzzing around his mother and helping in whatever way he could. He had designed a beautiful online invite and compiled all the photos into a slideshow. Emma however had retreated to her bedroom with Spice, the family dog. She looked dreadful and nobody could console her.
She'll be alright after the funeral Jan said. Darren tried to speak with her knocking gently on her door but she just said she was tired and kind of shut him out. He would bring her some food or a coffee throughout the day but she hardly touched anything.
She seemed so sad. She had loved her Grandad and naturally he had spoiled her...he used to call her his little princess. At one point she said in a very quiet voice to Darren
'What's the point anymore?'
'What do you mean?' asked Darren but she didn't explain.
Darren also spent a lot of his time online and had set up his own YouTube channel. He called it 'Nothing Adds Up'. He spoke directly into the camera about his thoughts on Corona. He spoke at length about figures and numbers and how the mainstream narrative didn't seem to make sense. He only had a few subscribers to start with but each day he uploaded new video and gained a few more.
Today he talked about his Grandad. The post-mortem stated that he had a heart attack but that he died with Corona. So this was a Corona death. This made him angry and he ended his podcast that video saying 'My Grandad didn't fucking die of Corona, he died of a heart attack!'
He didn't tell his family he was doing these podcasts and wore his mask when he delivered his messages to stay anonymous. He wanted to tell Emma but it just wasn't the right time. He read all the comments on his videos and even answered them personally. He was very slowly gaining a following.
The next days passed slowly and they all focused on theupcoming Zoom funeral. It kept them all busy and somehow kept them sane as if the grief was put on hold. What they all didn't realise was that they would soon be attending another Zoom funeral in the coming weeks.