"People die," Caroline said indifferently. "There's no use getting worked up about it. I don't have time to arrange a memorial service, and I refuse to waste time crying. It just makes my face blotchy."
She shrugged. "Besides, it's better to get everything over with quickly, and then Joe can get back to normal. It's not good for him to mope for too long. That's why we decided to go with a quick cremation and no fuss."
She looked around. "It's good of you all to support Joe at such a difficult time."
She asked Joe to pour tea for his friends. "I hoped this morning tea might cheer Joe up," she said. "Well, this and also the fifty thousand dollars I gave him. Life does go on, you know."
Everyone looked at Alex, and it seemed he had been elected spokesperson for them all.
"Well…" Alex began, and then he trailed off, as he had no idea what to say. After all, he was simply Joe's friend, and this was Caroline's family, so all the decisions were hers to make. He had no right to criticize.
"Neil's death was so sudden," one man said. "It was quite a shock."
"Yes, but there's no going back, so we must now look to the future," Caroline said. "Isn't that right?"
Alex looked at the man and then glanced at Caroline. "Mrs. Hall, aren't you going to introduce us?"
Caroline nodded at the man. "This is a family friend—Desmond Lang, the head of the Baltimore Antiques and Art Dealers Association. He's a very successful businessman, and he's kindly helping my family deal with our current tragedy." She smiled at him. "He even negotiated a contract for Joe with a top football team, and he made sure Joe will get a lot of money."
Once she had finished extolling Desmond's virtues, she pulled out a thick contract to show everyone.
Alex fought hard not to laugh when he saw the contract he had handed to Suzan at the Hall family home. She must have put it aside to present to Joe later, he thought.
Alex had tracked down the owner of the Raptors football team and had persuaded him to sign Joe. The owner had accepted Alex's recommendation and had produced a contract for Joe to sign.
Alex hadn't expected Desmond to take credit for arranging the contract.
"See?" Caroline said, waving the papers at him. "This is a contract for the Raptors football team, and they want Joe. My son enjoys sports, and he's loved football ever since he was a child. He always dreamed of playing professionally, and now Desmond has helped him to realize that."
She didn't notice Alex's expression as she looked down and stroked the contract. "Within the next three years, Joe will be the top player, and he'll be making an enormous amount of money." She looked up at Alex. "Joe is going to have a successful career."
Then she turned to Joe. "Joe, have you thanked Mr. Lang?"
"I really appreciate your help, Mr. Lang," Joe said.
His father's death had been a heavy blow, and Joe had been struggling to accept it, but the chance to live out his dream had given him hope for the future.
"It was nothing," Desmond said, waving away Joe's gratitude. "Don't mention it. Arranging the contract was a piece of cake."
Alex almost choked on his tea as he realized just how shameless Desmond was.
He coughed. "Mr. Lang, did you really negotiate this contract?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Of course he did," Caroline snapped, not giving Desmond a chance to answer. "Who else would have done it? You?"
Alex gave her a faint smile. "Maybe I did," he said.
Everyone in the room burst out laughing, and several people nudged each other as they pointed at Alex.
Caroline sniffed. "We all know you don't have that kind of influence," she said. "How on earth could you help Joe join a top team like the Raptors? You have no idea what you're talking about, so stay out of it."
Joe frowned, thinking his mother was probably right. Alex's boasting was nonsense.
"I asked you all here to discuss a few things with you," Caroline said, looking around. "First of all, thank you for coming to comfort Joe. Your kindness is appreciated."
They all nodded.
Caroline looked at Alex as she continued. "Second, I'm afraid you can't associate with Joe anymore. He needs to be careful of his image, and you're just not good enough for him. I hope you understand that I'm saying this for Joe's sake. As his mother, it's my job to protect his future."
"And you think this is the right thing for him?" Alex asked, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"Of course," Caroline said. "You're just not on Joe's level. He's going to be a famous athlete, and he can't be seen hanging out with losers. It's important that he only spends time with the right sort of people. I'm sure you can understand."
Alex gaped at her. Neil had only recently died, and Caroline's behavior was completely inappropriate. Doesn't she care about her dead husband? he wondered. I can't believe she summoned us all here on the day of his funeral to tell us to stay away from Joe.
He decided to appeal directly to Joe. "We used to be like brothers," he said. "Do you really intend to cut me off?"
"I'm sorry, Alex," Joe said, glancing at his mother. "But now that my father is gone, I only have my mother to help me with my future, so I have to listen to her."
"Okay," Alex said, sighing. "I can see that you're serious, so I'll break off contact for the sake of your brilliant future." The latter part came out sounding a little sarcastic. He paused for a moment, and then he changed the subject. "Do you remember what happened when your dad asked you to call me?"
"Not really," Joe said, shrugging. "I was unconscious, and then when I woke up, I saw my father lying there. I just can't remember much about it." He frowned. "Were you at the house?"
"I can't remember much either," Alex said.
"Okay, Joe," Desmond said, standing up. "We have things to do, so we don't have time to reminisce with old friends. You need to concentrate on your new career, and you can't be seen with these people. The last thing we need is for photos of you with them to appear online."
He straightened his tie. "Well, now that we've sorted that out, it's time to go to the Regal Hotel for the Baltimore Martial Arts reception."