Perfect model of proprietary

The rest of the evening passed by with Alina meeting people, thanking them for coming, and taking their condolences gracefully. She was the perfect model of proprietary. She was polite and kind, didn't run away once to have a cry in the bathroom, and greeted everyone politely. But neither a smile nor a tear escaped her throughout.

Finally, when everyone else had left, the Dawsons were the last to leave. Steve's dad walked to the car with the kids after giving Alina a hug and telling her that 'their doors were always open'. Mrs. Dawson told her to eat properly and that there was food in the fridge. "Know that we all love you dear. Do come over for dinner once in a while." she said. Alina replied with a nod as she hugged her.

Steve was the last one left, standing with his hands in his pockets. "So . . . how are you?" he asked, due to lack of a better sentence. Alina shrugged and didn't say anything. He hugged her and said goodbye, and didn't fail to notice that though she didn't resist his embrace, her hands never embraced him back. "Do you want to . . . . umm . . . talk? Go for a walk . . . . . ? Later?" Steve made one final attempt to get her to open. He hated seeing Alina like a little doll.

"Of course it's fine if you don't want to talk. I completely understand. I can maybe stay and help clean up. I could-" Steve had begun to ramble when Alina cut him off.

"Steve." she said, "Later." Just one word. Steve thought. But this word seemed to final that all he could do was nod and walk to the car.

In the car . .

"When does later mean?" Steve wondered aloud to himself, not loud enough for anyone else to hear. But his little sister, a girl of barely eight years, did. "It means sometime before you die." she said as she happily tried to make ponytails in Steve's hair.

"Sometime before I die?" Steve mumbled with a sigh as he looked out the window.

Once everyone was gone, Alina changed out of her dress and wore a simple black t-shirt and leggings. She technically did not need to wear black, no one really mourned that way anymore. But the fact was that she didn't seem to be able to find anything else to wear. She pulled out her hair free and twisted then into a loose bun at the top of her head. Then, she went about cleaning.

Alina started from the upper story, her room, and made her way downstairs. She was almost done by the time Max walked in the door.

Alina looked up at the sound of the door opening, very surprised. She seemed even more shocked to see Max. It was like she had forgotten all about him for a minute. She had forgotten that she still had a family. Alina remembered as she took in Max's hazard appearance. His hair were a complete mess, eyes were blood-shot and tears had dried on his cheeks. He had discarded his blazer somewhere and was only wearing a shirt, the tie hanging loose from it. His white shirt was caked with mud and so were his hands. There was mud on his pants too, around the ankles, like he had been kneeling for a long time.