"O-On behalf of my father, my sisters and myself — I'd like to thank every single person who has come here today, to celebrate the life of my mother, Lesley. She was—" George halts a moment, to compose himself; for he feels himself getting choked up already. "Sorry. It's still difficult to get used to addressing her in past tense. B-But she was ... truly the life and soul of our family. She had the most wonderful, long life; and I'm thankful for that every single day. It's only what she deserved. She worked so hard, and did what she could for my sisters and I; to make sure we never had a single thing to complain about.

"She met my father way-back-when. Some time in the fifties. He'd come from Greece, and they connected immediately. They married, and had my two older sisters ... before then having me. Family life was perfect as a child. We weren't the richest family, but we had enough. Mum never let us go without. Even if she had to neglect herself, she would. Because she loved us so much. Things got better once my father opened his restaurant. Christmas was always my favourite time of the year when she was around; Christmas in the Panayiotou household was always the pinnacle of the year.

"She was always so accepting of who I am. Admittedly, she was the last to know about my sexuality, along with my father. But it didn't change how much she adored me, and I'll always appreciate that token of love. She also loved my husband Levi; and he loved her too. I was always in awe of just how well they got on together. She wasn't just a mother to my sisters and I — she was also a mother to our partners. As well as this, she was also the most wonderful grandmother. She was so family-orientated; they were her number one priority.

"There are so many things I could stand here and talk about today. All the memories we shared over the fifty-one years that I was blessed enough to have with her. But if I were to recount every single one, I'd be here until this time next year. So I'll keep it brief; and I'll keep it simple. Everything I wanted to say has been written in my letter to her, anyway.

"Mum ... " He turns around, to see the dark wooden casket perched behind him; this evokes a fresh set of tears to form in his eyes. "I just want to say th-thank you. Thank you, for loving us. Thank you, for being there for us. Thank you, for giving us the lives we perhaps didn't deserve, but the lives that helped us to thrive. Thank you for bringing me into this world, and for everything you did in the half-century I had you for. Life will never be the same again, now that you've gone. If I've learnt anything, it's that life can be taken in the blink of an eye; and it is so precious. Please rest easily, now. That's all I want for you. Be happy." He runs the length of his fingers over his waterlines, to rid the droplets that have gathered. "I love you, more than you'd ever know." He bows his head, avoiding eye contact with every person in the room as he heads back to his seat; on the way, he turns around to blow a kiss to the photo of Lesley that sits atop the coffin.

"You did fantastically," Levi compliments him, no louder than a whisper; after all, there are others who wish to make their own eulogies. He coils an arm around George, bringing him in closer as some kind of comfort as the funeral progresses on.

After a handful of other tributes, an interval occurs, in which some soft music is played as a time of reflection for the guests. George keeps his head down, not evening taking a second to observe his family nor his husband; for he is far too engulfed in his own grief. His mind wanders poignantly to all the good old times; but simultaneously, he cannot help but think of all the occasions he regrets. A prime example is Christmas Day back in 1986; although George was able to see Levi on that day, he left the celebrations at his parents' home in order to do so. Now, in hindsight, he would give everything to have spent that special day with his mother. He would give anything to be able to spend just another moment with her. The service soon reaches its end; the coffin is led through some curtains to close off the event. Seeing it disappear is the final blow; George cannot control his heartbreaking sobs as his face falls into the front of Levi's neat black suit jacket. Levi silently holds George, glancing around briefly to see a host of sympathetic expressions from other mourning family and friends. He spots Stephanie sat with Harrison, Drew and Alexander; their faces tell of just how saddened they are at this ordeal too.

"Come on, George," Levi whispers. "Let's get out of here. We should be at the Wake before the rest of the guests, so that we can welcome them."

George nods in agreement, trying urgently to pull himself together for the sake of his father and his sisters. Gemma and Kieran have not attended today, for George deemed it would be too upsetting for them to witness; instead, they are at school as usual — something they both seemed to prefer the idea of, anyway. He and Levi stand themselves up, walking slowly out of the building with George's immediate family following behind.

• • •

"I remember on Mel's wedding day, she threw her bouquet too hard and it hit Mum right in the face. Everyone was so worried that she'd react badly, but then she just laughed it off!" George cackles at the memory, taking another large swallow of his drink shortly after. His eyes meet some of the guests who are listening to his never-ending stories with light laughter; they take some form of solace in hearing these tidbits that they've never known about Lesley before. "And I also remember Mum trying to look after Kieran when he was born. She had Gem, as a one-year-old, crawling all over her while she was trying to feed him. She vowed never to babysit again after that. But she always did. What was she like, hey?"

"George?" Levi intervenes, having observed the time. "It's almost four o'clock. We'll need to go and pick the kids up from Mum's back home. She had to pick them up from school because we've been here longer than anticipated. Luckily, she knew the school safe word."

"I'm sure she doesn't care about having them a bit longer," George protests, tipping back the remaining alcohol from his glass, into his mouth. "I'm having a good time. Just talking about Mum."

"The Wake finished three hours ago." Levi frowns sadly at his darling George; he knows that he's having a nice time, but he also acknowledges that they have responsibilities back at home. "I think we should get going now."

"How about this then?" George clumsily grabs his mobile phone from his suit jacket pocket, his fingers jittering as he tries to find Penny's contact number. He clicks it, holding the phone loosely to his ear as it rings.

"Hello?" Penny answers.

"Hi Penny," he greets drunkly. "It's your bonus baby. Levi keeps banging on about us coming home, but I'm having a great time." He hiccups once, before continuing. "So can you please tell him to stop harping on at me?"

"Did the funeral go alright, sweetheart?" Penny asks him considerately. "From what I've heard, it was a lovely service."

"It was amazing," George informs her, ushering to the barmaid to get another drink for him. "Everyone has been so nice. It's been great. I don't know why anyone could ever be sad about a day like today."

"I mean, it's understandable. Today is a rather difficult day," Penny assures him. "But it's okay — stay at the Wake as long as you like. I don't mind having the kids sleep over tonight if they need to."

"You hear that, Levi?" George messily attempts to put the phone on speaker, so that Levi can hear his mother talk. "Say that again, Penny."

"Baby?" Penny greets uncertainly. "Can you hear me?"

"Hi, Mum," Levi responds. "Yes, I can hear you."

"Oh good." She lets out a small chuckle, before carrying on with what she was saying. "I've told George that the kids can sleep over at mine tonight if they need to. It's the weekend anyway. Take all the time you need down in London."

"Are you sure?" Levi questions, feeling a little guilty over this. "We don't want to force you to."

"Speak for yourself," George interrupts sarcastically. "Let her have the kids for one night, Levi. It's not going to bloody kill them, is it?" Just as he concludes his sentence, the barmaid passes him a fresh beverage. "Cheers, darling." Immediately, he swallows back half the glass, as if it's simply a soft drink. "We'll see you tomorrow Penny. Thank you."

"It's no problem. Have a nice night, if you can." Her tone suggests her awareness of how drunk George is; she knows that it is simply his way of forgetting the pain he is experiencing, so she lets it slip without saying a word. "I'll see you tomorrow. I love you both."

"Thank you. We love you too, Mum," Levi calls back. "Bye for now."

George presses the red phone icon to end the call; then, he slides his phone back into his pocket. "That's that sorted," he announces gleefully, taking another swig of his drink carelessly. "Now we can relax a bit more."

"I think you need to calm it with the alcohol," Levi offers softly, gently prising the glass from his husband's grasp. "I know you like to drink when you're hurting, but you'll only regret it. You always do."

"I don't care," George dismisses, snatching the drink back from his lover. "I'm enjoying myself. Let me fucking enjoy myself. I'm not hurting anyone, am I?"

"If you guys want to stay at my place for the night, you're more than welcome to." Stephanie rests a caring hand upon her ex-partner's arm. "It's just an offer, because I heard the phone call with Penny."

"Or if not, you can stay at ours," Andrew chimes in. "We haven't got Riley or Tyler tonight. They're with Rosa, so you won't have our crazy grandchildren running around everywhere."

"Thank you both." Levi smiles sincerely at both kind offers, before deciding on George's behalf. "I think we'll go with Andrew, though. Nothing personal Stephanie, I promise." He then leans into Stephanie, to talk quietly to her. "I just think it'll do George some good, being around his best friend."

"Absolutely," Stephanie beams. "That's more than understandable. As long as he's alright."

"He is for now." Levi rotates his head, to check how George is getting on. "But I feel as though he won't be tomorrow morning. If this is how he is at four o'clock in the afternoon — I dread to think how he's going to be later this evening."

"I suppose drinking is his coping mechanism," Stephanie speaks. "I'm just glad it's not too serious. He only does it every so often. I think it only happened three times in the whole two years we were together for."

"He's in good hands," Levi assures her. "You can get off home now, if you like. I'll see to everything here."

Stephanie nods, moving in to give Levi a farewell hug. "Keep me updated on how he is, alright? And how you get on, too. You must be feeling it, as well."

"Not as badly as him, of course." Levi withdraws first, giving a friendly wave. "But I'll call you at some point. Thanks for coming today. George really appreciates it — even if he can't really communicate that, right now."

Stephanie smiles mellowly, grabbing her black jacket from the chair beside her. "It's nothing. See you soon, both." With these words spoken, she heads out of the venue, and out of sight.

Levi scans his surroundings, noting that only a handful of distant relatives remain now. He doesn't seem to know them very personally, so he doesn't bother to go and mingle with them; instead, he favours staying with George and Andrew, who are having a quiet conversation together — Andrew's attempt at bringing George back down to reality.

"—And you know that you have responsibilities back in Goring, don't you? Those kids need you. You can let your hair down a bit tonight, but don't forget about them, okay?"

George nods, not really fully comprehending what's being said to him. "Okay Andy. Okay. I love you, Andy."

"I love you too, Yog. You know I'm always here for you," Andrew reminds him, propping his lifelong friend up against the bar so that he doesn't collapse. "And you're coming to stay at mine and Nancy's tonight, because you're staying in London until tomorrow."

"Nice one." George glances up at the clock on the wall, not really paying much notice to the actual time. "We still have time to stay here, don't we? I'm not ready to go yet."

"I just think, like Levi and Steph, that you should calm down with the drinks now." Andrew smiles empathetically, using his calmness to try and persuade George. "Come on. You can have some more at mine. I just don't want you in public if you do anything unfortunate. You're not in your right mind."

"Let me help you," Levi adds, leaning half of George's body weight against him; Andrew leans the other side against him, and they both aid in getting the intoxicated Greek out of the building. Levi turns his head to talk to the barmaid as they go. "Thank you for everything. I'm taking this one home now. Saves you cleaning up if he decides he can't handle his drink."

The barmaid flashes a sorrowful smile, to suggest her remorse for the situation George has landed himself in; before nodding as a form of farewell to the trio, and to Nancy. As Levi and Andrew drag George outside, George can't help but sing a nameless tune to himself, such with his ditzy alter-ego emerging.

"Come on, you," Levi speaks up, knowing that he has a long evening ahead of him. "Let's get you back to Andrew's."

• • •

Hope you're still enjoying. xx