[legendsport]

Atlanta, GA: June 4, 1919:

The funeral of James Ferdinand Barrell was one to remember. A large crowd of mourners gathered in Atlanta to lay the son of Rufus and Alice Barrell to rest beside his paternal grandparents and uncle, who had also died in a tragic fire.

For the first time in quite a while, all the Barrells were together. Joe had arrived the previous evening from Ohio. Edna had remained in Akron with their children. Rollie was there with his fiance as were all the younger children with their parents. Danny had become overtly protective of Claudia, never leaving her side.

Both the Daniels brothers were on hand as well, and for once Possum wasn't effusively dispensing downhome wisdom, having adopted a steadfast stoicism for his longtime friend Rufus. His wife and son, named for Rufus Barrell, were also there. The Daniels family, along with Joe Barrell, sat in the second row just behind Rufus and Alice. Alice's father, Joe Reid sat with them.

Many of the FABL family were on hand as well. From club owners Malcolm Presley (Kings), Miles Bigsby (Gothams) and Wash Whitney (Chiefs) to Rufus' OSA colleague Thomas Potentas and FABL President Robert Owings, as well as many former players, professional baseball was well represented. Telegrams from dozens of active players, coaches and scouts had arrived - everyone from minor league hotshots like Dick York to phenom Max Morris and superstar Powell Slocum had sent their condolences. Bert Thomas, owner of the Toronto franchises in both baseball and hockey, was there as was Jack Connolly, the former Toronto hockey owner who was booted out of the sport and was an ally-turned-enemy of Thomas. They sat on opposite sides of the church. It was Connolly's gift of an automobile to the Barrell family that had first started Jimmy on the road to racing. Alice Barrell, had she been in a normal frame of mind, might have thrown Connolly out on his ear, but she was in a deep pit of sadness and probably didn't even realize he was there. Rufus did notice however, and scowled, but was not going to make a scene at a time like this.

It was the arrival of Jack Barrell that really caught everyone's attention and nearly did cause a scene.

Most of the large crowd of mourners were already inside the church when Jack showed up. Like many of the members of the family his eyes had a hollow, haunted look. The cast on his right hand stuck out of the black suit he wore as he stepped from the bright sunshine into the dimness of the church and began peering about. Entering a half-step behind him was Marie Dupuis, a small-boned young woman with black hair in a simple black dress, her pretty face marred by eyes puffy from tears, her hands resting protectively on her protuding abdomen. Jack spoke softly to her while he waited for his eyes to adjust so he could find his family.

It was Rollie who spotted Jack first. "Whoa," he said quietly. Francie, next to him, spun to see where he was looking. She frowned, "That's Jack, right? Who's that with him?"

"Yeah, that's Jack. I have no idea who the girl is. I hope he didn't get her in trouble." Francine had spoken at length with Rollie about his large family - she was truly interested in learning as much as she could about the family she would soon be joining. She clearly remembered Rollie telling her that Jack, while arguably the best athlete in the family (Rollie felt he barely edged out Joe in that regard - even though the jury was still out on the younger boys) was "all thumbs when it comes to girls." So she understood the extremely confused look on Rollie's face.

Bobby Barrell, peering up at the vaulted ceiling, was pushed by his brother Tommy. "Hey!" he snarled and then he saw where Tommy was pointing. "Oh, Jack's here!" Bobby said happily. He really liked Jack. "Who's that lady?" Harry was kicking the back of the pew in front of them, but when Bobby spoke, he stopped briefly, turned around and said, "She's pretty." Then he started kicking the pew again. Betsy poked Fred and asked, "Why is that lady's belly so big?" Fred looked, smiled into his hand and said, "Ask Mom... later."

Jack finally spotted Joe, sitting in the second row, talking quietly with Cooter Daniels. He turned to Marie, "Es-tu prêt?" he asked.

"Oui," she replied, punctuating it with a solid nod. Jack agreed - he was as ready as he was going to be, so he reached out and took her hand. He admired her bravery. They began walking towards the front of the church, leaving a slew of whispered questions in their wake.

Jack squeezed Rollie's shoulder as he passed, then stepped up to the pew where his brother Joe sat, just behind where Rufus and Alice, who were in the first pew, sat staring at the coffin a few feet away.

"Joe," Jack whispered, "can we sit with you?"

Joe looked at Jack and gave a wan smile. It quickly faded to a look of confusion. "Hey Jack," Joe said. "Who's your, umm... friend?"

Possum sitting beside Cooter, was preparing to ask his wife to slide down to make room, then saw Marie. One of his bushy eyebrows rose and he whistled softly.

Rufus had noticed the mini-ruckus behind him, half-turned in his seat, and spotted Jack. "Jack..." he said, the raw emotion evident in his voice. Alice too, now turned, and with tears running down her face, muttered a whispered hello to her son.

Jack was about to reply when he saw, sitting beside his mother, the blonde woman quietly crying with his brother Danny sitting beside her, holding her hand. Rufus noticed where Jack was looking and said, "Jack, this is Claudia, Jimmy's wife."

Jack swallowed and said hello to his sister-in-law. Behind him, Marie, not able to follow the conversation, had nevertheless surmised who the blonde woman must be. Marie remained silent, but a single tear ran down her cheek.

Rufus leaned back, to see Marie standing behind Jack. He asked, "Who's that behind you?"

Jack gave Marie's hand a reassuring squeeze and said, "This is Marie Dupuis. She was Jimmy's... friend... in France."

Rufus noticed that Marie was pregnant and looked at Jack. In response to the unspoken question in his father's eyes, Jack nodded once. Rufus closed his eyes.

Alice saw the expression on her husband's face. Rufus leaned over, very much aware of Claudia sitting on the other side of Alice, and whispered in his wife's ear.

"What!?!" she blurted. In the subdued environment of the church, her barked question was like a gunshot. The remaining noise in the church stopped as if a switch had been flipped.

Claudia looked up, and saw Jack and Marie. She wondered what had shocked Alice so much. She recognized that the man who looked so much like Jimmy must be his brother Jack, the only one she had not met. She also noted that Marie was pregnant and made the natural assumption that Jack must be the baby's father and that Alice had not known about this. Claudia grasped Alice's hand and squeezed in sympathy. Alice turned and looked at Claudia, a horrified look in her eyes.