The Cemetery.
The pit for the coffin had been dug the night before, so now, it was simply a matter of lowering the casket into it.
Because Carl was the only person present who genuinely cared about Peg, everything proceeded quickly.
It didn't take more than a few minutes for the cemetery workers to get busy, slowly lowering the coffin into the grave.
Carl stood beside Dexter, looking desolate, watching quietly without blinking.
His posture and demeanor looked truly pitiful.
Dexter reached out and gently patted Carl's head.
Not far away, Fiona and Debbie clearly saw this scene, their expressions varying.
Fiona's brows furrowed tightly; she was angry and annoyed.
Debbie found it strange and couldn't quite figure it out for a moment—it seemed like Carl had become Dexter's little brother and didn't look like a Gallagher anymore.
It didn't take long.
The coffin was in the pit, and the workers began backfilling the dirt.
Just then, the manic couple, Frank and Monica, arrived, sprinting together to the edge of the pit.
Frank had originally come to shake down Clayton for money, but in this moment, seeing Peg about to be buried, his body shuddered. The expression on his ugly face became dazed, and he zoned out.
When it came to his mother, Peg, Frank's feelings were incredibly complex.
Uncontrollably, grief surged again, and Frank's face crumpled into a look of mourning.
Seeing this.
Fiona and Debbie were somewhat startled, not expecting Frank to have such a human side.
Fiona was even subconsciously touched, thinking that perhaps Frank might still be salvageable.
Monica knew Frank well. Seeing his reaction, she immediately hugged him from the side, offering comfort: "Frank, it's okay. Everything will be alright."
Frank said nothing, just stared silently at the large pit before him, much like Carl.
Time flew by.
The headstone was set, and with that, the funeral officially came to an end.
The workers left quickly.
Dexter gently patted Carl on the shoulder. "Carl, let's go."
Carl silently raised his hand to rub his eyes and nodded. "Okay." The two turned to leave.
Seeing this, Fiona got anxious. She hurried forward a few steps to block Carl. "Carl, come home first. We still have a party to throw." Hearing this, Carl looked at Fiona, then at Debbie, and said with a surprisingly sharp mind, "Lip is going back tonight. I'll go back tonight too. You guys can celebrate first."
Fiona was speechless: "..."
No Lip, no Carl, and Ian was god knows where. How were they supposed to celebrate? Celebrate my ass.
"Carl, Debbie has to go back tomorrow morning. She can only stay for one day," Fiona had no other choice but to speak gently to Carl, hoping he would change his mind. "Let's go home first. We are family."
The "family" card was basically useless on the current Carl.
Carl didn't care that much to begin with, and after witnessing all the drama today and seeing how cold Fiona and the rest were toward Peg, he cared even less.
"I'll go back tonight," Carl looked at Fiona and repeated seriously. Then, he started walking.
Faced with Carl's cold demeanor and refusal to listen, Fiona was furious. She instinctively wanted to explode, but she held back the words at the tip of her tongue. "Carl..." Carl walked straight ahead, not looking back, ignoring her.
Debbie clearly saw what was happening. She sighed silently and spoke up in time to stop Fiona. "Fiona, forget it. I don't really have any interest in celebrating anyway. We can talk about it tonight." "How can we do that? You finally came back, we must celebrate," hearing this, Fiona instinctively adopted her Big Sister stance, speaking forcefully.
Having experienced life in juvenile detention, Debbie had indeed changed a lot. She was different from before and didn't like Fiona's forceful attitude—in fact, she was a bit disgusted by it.
"Fiona, this is my decision. You can't just make decisions for me arbitrarily anymore," driven by that disgust, Debbie said with a serious tone.
Hearing these words, Fiona froze, staring blankly at Debbie.
In this instant.
Inexplicably, Fiona felt that although Debbie was right beside her, she seemed very, very far away—so far that she was untouchable.
She was losing control.
It felt terrible.
---
In the Cemetery.
Frank snapped out of it, took a deep breath, and the sadness on his ugly face vanished rapidly.
The next second.
"Monica, stop Clayton!" Frank returned to normal, his attention shifting back to business. He shouted urgently, his eyes darting around to locate Clayton.
In no time.
Frank and Monica sprinted together to block Clayton, stopping him from leaving and demanding money!
Clayton was truly helpless and didn't know how to handle this. Facing Frank's threats, he instinctively looked to his brothers, Jerry and Wyatt, for help.
Jerry and Wyatt avoided the crazy couple, Frank and Monica, like the plague. There was no way they were getting involved. With perfect tacit understanding, they pretended they didn't see or hear anything and sped up toward their respective cars.
Witnessing this scene.
Dexter, who had just gotten into his car, couldn't help but chuckle. Wanting to see the outcome, he didn't rush to start the car. Instead, he lit a cigarette and continued to watch.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes...
Suddenly, Carl, who was also watching Frank and the others causing a scene, spoke up. "If Ian is that Clayton guy's son, and not Frank's son, then... is Ian still my brother?" "You share the same mother, so you still count as brothers," Dexter smiled at Carl and gave him an answer.
Carl looked thoughtful.
Time passed quickly.
Unable to handle Frank and Monica's harassment any longer, Clayton surrendered. He pulled out his wallet, took out the little money that was inside, and handed it to Monica, pleading, "I only have this much money, really, no more..."
Monica quickly counted it. "Just a hundred-something dollars? That's too little." "I really don't have any more money," Clayton was about to cry.
The three continued to go back and forth for a while.
"Clayton, this isn't over. Don't think a hundred bucks can get rid of me, it's not that simple!" Frank threatened viciously. "I'll give you one day. Bring a few thousand dollars tomorrow, or we're coming to find you!" Clayton had nothing to say.
Frank glared at Clayton one last time, then beckoned Monica. "Monica, let's go to the Alibi. Let's have some fun." Monica nodded happily and agreed.
The two turned and walked away cheerfully.
Clayton breathed a long sigh of relief.
---
Watching this scene unfold in silence, Debbie suddenly couldn't help but laugh.
At the same time, the thought of getting as far away from the Gallagher house and these people as possible became increasingly certain in Debbie's mind.