AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Sarah Carrier was crossing the blacktop as she left her car. When Talulah waved, she smiled. “I saw all the food in the kitchen when we were setting up,” she said. “It looks amazing, especially those gorgeous carrot cakes.”
“Thank you. I hope there’ll be enough for everyone.”
“I’m sure there will be. We might even have some to spare.”
Crossing her fingers, Talulah held them up in response.
Sarah assured her that the programs had been printed and the tables, chairs, tablecloths, paper plates and plastic cutlery were in a separate room, awaiting the food, and Talulah thanked her once again before someone else called Sarah’s name and she turned away as they entered the building.
Here we go, Talulah thought. The afternoon would be long and torturous, but she’d get through it somehow.
Bracing for whomever she might see, she pasted a smile on her face as she greeted various people who were milling around, waiting for the viewing to start. Her aunt’s casket had been placed in the foyer, along with a plethora of funeral arrangements, a large picture on an easel of Phoebe sitting at her beloved piano dressed in green and red, suggesting it’d been taken at a church Christmas program. There was also a side table that held a guestbook where people could write their sympathy to the family or share a memory of Phoebe.
Talulah understood that as Phoebe’s only family present at the funeral, she was to stand next to the casket. But she wasn’t ready to take her place quite yet. She ducked into the kitchen to spend a few more minutes by herself—and to avoid the cloying, overpowering scent of the carnations, plus make sure the food had been prepped according to her specifications. She’d turn on the ovens when it was time to drive behind the hearse to the cemetery so the lasagna could be heating up while they were gone.
She lingered in the kitchen, out of sight, until she heard the organ. Then she threw back her shoulders and made her way to the casket, where she stared down at her aunt’s drawn face. The mortician had done a decent job with her hair and makeup. Always tall and thin, with high cheekbones, clear eyes and a direct manner, Phoebe looked almost regal against the satin interior of the casket. She’d aged well overall, but she still had the paper-thin cheeks that seemed to come with age, and her hair was ratted and styled on top of her head the way she’d worn it since Talulah could remember.
It was a strange, almost surreal moment, when she felt, for perhaps the first time—since she’d been so concerned with the funeral logistics and getting through the necessary work—the tremendous loss of a person who’d been accomplished in many ways. Times had changed, and Phoebe had refused to change with them, so she represented a bygone era, and the memories she held of almost an entire century would be lost with her.
“I’m sorry,” someone said, reminding her that she had a duty to perform, and she turned to greet Phoebe’s friends and fellow church members as they streamed past to offer their condolences.
Some of the people she recognized. They were not only friends of Phoebe’s, they were longtime friends of her parents’. Many of them mentioned seeing her at church or school when she was a child. A few of her teachers, her volleyball coach from high school and loads and loads of Phoebe’s piano students spoke to her. Talulah couldn’t help but be impressed by the number of lives her aunt had touched. She hoped Phoebe was somehow aware of the size of her funeral.
Fortunately, none of Charlie’s family showed up. Had she been wrong in assuming they’d attend the funeral?
As the viewing ended and everyone began to wander into the meeting hall, Talulah held back, giving herself a short break until almost everyone else was seated inside. When she couldn’t stall any longer, she drew a deep breath and started for the door.
Dr. Gregor stood there, handing out the programs. He greeted her again, even though he’d spoken to her during the viewing. “Would you like a program?” he asked before she could continue past him.
She smiled as she accepted one, and a glance inside confirmed that she’d be the final speaker. Her talk was simply titled “Tribute to Phoebe Christensen by Talulah Barclay.”
She’d seen nothing but friendly faces so far, but she suspected her luck wouldn’t hold, and she was right. As she made her way down the aisle she could feel the steely gaze of Dinah and George Gerhart, Charlie’s parents. They must’ve entered the church, along with several other members of their family, from the far side. Although she was careful not to look in their direction, Talulah was fairly confident Averil wasn’t with them, and once she got to the raised dais, she could see that Charlie wasn’t, either.
She was just breathing a sigh of relief and feeling encouraged about getting through the rest of the day when Charlie walked in wearing a beautifully tailored button-down shirt, a classy tie and stylish black slacks. Averil was with him, leading her son, Mitch, by the hand. She was also dressed in black slacks, except that hers were paired with a pretty pink blouse. They both cast her a look that told her they hadn’t come to grieve the loss of her mother’s aunt; they were there to make her as self-conscious and uncomfortable as possible.
Refusing to let them intimidate her, she sat taller as she searched the crowd for Jane. She was halfway hoping Jane would be there, after all, but she wasn’t. So Talulah searched for other people she liked. There was Dr. Gregor, of course, but he was speaking to someone at the door, and she could see only a small slice of him, so she located Sarah Carrier, who was smiling at her from one of the middle pews.
Talulah was just finding her center again when a small stir over by the Gerharts drew her attention back to the door, since that was where they were all looking, and she was shocked to see Brant stride in.
Holding a program in his left hand, he winked at her as he made his way down the aisle.
He’d barely known her great aunt. He hadn’t come for Phoebe. He’d come to support her, and she was feeling so vulnerable that his small kindness nearly brought tears to her eyes.
Both Averil and Charlie strained to get a better look at him as he took a seat by himself in the very front pew, but Brant ignored them. Clean-shaven, he had his hair combed back with some product to hold it in place.
She found the fact that he’d put some effort into his appearance so endearing that she could feel the brittle smile she’d been wearing soften and become genuine. He was incredibly sexy in his Wranglers and work boots, even though they didn’t go with his dress shirt, which had fold lines that made it obvious he’d taken it out of the package right before putting it on.
The pastor started the service with a hymn, an opening prayer and some remarks of his own. Then two of Phoebe’s best piano students spoke about how Phoebe had influenced them, and three young women sang a beautiful rendition of “How Great Thou Art.”
Talulah watched the clock, growing more and more anxious about getting up in front of everyone when she was persona non grata to the Gerharts and any friends who sided with them. They seemed to think they owned the town. But she felt Brant silently encouraging her, and when the time finally came, she did her best. She talked about Sunday dinners at Phoebe’s when she was small, how Phoebe would accept nothing less than the maximum effort from her piano students and how particular she was about her house and person. Talulah also talked about what a wonderful pianist her great aunt was, that she could cook or can anything and how much her garden had meant to her. She finished with the important role Phoebe had played in her mother’s life, and before she knew it, her speech was over.
Grateful to have it behind her, she braved a glance into the audience as she sat back down and saw several people drying their eyes. Only Charlie and his family were glaring at her. They would’ve preferred she embarrass herself in some way.
The music swelled as they sang “The Lord is my Shepherd,” and Dr. Gregor gave the closing prayer before everyone got up to leave.
Talulah knew she couldn’t show too much interest in Brant or, given the rumors, the residents of Coyote Canyon would think they were now an item. But after several people approached her to say how much they’d enjoyed her tribute, and she’d escaped to the kitchen to turn on the ovens and put in the lasagnas, she found him waiting for her at the door to the parking lot, and she was so grateful to him for coming, she couldn’t stop herself from walking right up to him. “I can’t believe you came,” she said, her voice low. “Funerals are miserable enough when you know who’s died.”
He scanned the foyer. “I didn’t mind it. I enjoyed hearing you talk.”
