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‘Ididn’t see you at church.’
‘No, sadlyIhad to be elsewhere but thoughtI’dtry to come to the,’ he paused, ‘is it actually going to be a wake?’
‘Partwake, part interment,Ithink.Yousaw the carefully dug hole just underPrincessAnne?’
‘Excuseme?’
‘Themassive pink rose bush.’
‘Ah.Fora minuteIthought you meantPrincessAnnewas actually here.’
‘WithAggie, anything’s possible.’
Helaughed. ‘RememberIknow nothing about flowers.’
‘Iremember.AndIknow nothing about football.How’syour team doing?’
‘It’snot the football season yet.’
‘Well, there you go then.’
Alice,Austin’sgranddaughter, came up with a tray of flutes. ‘Morechampagne?’
Daisytook a fresh glass. ‘Ishouldn’t,Ihave to get back to work this afternoon.’Therewas an uneasy silence and she wondered if she should offer her condolences.Itwas usual at funerals, wasn’t it?Takinga breath, she launched in, ‘I’msorry aboutGretel.’
Alice’seyes misted over. ‘It’sall terribly sad.Mostof all for granddad.Heloved that dog so much and withAggieaway working so often she was his constant companion.’
Daisynodded, not sure how to answer.Thissort of conversation was awkward at the best of times, but someone had forgotten to write the etiquette book for a dog’s funeral. ‘He’llmiss her.’
Alicenodded vigorously. ‘Andif he doesn’t get a chance to say it, canIthank you on his behalf for doing such gorgeousflowers.Iknow from whatAggiesaid it was all very last minute so it’s even more appreciated.Shecame back from your shop and said how sensitively you handled it all.Itcan’t have been the most usual of requests.’
Daisywas taken aback.Shewas pretty sureAggiehad said no such thing.EitherAlicewas the mistress of small talk, or she should be in training for the diplomatic core. ‘You’revery welcome.I’mglad they were suitable.Andyou’re right, this is my first dog’s funeral, butIwas very pleasedIcould be of service.’Daisymeant it.Atfirst she couldn’t decide if this whole thing was over the top, farcical or in sheer bad taste but hearing the thingsAustinandAggiehad said aboutGretelin the church, singing ‘AllThingsBrightandBeautiful’ and listening to the prayers, she’d changed her mind.
Alicesmiled and glided on.
‘Whata lovely girl.’
Daisystarted.She’dforgottenRickwas still there. ‘Sheis.Very.Andwise beyond her years.’Shefelt him staring at her hard.
‘Andthis is a very lovely town.Daisy,Ihave–’
Buthis sentence was cut off.Aggieclinked a spoon to her glass.Thenext part of the service was about to begin.
Chapter Sixteen
August’s bouquet
Sunflowers – Helianthus annuus
Pride and loyalty, wise thoughts.
‘S
o, what happened next?’Marionpouted. ‘I’mfumingImissed it.’
‘You’recross you missed a dog’s funeral?Sincewhen have you been a dog lover?’Daisytried to keep her irritation under control; she could really have done without seeing her today.Especiallyafter what she’d done.ItwasSaturday, a few days afterGretel’sfuneral.Marionwas on her way to hot yoga, butDaisystrongly suspected it was to catch up with all the gossip.Andnot just fromGretel’sfuneral.
Marionshuddered. ‘Oh,I’mnot, sweetie butAggiealways throws a wonderful party and the champers is always top-notch soIwouldn’t want to miss that.’Shepulled delicately at her snugly fitting workout top. ‘So, come on, what was it like?’
