Chapter 23

ABBY

“You always take on too much,” Paul complained as Abby picked out a tie for him to wear to Ruby McCann’s funeral.

“Too much according to who?”

He frowned. “According to your husband.”

“All I did was offer to cater the luncheon today.”

“The luncheon today, a major Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday, and on top of that you seem obsessed with getting the B and B going before Christmas.”

“I’m not obsessed.” She stuck her feet into her black pumps. “I’m excited. Jackie Day’s B and B is overbooked, and she’s depending on me to handle her overflow. Not every innkeeper has guaranteed guests before they officially open their doors.”

“You already have two guests,” Paul reminded her.

“Yes, well …” Abby shrugged and went into the bathroom to do something with her hair. She hadn’t told Paul that she wasn’t charging Caroline yet. It wasn’t his business particularly, but she did prefer for him to think that she was already bringing in money. Besides, why was he acting like this? Just recently he’d been nagging her to do something besides babysit him. And now here she was doing other things, and he was griping about it. Men! Sometimes it seemed that nothing made them happy!

Did Paul appreciate that she was hosting the post-funeral gathering at the inn rather than at their home? She didn’t want him to feel responsible to play host to strangers, and he could come home and rest. Did he care that it had been more work for her to get that other kitchen all set up, or to do her food preparations over there? Apparently not. She set down the curling iron and frowned at her frowzy hair. Really, it was useless. Her friends were right. She did need a makeover. She studied the dull color—dishwater blonde tinged with gray—and considered how her friends had been urging her to do something about it. Well, maybe she would go ahead and book a weave or whatever it was they were doing to hair nowadays. Maybe she’d get herself some new clothes, too. She wondered what Paul would think of that. Probably not much.

“Are you ever going to be done in there?” he called from the other side of the door. “Or maybe you’d like me to go unshaven to the funeral.”

She pushed open the door and frowned at him. “It’s all yours.”

“Are we still taking separate cars?” he asked as he pushed past her.

“Yes. I’m leaving now to take care of some things for the luncheon. I’ll just meet you at the funeral home. If you get there first, save me a seat.”

He laughed. “You think it’ll be crowded?”

She punched him in the arm. “Be nice!”

“I’m just saying. Poor old Ruby McCann probably didn’t have many friends.”

“If my mom were here, I’m sure she’d go.”

“Well, the only reason I’m going is for you, and Caroline, too. But as soon as it’s over I plan to go to the health club.”

She wanted to question this, but she was burning daylight. “Just remember to save me a place,” she called as she grabbed her coat.

As Abby drove toward town, she still felt irked at Paul. Really, that man could be so insensitive sometimes. Ruby McCann hadn’t been Abby’s favorite person, but that day on the boat when the Lindas helped Caroline rescue her, Abby had felt real compassion for the old woman. It wasn’t Ruby’s fault she’d gotten Alzheimer’s. If younger folks like Paul couldn’t show a bit of empathy for the challenges the elderly faced, how would someone like him feel when the tables turned and he was the one running around town buck naked? She chuckled to imagine this. Then she shuddered. Really, if she thought about it hard, it was not that humorous.

Balancing a Crock-Pot on her hip, Abby unlocked the front door and let herself into the house. As usual she loved the feeling of coming in here, loved the idea that this place belonged to her. Well, to her and Janie. And the bank. Even so, the smell of old wood, the whispers of old memories … they never failed to comfort her.

“Hey, Abby,” said Donna as she came down the stairs. “How’s it going?”

“Okay.” Abby dropped her bag on the table in the foyer. She wished she’d thought to get some fresh flowers to set there. That’s what she planned to do once the inn was really up and running.

“Looks like you’ve got lots of good things to eat in the kitchen. I controlled myself from sneaking one of those deviled eggs.”

Abby laughed as she made a beeline to the kitchen. “Oh, you can sneak one if you want. I really doubt there will be many people here for lunch anyway.”

“Caroline said her mom didn’t have too many friends.” Donna trailed Abby into the kitchen, watching as Abby bustled about.

“Are you going to the funeral?” Abby placed meatballs into the Crock-Pot.

“I don’t know. I didn’t know Caroline’s mom. I expect Victor might be going, since he’s friends with Caroline.” Donna made a sad expression. “It’s hard not to envy all of you, the way you grew up together in this town, the way your friendships remained strong over the years, and how close you are.”

“I’m sure you must have some good old friends too, Donna.”

Donna just shook her head. “The way Caroline’s friends will gather around her today, showing their love and support—I suppose I’ll never have anything like that. Even if I live in Clifden for twenty years, I’ll probably never really fit in.”

Abby felt sorry for Donna, and wondered if she was fishing for an invitation to the funeral service. Was it Abby’s place to extend this to her?

“There you are,” Caroline said as she joined them in the kitchen. “Thank you so much for doing this, Abby.” She came over and gave Abby a sideways hug. “I wish I could stick around and help you, but I need to get over to the funeral home to take—”

“Don’t you worry about a thing,” Abby assured her. “It’s all under control. You just run along, and I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Thanks so much!”

“You’re so lucky to have so many good friends,” Donna said to Caroline.

Caroline smiled. “Yes, I feel very blessed.”

“On a day like today it must be a comfort.” Donna sighed.

“Very much so,” Caroline assured her. “I don’t suppose you’ll want to come to the funeral—although you’re welcome, of course—but I do hope you’ll join us for lunch if you’d like.”

Donna put a hand on Caroline’s shoulder. “You are the most gracious person, Caroline. It’s your mother’s funeral, and here you are being nice to me—practically a stranger. You make me feel like I’m really your friend.”

Caroline looked slightly stumped by this. “Of course you’re my friend, Donna.”

“Thank you. That means so much to me.”

“I’ll see you both later,” Caroline called as she hurried on her way.

“Well, I can’t very well refuse that invitation,” Donna told Abby. “I better run upstairs and change. Do you think I could get a ride with you?” She laughed. “Or else I could ride my bike, although that might be tricky in a dress with heels.”

“Of course you can ride with me,” Abby said as she turned on the Crock-Pot. “I’ll be leaving about a quarter to ten.”

“Perfect!”

Abby wasn’t sure why it bothered her that Donna was coming to the funeral, but for some reason it did. Of course, she wouldn’t let on about this to anyone. She felt slightly bad for Janie’s sake, which reminded her that she hadn’t talked to Janie specifically about Donna lately. Tomorrow morning Abby and the other Lindas would meet for coffee and, hopefully, updates. At the moment, Abby had no clue as to what was going on in the Victor love triangle. She was curious.

“I hope I’m not overdressed,” Donna said when she returned to the kitchen.

Abby studied the elegant black dress and shrugged. It looked more like a cocktail dress than funeral-wear, but Abby had no intention of saying this. “You look very pretty, Donna.” She glanced down at the woman’s black high heels. “As my daughter Nicole would say, those shoes are killer.”

Donna laughed. “If I wear them too long, they kill my feet, too.”

Abby put the salad she’d just tossed back into the fridge, quickly washed her hands, then looked at the kitchen clock. “I guess that’s it for now.”

As Abby drove to the funeral home, Donna reminisced about Victor’s mother’s funeral several years ago. “Even though Vic and I were divorced, I stayed close to his mom. She was such a dear woman, and of course, she was the grandmother of my sons. I couldn’t have stayed away even if I’d wanted to.”

“I suppose divorce does complicate things like funerals and weddings. I can’t imagine how I’d handle holidays and such under those circumstances. Goodness, it’s challenge enough just getting the grown children together, and sometimes they’re not getting along.”

“Speaking of holidays, I am so thrilled that both of my boys are coming to Clifden for Thanksgiving,” Donna exclaimed. “It will be the first time in years that we’ve all been together. I can hardly wait.”

Abby felt her brows lifting. “So you’ll all celebrate together then? At Victor’s house?”

“Yes. I think that’s the plan.”

“Victor is cooking?”

Donna laughed. “Good grief, I hope not. No, I’m sure he’ll let me handle the cuisine. I seriously doubt that man’s ever cooked a turkey in his life.”

Abby suspected Donna was right about this. Now more than ever, Abby wanted to hear Janie’s thoughts on the subject. “Here we are.” She parked across the street from the funeral home. “It looks like there are quite a few people here.” She spotted Paul’s pickup as they got out of the car. “I hope my husband saved a place.”

As it turned out, Paul was sitting by himself in the back. “Come on,” Abby urged him, “we need to sit up there near Caroline and Janie.”

“That’s for family,” he insisted.

“We are her family.” She grabbed his hand and pulled him up. “Come on, Donna, you can sit with us too.”

As they sat down behind Caroline, Abby estimated there were as many as thirty people at the funeral. Thankful she’d made what she’d assumed was too much food, she wondered how many of them would come to the luncheon. Most were friends of Caroline’s. A few of the old timers must’ve been acquaintances of Mrs. McCann. It didn’t escape Abby’s notice that Caroline’s brother was sitting on the opposite side of the room by himself. With his arms folded tightly across his chest, Abby suspected he was eager to get this over with.

Just before the service began, Marley and a young man whom Abby assumed was Ashton slipped into their row and sat down.

The service was actually quite nice. Abby was surprised by the eulogy, which had been written by Caroline. It seemed that Ruby McCann had done some interesting things in her life, including winning a local beauty contest, serving in the Philippines as a member of the Women’s Army Corps, and working briefly in advertisement sales for the newspaper. Unfortunately it seemed that Mrs. McCann’s life shrank considerably after her marriage. Not surprisingly, very little was said about Mr. McCann.

When people were invited to share memories about Ruby McCann, several people went forward, including old Doc Richards, who spoke so fondly of the deceased woman that Abby wondered if they might’ve been romantically involved at some time. Then white-haired Vera Dewberry, leaning on her cane, slowly made her way to the podium and shared some interesting memories about beach bathing and USO dances and the night they took a wild ride with three sailors.

After Vera made her way back to her seat and the laughter subsided, and it seemed no one else cared to speak, Caroline went up. “First I want to thank everyone for coming today. I know my mother—whom I thankfully believe is in her right mind again—would appreciate you being here.” Caroline spoke briefly about Alzheimer’s and the toll it had taken on her mother. “She didn’t have a real easy life even before that,” Caroline admitted. “In fact one of the things that most impressed me about my mother was that through everything, she kept her spark of humor. I hope that I can keep that part of her alive with me.”

Caroline opened her Bible. “When I was cleaning up my mom’s house, I found her Bible. To be honest, I was kind of surprised by how well worn it was, and how she’d made notes by some of the passages. This particular section was underlined in red ink. It’s from the gospel of John, verses one through four of the fourteenth chapter.” She cleared her throat to read. “‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.’”

Caroline was crying as she finished the last verse. “I can’t tell you how much that comforts me, the idea that my mother knew what Jesus had prepared for her … that she knew what was waiting for her. As many of you know, her earthly life had its challenges. So she is truly in a better place now.”

After “Amazing Grace” was played and a final prayer said, the pastor extended the invitation to the final interment, followed by a luncheon and further fellowship at Abby’s house in town. He even mentioned that Abby was transforming her old family home into a bed-and-breakfast that would be opening soon. This remark was probably made at Caroline’s suggestion, but it was sweet and much appreciated by Abby just the same.

“I’m not going to the interment,” Abby told Donna as she stood. “I want to go home and get the luncheon set up.”

Donna frowned as if this was greatly disappointing. She pointed to where Victor was sitting. “I’ll ask Vic to give me a ride then.” Just like that she was on her way. Abby felt guilty for Janie’s sake now. Perhaps she should’ve insisted that Donna ride home with her. Truthfully Abby wouldn’t have minded if Donna had offered to lend a hand getting the food set up, but it was too late now. And really, it wasn’t Abby’s problem.

As they went to the back of the room, Marley introduced Abby to Ashton. “He’s staying with me until Thanksgiving,” she explained.

“That must be cozy.”

Marley just smiled.

“Hey, I’ll bet my mom wouldn’t mind if you used her place, Ashton,” Abby said. “I mean if it’s too crowded in your mom’s little bungalow.”

Ashton seemed to brighten just a bit. “Really?”

“Sure. I’ll give her a call and see if it’s okay. I have a key.”

“That might be nice,” Marley admitted. “I didn’t realize just how small my house was until I had a guest.” She linked her arm with Ashton’s. “Not that I mind. It’s been really nice. I think Ashton’s been enjoying the beach.”

Ashton nodded. “Yeah, it’s a nice beach.”

Abby wanted to say something else, something that might comfort the sad-looking guy, but her mind was blank.

“I’m outta here,” Paul whispered to her as they were making their way to the door.

“Feel free to stop by the inn if you’re hungry,” Abby offered. Maybe it was the funeral service, or maybe it was the sight of Paul in his good suit, but her heart toward him had softened some.

“If I don’t stop by, feel free to bring home leftovers.” He winked, then pecked her on the cheek. “Later, doll.”

Abby waved at Caroline and Janie, mouthing that she’d see them later. Caroline smiled and waved back, but Janie wore a troubled expression. She must’ve spotted Donna and Victor together. As Abby headed back to her car, she wondered if Janie was aware of the pair’s Thanksgiving plans yet. Maybe Abby should give her a gentle heads-up today. Poor Janie.