Chapter 28

It had been a month since Anna and I had gotten engaged and had subsequently been witness to the back stabbing by my ex-fiancée. It was a Wednesday evening and we were both a bit fagged out from long days on the job: hers at the salon and mine at the store. She got a call on her new cellphone thingy.

She answered and I could see from her expression that the news whatever it was, was not good. I figured it had to be something from the bad guys in Scottsdale. I was right, sort of.

I’d only heard her grunting her responses. But she punched the off button and turned to me. She just stared at me for a long moment. I was worried.

“Anna?” I said. She was actually beginning to cry.

“She’s dead, Andrew. Cecilia Scott died just hours ago,” she said.

“Oh my,” I said. “Thar’s awful. I really liked her. She did her best for Kari, and for me too.”

“The funeral is Saturday. Carlton is taking care of everything. There will be a service at the church and then, well, then the funeral at 2nd Baptist,” she said. “And oh, that was Carlton on the phone. He hopes we’ll come.”

“You should go,” I said.

“And you too, right?” she said.

“No, she’ll be there, so I won’t be,” I said.

“Andrew this is one of those...”

“I said no. Don’t ask again. I will pay my respects at another time, but not if she’s there, never that again,” I said.

“He’s not coming to my mom’s funeral is he!” said Lea.

“No, I got a call from Anna. She’s coming, but not Andrew,” said Carlton.

“He must actually hate me, and all because of a few misspoken words! God how I hate myself,” she said.

“It’s not because of what you said that night, not that only at any rate. It’s Kari’s adoption by me, mostly, and his inability to believe that we respect him. When he heard us talking, that was just the final straw for him. He thinks we hold him in contempt. He won’t forget that, not in this lifetime,” he said.

Her tears were quiet, but they were also expressive. He went to her and held her.

“We’ll figure out something,” he said. “I want to as much as you do.”

“Doubtful that part,” she said. “But yes, we do need to come up with something, anything!”

“Yes,” he said.

The funeral was attended by a relatively small group of people. Cecilia Scott was not an outgoing person. People who did know her respected her and, yes, one could say loved her. But the fact was, there were not a lot of people who knew her, at least not intimately. When her husband had died so many years before; she’d become a semi-recluse. She did go out mostly with her daughter when she lived at home, but not a lot.

Lea Hanson, and her husband, Kari and her husband, Anna, a few people from Pearl’s, and a few more from Martha’s were those comprising the group. And, everyone there did notice the absence of Andrew Brown; and, everyone there disapproved.

Lea, fell from her seat to her knees on the grassy sward sobbing as the coffin was lowered to its eternal rest. Her husband and her daughter joined her. Anna remained seated, but was busy dabbing the endless stream of tears that caused the dabbing.

At the house the wake was quiet almost somber, would have been the way to describe it. There was food, and some conversation. Carlton had had Cecilia’s house and virtually all of her expenses covered one hundred percent while she lived, now the property would go to Lea, and the paperwork on that was already completed. It would be another day or two before she would be bothering with it, any of it. She approached Anna.

“Welcome or not, I will be talking to your fiancée soonest,” said Lea. Anna nodded.

“Yes, I understand,” said Anna. “Even with everything, he should have been here today. But, in his defense, he did say that he will be paying his respects, just not if you’re there. He was really hurt by what he heard that night, Lea. You do need to get that.”

“I do, but this was Mom’s day, not mine,” she said.

“I understand,” said Anna.

The duo turned to see Kari and Carlton approaching.

“Everything okay, Mom?” said Kari.

“Yes, sure,” said Lea.

“I’ll get Lily to see to the serving of the food,” said Carlton.

“Good, okay,” said Lea.

I looked up at the clock: it was after 4:00 p.m. My lover was parking. I knew I was going to be read the riot act for not being there even though we’d already discussed me not going in depth.