don’t weep for me. I’m going to a better place. To my girls, I love you, and I want you to be happy. To Sam, I couldn’t have ever asked for better neighbors. To Noah, you’ve been like a son to me, and I love you more than you’ll ever know. That is all. Now go home, enjoy life, and when you think of me, I hope it will be a happy memory that puts a smile on your face.” The preacher removed a white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his eyes. “It’s signed Sarah Jane Jackson, but we all knew her as Miss Janie. I understand that she asked each of you kids to have a few words.” He stepped away from the microphone.
Teresa had dealt with death in her job more than the other two, so they’d planned on her going first. Noah missed her touch when she let go of his hand as she stood. She took a few steps and leaned into the microphone. “Miss Janie had her struggles and faced a lot of demons in her life, like all of us have done. Today, as we put her to rest, I can hear her sweet voice singing with the angels. I want to live the rest of my life so that someday I can sing with her. Thank you all for attending the service today. Seeing so many folks would have made her happy.”
Her hand was shaking as she sat down and slipped her hand back into Noah’s. They hadn’t discussed the order beyond who would go first, but Kayla stood up next. She reached out her hand for Will, and he joined her, standing firm beside her with his hand in hers as she spoke into the microphone. “I’m Kayla Green, but in my heart I’m Kayla Jackson and Miss Janie is my real mama. I can never thank her enough, but I intend to do my best to make her proud of the decision she made to give me a home and teach me how to love unconditionally.”
When Kayla sat down, Noah let go of Teresa’s hand and made his way to the lectern. “There is sadness in our hearts today, but happiness right along with it. We’re all three very glad for the time we’ve had with Miss Janie, but most of all we appreciate the impact that she’s had on our lives. We wouldn’t be who we are or where we are without her, and we love her for giving so much of herself to make us the grown-ups that we are.”
He sat back down and draped his arm over Teresa’s shoulders. “That was tough,” he whispered.
“Yes, it was,” Kayla said from Teresa’s other side. “Thank goodness for you and Will, or we’d have never made it. My hands are still trembling.”
“Mine, too,” Teresa admitted.
The preacher nodded toward someone behind the casket, and the first notes of piano music floated out across the cemetery. Sarah McLachlan’s clear voice sang “Angel.” Many of the people wouldn’t understand why on earth the family had chosen that song rather than something more religious, but it’s what Miss Janie had asked for, and Noah was honoring her last wishes.
Tears streamed down Teresa’s face, and then Kayla followed suit. Noah was glad that the funeral home folks had thought to set a box of tissues beside his chair. “This was her choice of songs,” he whispered.
“I don’t know if she chose it for herself or for us girls. She knew all the reasons why we never felt good enough, like the song says,” Teresa whispered.
“Even when she was dying, she left this for us. We were in the arms of an angel these few weeks for sure,” Kayla whispered as the song was coming to an end. “In all the madness and the sadness, she was our angel.”
“Not was,” Noah said. “She is our angel.”
“And she’ll be watching over all of us forever,” Teresa agreed.
When the song ended, the preacher focused on the family instead of the crowd behind them. “Miss Janie wouldn’t want a fuss, but she’s not here to argue with us. There’s a dinner prepared in the fellowship hall of the church for any who want to join us and visit about Miss Janie and what she meant to us.”
The funeral director came forward, moved the floral piece to the side, and then opened the casket. Sarah McLachlan’s song played again as the folks walked past. Some just glanced at Miss Janie.