Others said an audible goodbye to their old friend.
The last person walked past the casket as the final words of the song ended.
“You take all the time you need.” The preacher came around and shook hands, starting with Sam. When he reached Noah, he said, “If you kids are going to make a permanent residence in Birthright, we’d love to have you in our church.”
“Thank you,” Noah said. “You might see us there next Sunday, but right now, I guess we’d better have some direction on how to get there for the dinner.”
“I know how to get there,” Teresa said.
“We went there with her every Sunday when we lived with her,” Kayla offered. “It’s only a few blocks from here.”
“Good.” Vernon mopped sweat from his brow with his handkerchief and then combed his thick gray hair back with his fingertips. “We’ll see you there in a few minutes, then. I’m going to go on and get out of this heat, but don’t y’all hurry a bit.”
The preacher left, and the five of them walked to the casket together. With their arms around each other’s shoulders, they stood there staring down at the remains of their loved one. Noah couldn’t wish her back, not with her health and mind in such a mess, but he wondered how or if he would ever be able to fill the empty feeling in his heart. Her death left him as the last living Jackson and with the responsibility of carrying on the family name.
Teresa was glad that Noah kept her hand in his on the way back to the truck. His touch filled part of the emptiness in her very soul.
Will had asked Kayla if she would ride back to the church with him, and she had said yes, so Teresa and Noah were alone in the truck. She fastened her seat belt and looked over at Noah. Their eyes locked, and they didn’t even need words to say what they felt in that moment, but it passed quickly.
He started the engine and drove slowly out of the cemetery. “Like I said earlier, I’m going to run my practice right out of the house, so I’ll either be there or in court. I’ll be meeting with clients, sometimes unsavory ones, right there. Is that going to be a problem for you and Kayla?”
Teresa knew that he had to have something to occupy his mind to keep from thinking about Miss Janie, because hers was doing the same thing. She gave his questions some thought and then said, “You should know by now that Kayla and I have seen lots of what you call unsavory characters. Maybe they’d like some cookies and coffee while you visit with them. You never know what a small act of kindness will do for a person who’s down and out. Miss Janie did that for me, so maybe I can pay it forward a little bit at home.”
“Thank you. That makes me happy.” Noah parked his vehicle behind Sam’s.
“The thanks go to you for finding me and Kayla,” Teresa told him.
“I’d say that they go to Miss Janie.” He got out of the truck, rounded the front end, and opened the door for her. “I didn’t know about this dinner. I would have told y’all if I had.”
“But you knew about her wishes,” she said as he tucked her arm into his.
The one thing Teresa had always liked about the small church Miss Janie attended was that the girls who had been so popular in high school, Prissy Wilson included, went elsewhere on Sunday morning. That day, however, the first face she saw when she walked into the fellowship hall was Prissy, standing against the wall with what everyone in high school had called her posse. Suddenly Teresa felt downright dowdy and underdressed.
They came in a group straight toward her. Noah squeezed her hand and whispered, “I’m right here.”
“Teresa, we want to tell you how sorry we are for your loss. Miss Janie was loved by us all. Every one of us four can remember a time when her advice helped us. We went in together and brought a ham to the dinner,” Prissy said.
Miss Janie’s words about Prissy being such a brat came back to Teresa. She was almost tempted to come up with a smart-ass remark, but she just smiled sweetly and said, “Thank you for that. We appreciate your kindness.”
“You’re welcome,” Prissy muttered. “And I’m sorry for the way we treated you and Kayla when we