I, Gracie - Sharon Sala Page 0,31

added.

But Mamie was staring at the dress.

"What the hell is she wearing? What was Gracie thinking putting that on her?"

"Mamie, for the love of God," Joel whispered.

And then Willis Decker walked in.

"Hello, I'm Willis Decker. I just wanted to pay my respects to the family. James. Mamie. It's been a while since I've seen you."

"Yes, sir," Mamie said. "This is my husband, Joel Freemont."

Willis nodded. "I won't bother you further, but I did want to tell you how touched all of the visitors have been seeing your mama in her wedding dress. It was Delia's wish to be buried in it, and as I told Gracie, I don't think I've ever had that happen before. But as I'm sure you also know, Gracie has been adamant about following Delia's last wishes. Your mama even wrote her own eulogy and picked out the songs for the service. She was something else."

Mamie swallowed, just nodding as if she'd known all along, but she couldn't talk for the lump in her throat. She'd just stood in front of her mother's body and disparaged her last wishes. This couldn't get any worse.

As soon as Willis left, Mamie walked straight up to the casket.

"I am so sorry, Mama. For everything. Gracie hates us."

James frowned. "Stop tattling. You were always the worst tattler. Gracie has a right to her feelings." And then he looked down into his mother's face and saw the woman who'd raised him. Her eyes were closed, and her face was so serene. The crazy was gone. Hell, all of her was gone.

"I'm sorry, Mama. We didn't do right by Gracie. She has every right to hate us. And I'm sorry we let you down, too. Just because you forgot us, didn't mean we had to let go of you. It was cowardly, and I am ashamed. I love you. And it's real easy to see why Daddy married you. You look beautiful in that dress."

Joel waited, standing back, and when they were leaving, he looked back, half-expecting Delia to sit up and give all of them a talking to. It would have made him feel better. But it was too late for all of them. They had to live with the guilt of what they'd left undone. They walked out, squinting against the lowering sun, and paused at the curb.

"Where do you want to go eat?" Joel said, and then glared at Mamie, daring her to play the victim card.

She shrugged. "You men pick, then I'll call sister."

"Let's get in where it's cool to talk," James said.

And so they did.

"We could do Buck's Steak and Barbecue," James said.

Joel nodded. "Works for me."

"I'll text Daphne to meet us there," she said.

The sun had gone down. The fan pulled in cooler air from the open window as Gracie stood in the kitchen. An old Zac Brown Band song called Roots was playing on the radio. The song spoke to Gracie. Her roots had always been with the land, but she was about to cut herself free.

She hummed along with the song as she worked, pouring up cereal and adding a little milk. She didn't like her cereal soaked down and always ate it fast while the flakes still crunched. She wasn't real hungry. The barbecue Darlene had brought earlier in the day had been filling. But she wanted something, and this was all she had.

She heard the coyotes tuning up outside, and out of spite, turned on the back porch light, just to let them know she was still here, then turned the radio off, and the television on. She watched it while she ate, wondering where the sanity of the country was going, and if she had the guts to venture out into the jungle it had become.

But then she could just hear her mama's voice, chiding her for the doubt. For letting in fear of the unknown, and so she changed the channel and finished her cereal.

It was time to go to bed.

Tomorrow was the finale to Delia Dunham's life on Earth, and Gracie intended to do it up right.

The siblings all had an after-dark swim in the motel pool, just because it was there. But there was no jovial atmosphere to add to it, and so they soon parted company.

James went to bed early, because there was nothing else to do, and left a wake-up call for 7:00 A.M. It would give him plenty of time to get down to the free breakfast, then get ready to leave for the funeral