take care of me. I have no knowledge of what will transpire between us after I write this, but if I know my girl, she stood by me to the end. I have faith that all my children helped and stood by her, too, and I thank them.
Gracie had never read the eulogy, because it had been in a sealed envelope, but it was obvious Mama's words had struck at the heart of her siblings. She could hear all of them crying. Guilt was as painful as a slap to the face.
Brother Harp cleared his throat. Gracie guessed he was obviously remembering his own lack of attention to their plight.
Whatever.
And then Brother Harp kept on reading.
What I want all of you to know is how much I loved living among you. How dear your friendship was to me. How much your love meant to me when my Tommy was killed.
But don't you dare sit there and cry for me now because I'm with Tommy again.
Sing your songs for me today. Bury me deep enough that this West Texas wind does not uncover my grave. Eat some barbecue and baked ham for me. I'm going to miss deviled eggs. But that's your world, not mine.
Don't waste a minute of life because it's short. Just know that love is forever, and Tommy and I send ours.
Brother Harp sat down as a trio from the choir began singing yet another of Delia's chosen songs—this time, "Amazing Grace."
Gracie had heard the story all her life of being named for this song, except Mama hadn't actually named her Grace. She'd named her Gracie because Mama said she could tell by the look in my eyes when she first saw my face, that I was going to be a pistol, and that being burdened with a dignified name might become an issue.
Delia's song choices were comforting to Gracie, and because her mama had chosen them, they felt like messages she wanted to leave behind.
Gracie sighed. She was crying and didn't even know it until Darlene slipped her a handful of tissues to wipe her eyes.
And then the song was over, and Brother Harp moved back to the pulpit to speak to the congregation.
"At this point in every funeral I have ever preached, this would be my time to deliver a spiritual message to all of you...a kind of reassurance for the grieving. But Miss Delia requested this be the end. And I will read to you what she said."
Brother Harp, I know you always preach a little sermon at funerals, but I'd just as soon you did not at mine. The way I figure it, the ones needing saving aren't gonna hear the call on the day I'm being buried because they're thinking about pie and ham. And the others present who’re already saved are probably needing a potty break.
The congregation roared.
Gracie grinned and shook her head. It was like hearing her mama's voice again—before all her good senses had abandoned her.
Brother Harp smiled, and then added. "I am to remind you, the burial will be at the Sweetwater Cemetery, and you are all invited back to the church for dinner afterward."
At that point, Willis Decker and his team began Delia Dunham's last reveal. They opened the top half of the casket, re-settled the casket spray back in place, and when they were satisfied that Delia was looking her deathly best, they stepped aside. The people seated in the back were the first to pass the casket, and then one by one, the sanctuary began to empty as people came down the aisle.
As was tradition in this part of the world, some paused by Gracie and her siblings to give personal messages, or their sympathies, before moving past the open casket—a simple gesture of paying their last respects to one of their own.
Gracie nodded, shook hands, accepted pats on the back, and the occasional hug. She said thank you in all the right places, but she was fading. This overload of sympathy made her ache in every bone. What she wouldn't give for a drink of cold Coke.
The lines seemed endless, and then finally the only people left within the sanctuary with the Dunham family were the Harps and the employees from the funeral home. This was it. The family's last chance to see their loved one's face.
One by one, her siblings stood, then gathered around the casket, holding onto each other in grief, and still Gracie sat.
"Honey?" Darlene whispered.
"I'll be along," Gracie said. "You go."
And