Page 175 of Share with Me

Chapter Fifty-Four

The next morning, Grandma Yun didn’t wake up this side of life.

Ivan had gotten up early to get to the Seaside Chapel Men’s Bible Study at the Scrolls bookstore. Running late, he had left the house without any breakfast and without knocking on Grandma’s bedroom door. He didn’t give it another thought the entire time he was at the Bible Study and at Vittorio’s therapy session.

By the time he had gotten home around nine or ten in the morning, rigor mortis had set in. Ivan called 911. The coroner estimated that Grandma had died sometime in the night.

The next three days leading up to the memorial service and graveside funeral were busy days for Ivan. Quincy flew home from Paris to help with the funeral arrangements. Willow would be arriving soon from Atlanta to attend the funeral. They were all the family whom Grandma had close to her.

Ivan half-wished Brinley could be there, but she wasn’t family, and he didn’t want her to do anything more for him. She’d caused enough damage to his life as it was.

“Is there anything else you need?” Matt asked as they sat on the front steps of the porch under an overcast sky.

Ivan wiped his eyes with the base of his palm. He couldn’t believe Grandma was gone, that she’d never walk across these rickety porch again, use her walker, tell him she was praying for him, and put up with him.

“No. You’ve done plenty, Matt. I appreciate it more than words. You’re a good friend. No, a terrific friend.”

A great friend.

Matt Garnett had donated a pine casket. He had mobilized their entire church to chip in to pay for a burial plot. Almost every family at Seaside Chapel had contributed, even if it was a dollar here or there. Numerous ladies cooked dishes for the after-funeral reception at church. He had even made the musical and speaking arrangements for the memorial service.

It was all coming together because Matt was the ultimate organizer.

“I’m praying for you, Ivan.”

“Thanks, Matt.” Tears streamed down Ivan’s face. “It’s my fault.”

“She’s a couple of years to a hundred years old. When it’s time to go, it’s time to go.”

“She would still be alive if I hadn’t stressed her out.”

“You can’t know that, Ivan.”

“I wish I had managed our finances better. Then we wouldn’t be behind in our mortgages, she wouldn’t have to sell her piano, and we’d be living happily.”

“If you want to use that line of reasoning, then how about this? If your grandpa had managed his finances better, his widow and grandchildren wouldn’t be in this financial mess.”

Slowly, Ivan he lifted his left wrist in the air.

“Put that down,” Matt said. “I don’t attend pity parties.”

Slowly, Ivan put his wrist down.

Matt glanced at his watch. “Funeral’s in a couple of hours. Why don’t you ride with me?”

“Sure thing.” Ivan felt this heavy pall all around him, closing in, strangling him. He didn’t want to be alone in this house. Grandma had always been there waiting for him when he came home from work, and waving goodbye to him when he ran off to SISO practice or somewhere.

He expected Grandma to open the creaky porch door any moment now to ask him if he wanted spaghetti for dinner.

Life is going to change.

Ivan’s left wrist twitched a searing pain up his forearm again. Somehow it wasn’t as bad as the grief in his heart. He closed his puffy eyes.

The crunch of gravel made him look down the meandering driveway to where a small Toyota was coming in their direction.

Willow.

Ivan hadn’t seen his sister, Willow, in several years. She had called at Christmas, but didn’t show up in person. One would think that five hours wasn’t too long to drive from Atlanta to the Georgia coast, but she almost always had an excuse even when school was out.

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