Page 84 of The Night the Lights Went Out
“I’ve just never heard of a funeral without a visitation,” Sugar said. “It doesn’t seem right. It’s always a nice way to see a person for the last time and say your final good-byes. I just don’t understand why Heather would skip all that.”
Wade patted her clenched hands on her lap. “After the autopsy, he was cremated. They usually have the urn at the service, and you can say your good-byes then.”
She pulled her hands away. “It’s not the same.” She shook her head, trying to think of the appropriate words to express her disappointment. “It’s not the same,” she said again.
The service was well attended, which was usually the case when someone young died. If she ever made it to heaven, she’d demand an explanation for this and all the other unexplainables she’d encountered over the last nine decades. Her determination to have life explained to her was probably why she’d been allowed to stay on this earth for so long—her come-to-Jesus meeting was bound to take some time and ruffle a feather or two.
As they walked down the aisle looking for room for three in a pew, Sugar became aware of how people seemed to look straight ahead as they approached, rooted like anchors in their spots despite plenty of room in the middle of the pew. On the pretext of adjusting her hat, she turned her head to direct her stink eye at one such couple, only to find an entire row of mourners looking at Merilee’s back. One person pointed while whispering to the woman next to her. She continued to follow Wade and Merilee as a sick feeling began to grow in the pit of her stomach.
They’d reached the front of the main aisle without any luck and were returning down the outside aisle when Wade stopped at a pew where a man was quickly putting down coats in the empty spaces next to the aisle. As if unaware of what the man was doing, Wade slid the coats into a pile, then motioned for Sugar and Merilee to sit. With an exaggerated mouthedthank youtoward the man with the coats, Wade joined them on the end of the pew, doing a fine imitation of those around him by staring ahead and ignoring everyone else.
The blond woman sitting directly in front turned around to see who’d just sat down. It was that Sharlene person who Merilee carpooled with who couldn’t stay off Sugar’s grass because she was always talking on the phone. The woman shouldn’t be allowed to walk and talk on a cell phone, much less operate a moving vehicle with children riding as passengers.
Sugar saw Merilee’s eyes widen in recognition and then saw her open her mouth to say something, but immediately shut it when Sharlene turned around again, pretending she hadn’t seen them.
Merilee went absolutely still, focusing on the altar and the small table with the wooden urn on top, suddenly aware that everyone was looking at her while pretending she wasn’t there. Wade, sitting next to her, took her hand, and Merilee squeezed it tightly.
Heather sat in the front row, her blond hair in stark contrast to a black suit that looked like she’d been poured into it. Her two daughters, little replicas of their mother, sat beside her, pressing wet faces onto the sleeves of Heather’s jacket. There were no grandparents in attendance, but a man who looked startlingly enough like Dan for Sugar to assume it was his brother sat on the other side of Bailey, his long arm stretched along the back of the pew behind Heather’s shoulders.
As if sensing someone watching her, Heather turned and met Sugar’s gaze. Sugar held it until Heather turned away. Several times during the short service, Sugar allowed her eyes to stray to the front pew, catching Heather surreptitiously watching Merilee and Wade before refocusing her attention on the pastor and the urn carrying the ashes of her recently departed husband.
Following the service, Merilee walked quickly from the church, keeping her gaze on the ground in front of her, ignoring the clusters of people huddled under black umbrellas who looked right through her. Wade and Sugar followed her under their own umbrella, unable to convince Merilee that Wade was happy to get wet if she wanted shelter from the rain. As they reached the bottom of the steps, someone called Merilee’s name, and she looked up with such an expression of relief that Sugar almost clapped.
“Lindi!” Merilee said, embracing her friend, then stepping under the offered umbrella. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to see you.”
Lindi said hello to Wade and Sugar, then hugged Merilee again. “I was a little late—Paul’s at home with two sick children—so I was standing in back of the church and getting a pretty good view of everything. What was that all about?”
Merilee looked close to crying. “I don’t know. Heather’s not returning my calls, and nobody’s talking to me. It’s like because I found Dan in the water, they think I’m guilty of something.”
Lindi stepped back, her eyes compassionate. “Please don’t give any thought to what people are saying. Daniel’s death is a shock to everybody, and they just want to find a reason, an explanation.”
Merilee blinked at her. “What do you mean? What are people saying?”
Lindi looked sincerely baffled. “Look, you’ve been through a hell of a time. I don’t think this is the time or the place...”
“What is it, Lindi? What’s going on?”
“I’m sorry. I thought maybe you’d heard some of the rumors. I know they’re all lies, so I didn’t bother you with them. Why don’t we meet for coffee this week and we can talk about it?”
“What rumors?” Merilee insisted. “Lindi—you might be my only friend. Whether they’re true or not, you need to tell me.”
Lindi looked as if she might cry. “I’m sorry. I really thought you knew. I heard it this week in the carpool line, but I figured it was just gossip. Something bored housewives made up to make what happened to Daniel even more tragic and awful—as if that’s even possible.”
“What rumor?” Merilee asked again, her voice higher pitched than usual.
Lindi seemed to consider her words. “People are saying that this isn’t the first drowning you’ve been involved with.”
Merilee clutched at her throat, pulling at the collar of her coat as if she suddenly couldn’t breathe. “They’re talking about my little brother?”
Lindi looked surprised and then a little sickly. She put her hand on Merilee’s arm. “No. Someone else. They’re saying you were married before Michael. And that your husband drowned under suspicious circumstances. I told them they were all lies. That you and I are friends and you hadn’t said anything...”
Wade grabbed Merilee’s elbow before her knees buckled, keeping her upright.
“Let me go get you something to drink,” Lindi said, already turning back toward the church steps.
“No,” Merilee managed. “I just want to go home.”
Lindi looked at Wade. “You’ll get her home and make sure she’s all right?”
