Page 19 of Happy Harbor
“Nice to meet you too.”
“Shannon and I went to high school together.”
Kendra laughed. “Did you get into as much trouble as my mom did?”
An awkward silence hung over them. “No, I didn’t.”
After the uncomfortable pause, Josie cleared her throat. “Well, we’d better be going. See you at the service tomorrow?”
“Of course. Y’all have a good evening.”
As they walked out onto the sidewalk, the smell of the ocean mixed with the harbor overwhelmed Josie’s senses. It felt like home, but that wasn’t always a good thing. It depended on whether home brought back good memories or difficult ones, and right now, she wasn’t sure how she felt anymore.
CHAPTERFIVE
Josie stood in front of the casket draped in pink roses and white carnations, her grandmother’s favorites. They looked so traditional, yet so fitting. The shade of the tent over her head shielded her eyes from the bright southern sun as she fought back tears. This was real. Adeline Campbell was gone, and Josie had never felt more alone in her life. Even as she held her daughter’s hand, she felt like a little child, lost in a grocery store.
“Adeline Campbell was a fine woman, the type that jumped in to help everyone, even those who didn’t deserve it. She was forgiving, loving, and warm. These characteristics are rarely found in our modern, rushed world...” The pastor’s words were so true, but Josie wished he wasn’t so long-winded. Wearing a pair of high heels on the soft cemetery grounds was causing her calves to ache. Why couldn’t they sit down and listen to this?
Why she’d chosen heels instead of flats was beyond her. She was used to wearing business attire, but a part of her had forgotten just how soft the Lowcountry ground could be in some areas. The cemetery sat in a shady part of the town, so there was a good possibility that she’d just slowly slide into the earth in a few minutes.
“You may be seated,” he finally said, and Josie stifled an audible groan. She sat and felt the blood leave her feet and return to other parts of her body.
When the service was finally over, dozens of mourners walked in front of her and Kendra to pay their respects. Each of them spoke something over Adeline’s casket, some of which Josie could hear.
“I’ll miss you.”
“You were a wonderful woman.”
“I wish I knew how to make your cornbread.”
As she listened to them, she got a knot in her stomach thinking about all the things she wished she’d said while her nana could’ve heard her. Of course, now Nana would say, “I can hear you, Bug. Heaven is merely like a sheet between us, soft and thin. I’m here.”
“Josie, I’m so sorry for your loss,” a woman said, standing in front of her as she sat there, desperately trying to summon her grandmother’s voice in her head.
“Thank you.”
She had no idea who many of these people were, even though she’d grown up around most of them. As a kid and then a teenager, she didn’t exactly take the time to learn the names of her grandmother’s friends. That would have been very uncool of her. But this woman seemed familiar.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” The woman smiled like she was in on an inside joke.
“I’m sorry, I don’t. Are you one of Nana’s friends?”
“I’m Deb Hancock, your seventh-grade teacher.”
Josie’s mouth fell open. “Mrs. Hancock? Wow, it’s been a long time.”
She chuckled. “Plus, I’ve gained about fifty pounds and a head full of gray hair since you saw me last.”
“You look great,” Josie said, smiling, feeling like that was the right thing to say.
“Well, thank you. Is this your daughter?”
“Yes, this is Kendra.”
“Nice to meet you, Kendra,” she said, sticking out her hand.
“Nice to meet you too.”
