Page 7 of A Lifetime in 30 Days
“I will,” Vanna said as she continued writing the information onto the blotter. Once she got this woman off the phone, she’d get her notepad and transfer the information there.
But before she could do that, and just as she disconnected the call and set the phone down on her desk, there was a knock at the door.
“Come in,” she said.
The door opened and Neshawn poked her head inside. “Hey, um, this woman is here to see you. She said it’s personal and that you will definitely want to see her.”
“What woman?”
Neshawn’s eyes widened, and then she stepped farther into the office to whisper, “She said she’s your mother-in law.”
Damn. This day just wasn’t getting any better.
Gail wore a floral-print wrap dress and nude-colored flat sandals. She walked slowly into Vanna’s office after Vanna had given Neshawn permission to let Gail in. As she came closer to the desk, Vanna could see that her eyes were puffy and red, her fingers gripping the edge of the clutch she carried.
“Have a seat,” Vanna said as she hurried to get up and walked over to the door to close it.
Once she returned to sit behind her desk, she asked, “How are you doing?”
It looked like the woman wasn’t doing well, and that was understandable. Her only son had died. If there was nothing else in this world that Vanna could say by way of compliment to this woman, the fact that she loved her son was obvious and genuine. Gail also had a daughter, Cher, who was older than Caleb by seven years, but Cher lived in Atlanta with her husband.
“I’m ... I’m ... trying to understand all of this,” Gail replied. “I’ve been walking around my house, hearing him call out to me. But then I go to his room and he’s not there. I fix dinner for him like I always did, but he doesn’t come home to eat it.”
Caleb had missed plenty of dinners when he’d been living with Vanna, but she didn’t mention that. “I’m so sorry you have to go through this,” she said instead. And she was. Just as she’d told Granny, she’d never wished death on Caleb, and she certainly didn’t wish this type of hurt on Gail. She could not like either of them very much but still not want any harm to come their way. If nothing else, and even for people who didn’t deserve it, Vanna had compassion.
“I don’t know what I’m gonna do without him,” Gail said, then released a heavy sigh.
“Have you called Cher? Is she coming up here to help you with the arrangements?” Considering the phone call she’d just received, Vanna wasn’t going to let this meeting end without discussing it.
Gail’s eyes widened a bit; then she pressed her thin lips together. Her shoulders rose and settled with the next deep breath she took, and Vanna waited for her to respond.
“I’ve been waiting for you to call and let me know when we needed to go to the funeral home to make the arrangements,” Gail replied.
That wasn’t the answer Vanna was hoping for.
“Why are you waiting for me? I told you the other day that you could go down to the ME’s office and tell them what you wanted to be done with him. I have nothing to do with it,” she said. Even though she had planned to attend the funeral. Had already told Jamaica and Ronni she would need them to go with her. If Granny didn’t mention it—which she hadn’t so far—she wouldn’t ask her to attend because she wasn’t certain her grandmother wouldn’t tip the coffin over and fall out laughing when Caleb’s body rolled across the floor.
“What do you mean you have nothing to do with it? You’re still his wife,” Gail said. “You two never divorced, so you’restillhis wife. It’s your responsibility to bury him.”
Vanna blinked and took a moment to figure out how best to sayAre you out of your ever-loving mind?Honestly, that didn’t sound too bad, and it’s really what she wanted to ask—but what she actually said was, “You’re right, we weren’t legally divorced. But you know that we haven’t been together in five years.” She let her hands fall to her lap as she sat back in her chair. “As his mother, I think you’re the best person to make his final arrangements. Don’t you?”
Gail flattened the purse on her lap. She folded her hands over it. Then she cleared her throat. “You’re right. I’m his mother. I should do it.”
One of the many things about Gail that had added to Vanna’s annoyance for the woman was her ability to go from deceptively nice to outright-bitch mode in the blink of an eye.
“Okay,” Vanna said, relieved. “Well, Maggie from the ME’s office just called me. She said you have seven days to let them know what funeral home will come and pick him up.”
“Merck Greenwood,” Gail said. “You know our family always uses the Greenwoods.”
“Right. Well, just call them and get the ball rolling,” she said. Then all this could get off her plate.
“I’ll need the policies before I go down to the funeral home,” Gail said.
Now Vanna frowned. “Excuse me?”
Gail tilted her head, her face morphing from heartbroken to confused. “The life insurance policies, Vanna. You have to have policies to show the undertaker you’ve got money to bury him.” She grabbed her purse again and sat forward in the chair. “When Caleb came back home to live with me and told me you’d tossed him out into the streets, I asked him if he’d looked out for himself when he was with you.”
Here she was—this was the Gail Vanna knew best. The smart-mouthed, vindictive woman who’d chased away two husbands, her oldest child, and the used-car salesman who’d given her a car to show his affection a few years ago.
