The Letter : The Letter - Part Two by Mustang Patty |
In Part One, we were introduced to Kathy and her dilemma. Her estranged mother-in-law left a letter for her when she died. Arriving by Special Delivery, it contained a cashiers' check for $100K*, and directions about organizing her memorial service. Kathy was expected to call her in-laws, nieces, nephews; and tell them about the upcoming event. She was to use the money for travel arrangements, hotel rooms and the meal for all of them after the service. Within the page of the letter, her mother-in-law spoke about her love for Kathy; never expressed in life, but apparently the reason she entrusted her to take care of this last wish.From the last chapter: … I went to the kitchen and armed myself with another cup of coffee. I grabbed a pen and my cell phone on my way back to the table. Taking a deep breath, I dialed the first number on the list. ----------@>
The first number belonged to Jerry, the number one son. It went straight to voicemail. Kathy looked at the clock. Everyone was probably at work – should she continue down the list or…? She contemplated what to do next as she looked at the black ink in her coffee cup. Oh…she needed to call Doug! How would he handle the news? Not only was his mother gone—someone he hadn't seen or talked to since his niece's wedding, over seven years ago, but his wife was handling the arrangements. Should she call him and ask him to come home? He would probably think something was wrong with her or one of the kids. But, she didn't want to tell him over the phone. It was going to be a tough pill to swallow. ----------@>
Doug rushed into the house about forty minutes later. Kathy was seated at the dining room table with a stack of three by five cards, several colored pens, and the contents of the letter. She watched him approach, and scrambled for the words to tell him. She saw his eyes land on the check. He picked it up and let out a low whistle. "Who sent you a hundred thousand dollars?" She looked up at him with tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. It physically hurt to talk. "Honey, I have something to tell you. You need to sit down. "Earlier this morning, this letter came to me Special Delivery. It seems that your mother is dead and she left me her final wishes. I'm so sorry." Waiting to give him time to catch up with her words, she monitored his reaction. Should she go on or let him talk about his feelings about his mother's death. "So…let me get this straight. My mother died and had a letter sent to you? Then, she left instructions and this huge check... for you to do what exactly?" Clearing her throat, Kathy explained. "This letter contained a copy of the arrangements she made for her service, but it seems that I get to call everyone and arrange for everybody to attend the memorial. "The money is supposed to go for all the airplane tickets, hotel rooms, and…oh, get this; I need to make sure everyone has something 'suitable' to wear. She wants us to all pose for a group photo." He looked at her in disbelief. "You? You're supposed to call people you haven't spoken to in years to invite them to their own mother's memorial service? This is unbelievably cruel…even for her. "We stopped talking to them right after my father's funeral. Except for Jerry, and his kids, we haven't had anything to do with any of them. Oh, there was the call from Sylvia when she begged for our forgiveness, but we shut that down. I just can't believe this shit. What are you going to do?" With a sigh, she explained. "I'm going to do as she asked. In the letter, she told me how she really felt about me. Or how she wants me to remember her—I'm not really sure. All I know is she counted on me to get this done. I owe it to myself to work on this last project she left for me. I will make the phone calls and the travel arrangements. I will plan the event for after the service. The worst part will be seeing your sisters again, but it's only for a few hours. I think I can do it…" She looked over at him. The tears were streaming down her face now. He moved to give her a hug and a place of comfort in his arms. "Do you want me to help you with calls?" he whispered in her ear. She pulled away to peer into his face. "Oh…would you? That would be such a relief. If you make the phone calls to all of them, I will get going on the arrangements for her 'wake.' Let everyone know we will get the exact date to them, along with the flight information and name of the hotel. Shouldn't we use the Best Western in town? You're a Diamond level guest; we can probably negotiate a good rate for a block of rooms…" ----------@>
Taking his cell phone and the list into the bedroom, he prepared himself to make the calls. He dialed Jerry's number and left a voice mail for him to call him back as soon as possible. The next number belonged to Sylvia and he knew this would be hard. She and he were the best of friends in high school. They purchased their first car together. He stood by her when she went through her painful teenage pregnancy. He helped her to make the decision to give up the baby. But then, she had treated Kathy horribly for the first sixteen years of their marriage. He simply couldn't forgive that. Firstly, how would he tell her of their mother's death? He was pretty sure she still saw her, and while he wasn't sure just how close they were, he knew she would be deeply affected by the news. The tones of the number could be heard as he punched the keys. Lifting the phone to his ear, he cleared his throat. Sylvia answered on the third ring. "Hi. This is Doug. I'm afraid I've got some bad news. Are you sitting down? Is your wife with you?" He listened to her answer. He had prepared her the best he could. "Mom passed away...and I'm calling you to invite you to the memorial service." "What? Why are you calling me with this news? Isn't Jerry the Executor of the Will? What do you have to do with any of this? You and that wife of yours haven't been around for years. Is this your idea of some kind of a sick joke? You're an idiot, you know that. I would have expected something like this from your wacko wife, but you? I'm not willing…" Doug cut her off before she could say anything else. "Sylvia, I know this is hard to hear, and I know you're surprised. Mom asked Kathy to take care of everything. I'm making the phone calls because I knew you and your sisters would verbally beat her up. Just listen! I will call you back with the date of the service and where it is. We are going to have a big meal together after the service. Can you call your daughter and make sure she can be there? Is she away at school? Will she need any help getting down here?" ----------@>
It took over an hour to make the phone calls. He was sweating and had a horrible headache. His sisters were angry and then, contrite. After they assaulted his ears with insults about Kathy, they would then calm down and try to 'make nice' with him. It seemed to him that they were hoping this was the beginning of a new relationship. He decided when Kathy first told him about it all, that this memorial service was the last time he would ever have to deal with them. They were the most toxic people on earth. Their actions and words had almost killed Kathy, and he would never let them back in. He returned to the dining room to listen to Kathy talking with the manager of the Best Western. "Okay. So, we have the block of rooms reserved, and the banquet room booked for the buffet, right? Do you have a list of caterers for me to contact, or can you help me with the arrangements for the food? "Uh huh. Okay, I need food for forty adults and eight children. We will need some high chairs and booster chairs for the kids. Can we have round tables set up? I will need some appropriate centerpieces and nice linens. I would like an open bar and enough room for people to mingle and mill around. "I think that will do it. Can I call you back if I think of anything else? "Okay, great. I have your number and we have this set for next Saturday afternoon. Thank you so much for your help. Oh…one more thing, can I have a few security people? It might get rough if everyone is drinking…" …to be continued
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Mustang Patty
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