Marie really didn’t give a shit. The sooner she got this over with, the better.
“And mah mama’s will?”
Mr. Sheppard picked up her will and began to read…
“Please state your birth name for the record.” Marie rolled her eyes again at the need for replication of her name.
“Anna Marie D’ Ancanto. Currently, ah go by Anna Marie Caldicott.”
“And ah’m Alexander Sheppard from the law firm of Borden, Cross, and Sheppard on this twenty-third day of the month of June. In the year of our Lord, two thousand and ten. We are here today to read the wills of one Owen D’ Ancanto and one Priscilla D’ Ancanto, recently deceased parents of Miss Anna Marie D’ Ancanto.”
Marie held those few Kleenex tissues from the box on the man’s desk in her hands. She hadn’t begun to shred them into little pieces yet.
“Ah, Priscilla D’ Ancanto, do hereby solemnly swear that ah am of sound mahnd and body. Ah hereby bequeath everything ah have to mah daughter, mah only daughter. She may be a mutant, but she’s still the only baby girl ah’m gonna have. Mah husband doesn’t know that ah have sealed mah will from bein’ read until mah daughter is present. Ah want her to have everything ah have stored in a safety deposit box in Nashville. The address will be given to you once this will has been executed. Ah put things there because your daddy wouldn’t have a clue where to look for anything if ah passed away first. Your daddy don’t have access to it; mah key is taped to the letter with the address.”
Marie was lightly dabbing the corners of her eyes as tears began to form in the corners. She realized that her mama was probably putting on a front for her daddy’s sake when she and Logan arrived for their visit. That kind of thought lessened the blows of the wills.
“May ah go on?” Marie nodded.
“Marie, ah want you to take the money ah have left you and use it however you wish to use it for your wedding or your married life. A mad money fund wouldn’t be a bad idea either. Sell what you want of mah things and keep what you want. Personally if ah was still alive, ah would have burned those damn boat models, but now ah leave them to you. Donate them to a museum if you want or burn ‘em. Put the house on the market if you don’t wish to keep it. Ah won’t hold you any promise… But ah would lahk a simple funeral. Ah’m okay if ya wanna cremate meh so you can take meh with you. Just bury your daddy at Templestaff. If ya want, bury meh with your daddy, ah can handle it. It’s up to you. Please invite mah women’s group and mah quilting club to mah service. Ah don’t want any of your daddy’s friends at his service. They weren’t really friends anyway, bastards.”
Marie had to smile, she missed her mama already. She could read between the lines of what her mother tried to say.
“We’re almost done. You can keep the car or sell it. Give it away if ya want. Logan might like to have it. Who is Logan?”
“Mah fiancé. He’s in New York.”
“Right, ah’d forgotten. Ah probably haven’t included everything ah wanted to say because Owen is waiting on meh. He’s probably listening in raht now. Ah love you, baby girl. Mom.”
“When were the wills finalized if ah may ask?”
“To mah best recollection she told meh you had recently come for a visit. Owen had quite a shiner in his eye.”
So her daddy had changed his will possibly right after they’d left. And because he had done this, her mama had gone and changed his because of what she knew her husband was up to. Her heart began to ache again. Marie watched as the man spoke, recording the finishing time of the execution of the wills and then stopped the tape. He reached down into a lower drawer of his desk and pulled out a white business length envelope with her name written on it. As her mother spoke of, there was a small safety deposit key attached to a letter with an address written in her mother’s hand.
“We are finished. Do you have any questions?”
“Did she tell you what she had in the safety deposit box?”
“No, ah’m afraid not.”
“Looks lahk ah gotta go to Nashville now and check it out.”
“Sorry ah couldn’t be more help. Ah am sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you Mister Sheppard. Ah thank you for your tahm.”
“Have a good rest of your visit.”
“Thanks.”
Davis Family Mortuary
Meridian, MS.
3:30 P.M.
Marie rested her eyes as they drove all the way to the mortuary. This wouldn’t take long she hoped. Couldn’t be any worse than the reading of the wills, could it? Ororo gently woke her when they arrived. Fortunately, they hadn’t pried into what the wills had said.
“Ah shouldn’t be long.”
She went in the building and a perky blond woman practically pounced on her; her nametag said Bree Davis. She seemed a little too up beat to be working in the death business.
“How may ah help you?”
“Ah came to see Jackie…”
“Oh, mah Aunt Jackie. Yeah, lemme go get her. You can wait in our products room over there to your raht.”
Marie wanted to make a comment, but she held her tongue. She went to the small room to her right and began to look at burial options. Casket samples lined the back wall, ceramic vases and urns were to her left, and to the right by the window were music boxes and books of program options. There was even a tiny section with jewelry. It all seemed gaudy, kitschy if you will. She didn’t want anything fancy. There wouldn’t be an open casket because… Well. What would be the point? A few minutes into staring at the things on the wall, Marie knew she wasn’t alone.
“How may ah help you? Ah’m Jackie Davis.
“Ah’m Marie Caldicott, we spoke on the phone. Ah came to make arrangements for mah parents.”
“Oh, well let meh just tell you that ah’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thanks. Can we get this over with? Ah have a long drive ahead.”
“Sure we can. Did you have anything in mind?” The woman asked as she whipped out her note pad.
“Ah was thinkin’ cheap and quick. Ah have to be back at work on Monday,” Marie sounded cold even for her ears. “Ah’m sorry. Ah don’t mean to be cold. Ah do mah grievin’ in private.”
“No problem.”
“Ah think the paper box would be fahn. Ah’m not gonna go through the expense of a casket since ah don’t have tahm for a viewing and all. Besahds, they probably don’t look all that great anyway.”
“The most we can hold bodies for is four days. Then we have to embalm them.”
“No, ah want to simply have them cremated. How long will that take?”
“Oh, a couple days. They would be ready for pick up on Friday, if that’s alraht?”
“That is actually perfect. Ah was plannin’ to have a short service on Saturday.”
“Alraht, have you decided where you would like to hold the service? We offer packages here at the mortuary.”
“Yes, ah will be holding it elsewhere,” Marie wasn’t about to tell this woman where she was going to bury her parents.
If she’d known that she was going to bury her father at Templestaff, which would imply that she had money. Just about everybody in Meridian knew about the estate and all the money that it was worth. She turned and began to look at the jewelry section.
“Ah would lahk to get mah mother’s made into a diamond. How long would that take and the cost?”
“That would take much longer ah’m afraid. Typically, that takes six to nahn months, and it can be very expensive. It all depends on the size you want.”
“All raht. Ah’ll have to get back to ya’ll on that. How much is the cremation gonna run?”
“So far, looks like twenty-fahve hundred. That’s a thousand per person and the processin’ and handling fees; that includes transportation as well.”
“Is there anythin’ else you need?”
“We can go to mah office and finish the paperwork.”
Marie followed Jackie into her office. She spent the next twenty minutes filling out forms. Fortunately, Charles had seen to sending the death certificate by messenger to the mortuary so Marie wouldn’t have to deal with the red tape at the county offices. She didn’t want any death announcements to go in the newspaper; she was already going to have to spend the next few days calling all her mother’s friends to come on Saturday. Along with packing up the things she wanted to keep… She wasn’t looking forward too much to that. She decided that putting the house on the market this weekend trip wasn’t going to happen. No, that would have to come in stages. She supposed it depended on how much they got done this weekend with Sookie and Ororo. She’d need Jubilee to help with packing but she couldn’t with being 7 months pregnant; she was the best packer Marie knew. After signing all the legal documents, Marie agreed to be back on Friday to pick up her parents.
Marie’s Old Room-Owen’s Model Boat Dock
D’Ancanto’s House
Meridian, MS.
5:00 P.M.
After the trip to the mortuary, Marie and the gang, decided to spend the night at her parents’ place. They would have gotten back to Bon Temps around ten at night. After the long day, it seemed like too much. No, they would start fresh in the morning after breakfast. Sookie and Alcide took the guest room, Ororo agreed to sleep in her parents’ room, and Marie went up to her old room. She decided to use her sleeping bag instead of sleeping on the Captain’s bed here her own bed used to be. It was kind of like refusing to acknowledge the changes her father made to her old room. Alcide and Ororo went to the store for something fresh to eat since the food in the refrigerator had long since passed expiration. Marie unrolled her sleeping bag and changed into her night ware. She sighed as she wrapped her arms around herself. She could relax a little now.
“Ah think you oughta sell these things. Ah’m sorry your daddy was a shit-head, makes sense you should make some money offah him,” Sookie spoke from the doorway.
“Part of meh wants to burn ‘em lahk mah mama suggested ah do. But the other part of meh wants to do what you just said.”
“Alcide’s got dinner ready. You comin’ down?” Marie felt a downward mood swing coming on and she needed to be alone.
“Yeah, yeah. In a minute. Ah need to go freshen up a bit.”
“Take your tahm. Ah’ll put a plate in the microwave for ya. Oh and your friend went to Staples. Said she’d be back in a bit. Hopefully she’ll be back before dinner’s over or ah’ll have to make her up a plate too ah guess.”
“Thanks.”
Reality hit her once more; realizing that she had to deal with her parents’ things and whatever she had left in the house before she had to get rid of the house. The house held many bad memories for her now and she had no sentimental attachment to it now. Besides, she figured that she and Logan could use the money to start their family, or go on another major road trip to somewhere they hadn’t been before, or maybe even making a down payment on paying Charles back for throwing their wedding. He probably wouldn’t accept it and tell her to save it for starting the first hockey team at the school. She could see the jerseys would have three slash marks in the design and they’d be called the Xavier Wolverines. She smiled sweetly as she could see Charles and her husband arguing over the team name and how best to coach the team. Of course, Logan would win. She pictured her children, half with wild hair and the other with white streaks in the center of their crowns. All of them with the trademark Wolverine growl and eyebrow arches. Her sons would look like him and the girls like her; all with his healing factor…
Then another truth hit her… She might finally have closure on her past… Which she found so… Tragically ironic. This time, she was tossing them out of the house and after what they had done to her after that boy’s coma, that’s what seemed so ironic. Talk about Karma… She went into the bathroom and started a cool shower after being outside in the heat. As she was in the shower, Marie decided to let some of that private grief out. She cried as her heart seemed to break; emotions flooded her mind and her face.
Master Bedroom
D’Ancanto’s House
Meridian, MS.
8:00 P.M.
Marie had finally gone down and announced to the group in the parlor that she was a prune. Then she reheated her dinner. She forced herself to eat because she had to be strong until she made it back home. She didn’t want to fall apart in front of her cousin and her lover, much less in front of Ororo; emotionally or physically or Logan wouldn’t let her out of his sight ever again. After she ate, Sookie took her hand and led her back upstairs to the master bedroom. In her other hand she carried a blue plastic see-through container.
“Your friend got you five of these tubs and ah’m gonna help you go through your parents’ bedroom,” she’d noticed that her cousin’s eyes had changed to have red rings when Marie’d announced she was a prune.
“’Kay.”
“I’ve got garbage bags in two different colors for what to keep and what to get rid of,” Ororo spoke as she’d come up the stairs behind the two women.
“Ah don’t want any of mah daddy’s clothes; those can hit the black garbage bag and we’ll donate them to somewhere. Just put all mah mama’s clothes in a white bag. We’ll take those and all the quilts in the house.”
Ororo went to the closet and began to clean out the masculine side. Sookie began to work on the feminine. Marie went to her mama’s antique dresser with the plastic tub. She put her mother’s jewelry box in and some of the perfume bottles as well. Her antique hair brush and comb set were next before she moved on to the pictures on the wall. She filled the rest of the tub with picture frames that contained some memories for Marie. Alcide stayed away from the guest room, opting to leave the women alone just in case the emotional wells opened up. He waited in the parlor for someone to yell to come and take a box or a bag out to the Honda Pilot parked in the driveway. And when they finished the girls stripped the mattress because Sookie wanted to put her sleeping bag and Alcide’s zipped together to make a double bag. Ororo put her sleeping bag on top of the guest bed for her comfort. No one really wanted to have to do laundry to wash the sheets.
Sometime after 11 o’clock, they’d gone to bed. Everything Marie wanted emptied out of her parents’ bedroom and pictures and kitschy things out of the parlor. The rest of the rooms would have to wait for another day. What Marie didn’t realize is that she had entered the reconstruction and working through stage of grief. As she began to operate without the stresses of being at the school and around Logan, she found herself becoming more functional and a little stronger. Bringing along Ororo and Sookie had helped a great deal for moral support. Her mind was working with a bit more clarity and she had to start finding realistic answers to the problems that were popping up now that her parents were gone. The practical and financial problems that might pop up from that weekend seemed to be on the road to being solved if she could just get to that safety deposit box in Tennessee. And when Marie returned home, she was going to reconstruct her life and look ahead to the future…
The Attic
D’Ancanto’s House
Meridian, MS.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
5:00 A.M.
Marie hadn’t slept too well the night before. She tossed and turned from the stress of the day before. So she got up early and went for a run around the neighborhood to clear her head. No one had come by yet to offer their condolences and well wishes. In a way she was glad they hadn’t. She wondered if they hadn’t because it had been reported that mutants had been at her parents’ house and the clan had put out the word to stay away since several members of the local sect of the clan had been killed. An hour after her run, and quick dip in the shower, Marie went to work on the attic. It was something she could do alone… She found her mother’s wedding dress. She wasn’t going to wear it for her wedding, but she thought it might be nice to have and it would be stored at Templestaff. Marie decided to store all the things they had packed up at Templestaff. Maybe she and Logan could drive down in a U-Haul to pick everything later? She was looking in a trunk of her mother’s things when she heard someone call her from below. Ororo was up and had been working on creating cooler weather for the group at the house, while it was something Charles wouldn’t approve of, he was the one who used the brain phone and asked for a little favor from Logan for Marie.
“You okay, Marie?” Ororo asked.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
More of Marie takin' care of business so she can get back to Logan...
I hope you enjoy!!!
Three more pages and the next update goes to my beta!
Please review because my muses are starving!
I hope you enjoy!!!
Three more pages and the next update goes to my beta!
Please review because my muses are starving!
Chapter End Notes:
Ooooh. What a mean bugger for a daddy... Well let us know what you think! And then we can get to Logan's special make up plans...