Excerpt
Morley had himself spoken to Corky a few days earlier, and offered to help with the funeral arrangements. To Tyne’s surprise, the man who was known in Emblem as the town drunk accepted gratefully, and even agreed to have Morley’s pastor conduct the service.
Maybe this tragedy will be the making of him, Tyne thought, maybe he’ll start to take responsibility for his family.
The mourners began to drift towards their cars. Many had accepted the Cresswells’ invitation to go out to the farm for an afternoon lunch. Tyne glanced at her watch. Mother Cresswell would be there already getting things organized. Tyne’s own mother had spent the last two days baking for them, assuring them that although Jeremy needed her at home, her hands did not need to be idle.
Ruby Harrison left her husband’s side and made her way to the Conrad children. She had started to weep again, as she had throughout most of the service in the chapel. Her wails echoed through the quiet cemetery as she bent to wrap her arms around Rachael and Bobby.
“Poor, poor babies,” she cried, “what are you going to do without your mommy?”
It was too much for the little ones. Their eyes, which had been dry throughout the ordeal today, filled up with tears, and both began to cry.
Tyne clutched her husband’s arm and sent him an imploring glance. “Morley ….”
He covered her hand with his own, and shook his head. He couldn’t interfere, she knew that, but someone should do something to stop Ruby from adding to the children’s grief. Corky, speaking to the pastor, seemed oblivious to the scene around him or to his children’s distress. Shaking Morley’s hand off her arm, she walked quickly towards the trio and touched the woman’s shoulder.
“Ruby,” Tyne said gently, “we would like you and your family to come out to the farm for a light lunch if you can.”
Ruby straightened her back, flicked a lock of lank hair off her sweaty forehead, and turned irritated eyes on Tyne – eyes that appeared surprisingly dry. She let a few moments go by without answering. Finally, she said with a twist of her lips, “Yeah, I guess we could. I’d like to be there for Lydia’s kids, anyway.”
Libros Libertad 