“You wait just a darned minute, young lady!” Esmerelda said. “You are not leaving this house without that candelabra. I insist! I’m not about to have my friends think I went back on my word.” She drew herself up proudly. “I’m retiring to my bedroom now. I don’t want to hear another word about it.” She left in a huff.
Marilee looked at the butler. “I’ll bet she’s a peach to work for.”
Dudley chuckled as he followed them out the door, carrying the candelabra.
Marilee pulled into her driveway twenty minutes later and found Clara and Ruby planting mums in the old cast-iron pot out front. “We thought it would cheer you up,” Clara said as Marilee and Winnie climbed from the car.
Marilee was touched by her friends’ thoughtfulness. “Thank you.”
“How did things go with Esmerelda?” Ruby asked.
“The woman needs a beating with a big stick,” Winnie said. “Imagine her not wanting to take me in. And here I am with child. I’m telling you, she can go from zero to bitch in two seconds flat.”
Marilee laughed as she pulled the candelabra from her back seat. “Naturally, she insisted we take the candelabra after all. She doesn’t want to look bad to her friends.”
“What friends?” Winnie muttered.
“Did she apologize for what she said about you?” Ruby asked.
“What do you think?” Marilee presented the candelabra to Clara. “I trust you’ll see that this gets into the right hands.”
“Yes, of course.” She put it in her car.
“By the way, my next-door neighbor happens to be partners with Bobby Benson, and he has offered to take a look at Blessing Home. If he agrees to patch the roof, we’ll have to come up with the money.”
“How do we know he won’t walk off the job like Bobby?” Ruby asked. “And how much is he thinking of charging us?” As committee treasurer, she was tightfisted when it came to doling out money.
“He’s going to let me know,” Marilee said. “I think that with the benefit luncheon and cookbook sales we should be able to cover it.”
“There’s a lot more to be done,” Clara said. “We’re going to have to put our heads together and come up with more moneymaking schemes.”
Ruby looked thoughtful. “How about a white elephant sale?”
“That might work,” Clara said. “What do you think, Marilee?”
Marilee sighed. “Maybe.”
“Have you lost interest in this project?” Clara asked.
Marilee was beginning to wish she’d never gotten involved, but she couldn’t let them down again. “Of course not. It’s just—”
“She’s got a lot on her mind,” Ruby said. “And rightfully so. Honey, Clara and I need to take on more responsibility, what with all that’s happened. And we need to get our other volunteers off their behinds.”
Clara gave a harrumph. “What volunteers? They’ve all dropped out.”
“Let me see what Mr. Brewer has to say, once he takes a look at the place,” Marilee told them.
Winnie started for the house, and then paused. “I have a four-thirty appointment at the clinic tomorrow. I go every three weeks for my prenatal exam.”
“I can drive you,” Marilee said.
Clara smiled at Winnie. “Are you all settled in, dear?”
“For the time being. But I only plan on hanging around for a couple of days. My girlfriend just rented one of those luxury apartments in town, and she’s having a fit for me to move in with her. Soon as she gets an extra bed, I’m outta here.” She headed for the house without another word.
“She’s not going anywhere,” Marilee told her friends as they shot her a questioning look.
“How’s the job hunting?” Ruby asked, changing the subject.
“I have an appointment with Irby Denton at the funeral home tomorrow.”
“Oh my,” Clara said. “You’re going to work at a funeral home?”
“Irby has to hire me first,” Marilee pointed out.
Both women stared back at her. Finally, Ruby smiled. “Hey, I think that’s great! What exactly would you be doing there? If he hires you, I mean?”
“He needs a receptionist. It’s an entry-level position, but I have to start somewhere.”
“Oh my,” Clara repeated.
Ruby looked at the woman. “Clara, why do you keep saying that?”
Clara stared at Marilee. “Ruby doesn’t know your secret, does she?” Clara whispered.
“What secret?” Ruby asked, glancing from one to the other.
Marilee shrugged. “It’s no big deal. Besides, I need this job. I just discovered Grady took a chunk of money out of our savings account.”
“You need a good lawyer,” Clara said.
“I’ve already made an appointment. Tate Radford says he can have me divorced in ninety days on grounds of adultery.”
“Well, they don’t come any better than Tate,” Clara said, “but he’s not cheap.”
“I want somebody good, in case I end up with a custody battle on my hands,” Marilee replied.
Clara reached for her hand and squeezed it. “Are you okay?”
Marilee offered what she hoped was a brave smile. “Better than I was. I’m not going to recover overnight and I still think of Josh constantly, but I’m definitely better.”
Ruby stamped her foot on the ground. “Somebody better tell me about this secret or I’m going to throw a fit right here in Marilee’s front yard.”
“Oh, good grief!” Clara said. She stepped closer to Ruby. “Marilee is terrified of dead people. She has a phobia.”
Ruby’s eyes grew wide as saucers as she regarded Marilee. “No kidding?”
Marilee shot Clara a disgruntled look. “I’m not terrified of anything.” Other than the future, she reminded herself.
“Marilee Abernathy, I watched you almost pass out when Sara Banks asked you to remove her husband’s wedding ring from his finger at his funeral,” Clara said. She looked at Ruby. “Marilee had a full-blown panic attack out in the parking lot. I almost had to bring out my smelling salts.”
“I just don’t like touching dead people,” Marilee said. “I hardly think that’s going to be a problem if I’m working at the front desk.”
“I’ve touched plenty of dead people,” Ruby told her proudly. “Irby sometimes calls me to do hair and makeup when his wife can’t do it. Dead people can’t hurt you, Marilee.”
Clara looked doubtful. “Irby is never going to hire you if he finds out.”
“He’s not going to find out,” Marilee replied. She looked long and hard at her friends. “Is he?”
Both women pretended to zip their lips, lock them shut and throw away the keys. Marilee smiled prettily. “Thank you.”
“What if you have to help him embalm somebody?” Ruby whispered.
“I’m not going to go near the embalming room. You have to go to a special school for that.” Both women looked skeptical. “You have to admit I’m perfect