“Hi yourself,” Ronnie said, returning the affectionate gesture with one of her own. “Quite the crowd.” She scanned the area, quickly noting those who would be problems as time went on and the drinks continued to flow. “You wait, Rose. Before the night is through I’ll guarantee you at least one fist fight.”
“Fist fight? At a funeral?”
“I give them one hour to lament Tommy’s death. After that, the topic will turn to his will and speculations over who gets what and then the fighting will start, I’m sure.” They worked their way over to a corner near the stairs. Rose watched as her companion shifted her weight from one leg to the other and back again.
Rose thought to herself.
“Ronnie, come into my room for a minute.”
“Sure,” she replied, grateful for any chance to get away.
The first thing Ronnie noticed when she entered the room was one of her outfits neatly laid out on the bed. “I thought you would be more comfortable in your slacks,” Rose said with a shrug. To the pointed look at the shoes on the floor she added, “I know how much your feet hurt after being in heels all day. Flats are perfectly acceptable with those slacks. I’ve seen you wear them before.”
“So you had Maria pick these out for me?”
“No,” Rose replied with a proud smile. “I picked them out myself and brought them down. Maria was busy.”
The thoughtfulness almost brought Ronnie to tears. Blinking rapidly, she reached out and let one finger trace the smaller woman’s jawline. “Thank you.” She took a step back and kicked off her shoes. “I’d better get changed and back out there. I’m sure someone is looking for me. Probably my mother.” She added the last part under her breath. The skirt hit the floor followed quickly by her half-slip.
“Did everything go well at the service?”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle.” Ronnie’s jaw tightened noticeably but she said nothing, instead picking up her slacks and sliding them on over pantyhose covered legs. Rose noticed the tension but said nothing, assuming it to be from the stress of the funeral and the relatives. Long toes wiggled their way into comfortable but stylish shoes while the gray blouse was tucked into the thin waistband. “Ah, I feel better already.”
“Is there anything I can do for you?” Rose asked. “Other than trying to keep your mother busy. She’s getting tired of me hanging around her, you know.”
“I heard. Susan will run interference for the most part. You can either stay in here, which I highly recommend by the way, or you can just go out there and listen to my cousins and second cousins and God knows who else ramble on about nothing of importance.”
“Well, when you put it that way.” Smiling green eyes accompanied the sarcastic remark. “How can I resist?”
To Rose, the sound was nothing but a general din. Ronnie, on the other hand, spent years learning how to work a crowd and was able to pick out the individual conversations easily. As she moved through the room, she carefully listened to the different snippets. By the time she reached Frank, she knew more about the new boat that her cousin was buying than he did. The knowledge allowed her to slip effortlessly into the conversation. Moving from person to person, Ronnie canvassed the room. When she thought she had said hello to everyone, she tried slipping out to the kitchen where she had seen her blonde beauty go a few minutes before.
“Ronnie.” Blue eyes rolled at the sound of her mother’s voice.
“Yes, Mother?” She turned to see Beatrice standing behind her. For that instant, the agitation she had felt toward her parent dissipated in the face of the grieving woman. Ronnie instantly softened her tone. “Is there something you need?”
“Where is your sister?”
“I don’t know.” She craned her neck to see over the crowd but there was no sign of the distinctive red hair. “Maybe Jack took her home.”
“Now Veronica,” the wrinkled hands went to her hips. “You know Susan wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye to me,” she admonished. “Honestly, sometimes I wonder what you’re thinking.”
“I’m sorry, Mother. I wasn’t thinking.” The executive resisted the urge to rub her temples. It was a useless defense against a mother headache anyway.
“Well, Tommy’s death has affected us all.” Beatrice dabbed at her eyes with her handkerchief.
“Your father had such high hopes for him. A tragic shame, that’s what it is.” A gnarled finger raised itself into the air and the matriarch’s eyes grew wide. “I have it.”
“Have what?” Ronnie asked hesitantly, certain she wouldn’t like the answer.
“The perfect way to pass on Tommy’s legacy. He always did enjoy his time in college. You can set up a scholarship in his name.” A self-satisfied smile formed on the older woman’s face. “Yes, that would be the perfect way to honor him.”
“We can talk about that some other time, Mother.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Beatrice said firmly. Ronnie’s eyes narrowed slightly when she saw Michael slip up behind her mother.
“Hi Aunt Beatrice, hi Ronnie.”
“Michael,” the executive said evenly.
“What’s everyone drinking?” He held up his empty glass.
“Nothing for me,” Ronnie said.she thought to herself as the faint smell of alcohol floated over to her. Beatrice held up her almost full glass to indicate that she was fine at the moment as well.
“Oh well.” He looked at his shoes, then back up at the two women. “So Ronnie, have you decided when you’re going to have his will read?”
“I didn’t realize there was a great hurry to having it done, Michael,” she said. The daggers her eyes were throwing were wasted on him since his gaze was everywhere except at her.
“No, no hurry at all,” he shrugged. “It’s just that we were close and I thought I should know when it is.” He looked up and finally realized what deadly looks he was getting. “Well um…” he tried clearing his throat, which suddenly felt like a lemon was wedged in it. “I’m sure you’ll let me know when it is.”
“I’ll make sure everyone affected is notified.”
“Right, like I said.” He wiped his sweaty hand on the side of his jacket. “Well, if you ladies will excuse me.” He turned and took his aunt’s hand in his own. “Aunt Beatrice, I’m sorry for your loss.” Ronnie rolled her eyes when Michael kissed the older woman’s hand. “Cuz, I’ll see you around.” He disappeared into the crowd, leaving her once again alone with her mother.
“Um, I think I’d better go see if everything’s all right in the kitchen.” She took a half step back in preparation for a quick escape.
“Nonsense. I’m sure Maria can handle anything that comes up,” Beatrice said dismissively. “Why don’t you go find your sister?”