A Sister's Heart

Chapter 6

Now that the kids were at school, Ivy couldn't put it off anymore; she and her sisters had to talk. It wouldn't be easy, or pretty, but things needed to be said. "Just say it!" True to who she was, Veronica got straight to it. She had waited long enough to have this conversation already, and now she was done.

Ivy dreaded this; she had the information the doctor had given her, and the autopsy results she had received earlier that morning confirmed them, although she hadn't even told her sisters about said autopsy yet, and that was the part of the conversation she knew they wouldn't take well. It was one of the reasons she refused to have the talk the previous night when the kids were around. She didn't want them to overhear any of the details surrounding their grandmother's death; she was happy with what she had told them. "It was a stroke." There it was, but she couldn't look her sisters in the eye. "The paramedics and the doctor both suspected that that's what it had been, however because of a bruise on her arm, the doctor said it was protocol to perform an autopsy, which corroborated the stroke." Ivy didn't want to say anymore, and thankfully she didn't have to, although after what came next, she wished she had.

"An autopsy? Why would she need an autopsy?" Diana's outburst came a little out of left field and it was clear she wasn't happy. "I thought she died in her sleep!" Ivy felt more like her sister was interrogating her. "Well... we're waiting!" She snapped again, standing and with each word crossed the room until the two of them were face to face.

"Really, Diana. Give it a rest and let her talk!" Veronica interjected, playing peacekeeper and Ivy appreciated her sister sticking up for her.

Ronnie reluctantly took her seat again as Ivy continued. She dove into the explanation; the recap of the bruise on Esther's arm and how the hospital needed to be sure that there was no foul play or anything. There wasn't, and there was no reason for them to think there had been, other than the bruise, but they needed to be certain for the records and the death certificate. Of course, Diana was livid at the implications that her mother's death had been anything but natural causes. "I can't believe this!" She yelled loud enough that people in the next town over probably heard.

Truth is that Ivy had reacted pretty much the same way when the doctor had first told her about the autopsy. To her sisters this was all new information that they still had to process, but she had had more time to get her head around it. "It's done now, so can we please focus on the funeral arrangements." The suggestion was met with silence.

After a few moments Ivy stood and without saying a word, retreated into the small home office that used to be her father's. There was a safe in the far corner behind a print of one of Van Gogh's Sunflowers which contained all of the family's important documents, marriage certificates, birth certificates, stock shares and insurance papers. It was all there. Esther Hart kept one more thing in that safe, the wishes for her funeral. She had written them out shortly after her beloved Jack had passed away eight years ago and put them in a wax sealed envelope with instructions only to open it in the event of her death. They all knew about it, but no one had seen what was inside, so Ivy figured this should be something she and her sisters should do together.

As she re-entered the living room, Ivy noted that both Diana and Veronica were watching her and had spotted the manilla envelope in her hand. "Is that what I think it is?" Asked Ronnie, already knowing it was. She had always wondered what her mother would want, but could never look, not even a peek. Esther would have known. Any disturbance of the wax seal at all would have been visible; that's why she chose it in the first place.

Emptying the manilla envelope, the smaller one fell onto Ivy's lap. After ripping through the wax seal, she scanned the first page before reading the contents aloud. Although in length, and in detail, Esther's wishes were pretty simple. From the song choices, to the specific church, her burial outfit to wanting to be buried beside her husband. It all sounded straight forward, but Ivy knew that with the three of them planning it together, it would be anything but. All of them were headstrong and opinionated and all believed that their way was the best and usually right, and it was no different when it came to their mother's funeral.

"I think we should all do a reading." Was Diana's bright idea, and although not crazy, it was one which neither Veronica nor Ivy were thrilled about.

Next came Ronnie's counter suggestion. "How about montage of pictures of her throughout her life?" Not a terrible idea, but Ivy thought it would be better at the wake.

And then there was Ivy's pitch, which was not for herself, but for her daughter. "Lauren told me last night that she would like to sing something!" Diana wasn't keen on the idea, but Veronica actually liked it.

Three hours later, and not one decision had been made, other than what they would have for lunch, although they had narrowed down the casket choice to two options and had agreed to consult Alexis, Lauren and Matthew on some of the more appropriate ideas. That would have to wait until the next day though, since Alexis wasn't due to arrive until later that night.

*****

Diana and Veronica were left alone in the house while Ivy picked the kids up. They stayed as far apart from each other as they could; Diana holed herself up in their father's office while Ronnie sat at the kitchen island on her laptop. The phone rang after about twenty minutes and since neither sister made a move to answer it, the machine picked up. "Ms. Hart, this is Dr. Gilmore. I'm just calling to inform you that your mother has been released to the Funeral Home indicated in her records and they should be in touch with you shortly to discuss visitation." The message left Veronica feeling despondent, and tears began to roll down her cheeks until before she knew it, she was full on crying with sobs erupting uncontrollably. Until now, the middle sister had held it together, yet this one little message had opened the floodgates.

As another tear fell and splashed onto her laptop keyboard, a door opened and closed, and Veronica thought for a moment that Ivy and the kids were home early until her older sister appeared from the living room. Diana's attention still on her cell-phone, she muttered. "Did the phone ring? I thought I heard it ring!" It wasn't until she looked up after there was no response from her sister that she saw how upset Ronnie was. Putting her phone down on the nearest surface, which happened to be the arm of the couch, she crossed the room and within seconds, her arms were wrapped tightly around her sister. "What happened?" Still no response, but Veronica did encase one of Diana's hands with her own, conveying the fact that the act of comfort was a welcome one. "When you're ready okay? No rush." At this, Ronnie nodded and took a few minutes to catch her breath and compose herself.

Once she had, she backed out of the embrace and pressed the button next to the blinking light on the answer machine. The message from Doctor Gilmore played again and Diana discovered exactly what had upset her sister so much because it had the same effect on her; the thought of seeing their mother at the funeral home made her death all so much more real. Now both of them were sobbing uncontrollably over the counter. Great timing too, since seconds later, Ivy and the kids burst through the front door.

Just as they did every day, Lauren and Matthew ran straight upstairs and Ivy went to make herself a coffee, only this time what greeted her in the kitchen was the sight of both of her sisters in tears, and without thinking she dropped her bag where she stood and rushed to their side. As they filled her in between sobs, she enveloped them both in a hug, which took Ronnie and Diana by surprise, but in a good way. The three of them hadn't acted like much like sisters in the past decade and they all realised this and took note of how much they had missed it. Leaning into each other, they took advantage, not knowing how long it would be before they could again.

They remained there until Diana's cell rang, intruding on the moment. She grabbed the phone off of the couch where she had left it and saw the caller ID before exclaiming, "It's Lexie!" as she answered.

Ivy and Veronica listened intently to their sister's conversation with her daughter and from what they could gather, Alexis' flight had been delayed and so she wouldn't be arriving until closer to midnight as opposed to half past nine. They saw the look of disappointment on Diana's face and decided they needed to do something to distract her. "I have the perfect idea!" Ivy whispered excitedly to Diana. She then proceeded to divulge how Friday was usually family night; with Esther at Bingo, she and the kids would play games or watch a film and how although she had initially cancelled it, she figured this was something they all needed.

"I'm in!" Ronnie stated as a sly smile spread across her face. "I'll go fill the kids in." The smile was genuine, and it seemed as though she was actually excited, maybe for the first time since her father had died, at the prospect of spending some time with her family.

Diana hung up just as Veronica disappeared out into the hall and turned to face Ivy, ready to fill them in on the latest developments. "Where...?" Confused, she instead just joined her youngest sister back at the kitchen island, who explained to her all about the newly set plans for the evening. Of course, Diana tried to back out, but Ivy wouldn't take no for an answer.