Sarah had no idea what “in case” meant, but of course she’d remain and she crossed the kitchen, finding a position next to the wall, needing something solid behind her.
And then Tessa entered the kitchen, with a grumpy Gabi behind her.
“Gabi refused to get up,” Tessa said sharply, going to the refrigerator, opening the door, and taking out a container of milk. “She hasn’t even showered.”
Gabi made a face and reached past Tessa for the orange juice. “I showered yesterday. I don’t need to shower today.”
“You’re hitting puberty,” Tessa said with a sniff, closing the door hard, almost catching Gabi’s hand. “You don’t want to stink.”
“I don’t stink.”
“You will if you don’t bathe, and use deodorant.”
“Girls!” Meg’s voice rang out in the kitchen.
Tessa and Gabi both stopped and turned at the same time to look at their mother.
Meg shot Sarah another panicked glance. Sarah gave her a small nod, trying to encourage her, even though on the inside, she wanted to throw up.
What a terrible, terrible day and night it’d been, and it was just going to get worse.
“Girls, I have something to tell you,” Meg said, gesturing to the chairs around the kitchen table. “Please, sit down.”
Tessa glanced at Gabi. “Are we in trouble?”
“No.” Meg took a seat in one of the kitchen chairs, facing her daughters. She drew a slow breath, and then another. “Your dad was in an accident last night, driving to the airport. It was a very bad accident—” She paused, held her breath, before adding, “He didn’t make it.”
The girls just stared at her. Tessa looked confused. Gabi was still. But then it was Gabi who grasped the implications. “Daddy’s dead?” she asked.
Meg nodded.
“How do you know?” Tessa asked, voice wobbling.
“I went and saw him earlier this morning. JJ went with me. It’s Daddy.” Meg took a breath and swallowed hard. “They say that he died instantly. He didn’t suffer.” Her voice broke. “He probably didn’t even know what hit him.”
Five
The Brennan family had descended, Sarah thought wearily, listening to the din coming from the family room, where everyone had gathered late Monday morning.
Dad, Bree, Tommy Jr. and Cass, Kit, Mom’s brother Uncle Jack and his wife, Aunt Linda, as well as two of Dad’s three brothers.
At noon Dad, Tommy, and the uncles rounded up the five kids and took them out to lunch to give Meg some quiet so she could focus on making decisions for Jack’s service.
Meg wanted to schedule the service for Saturday noon, allowing friends and family on the East Coast to fly in, and giving them Sunday to get home again. Brianna agreed with her, but Kit gently reminded them that Sunday was Easter, and it might be a difficult and expensive travel day.
“But we can’t have a service on Good Friday, can we?” Meg asked.
“Not a Mass. But you probably could have a prayer service.” Kit hesitated. “But Jack wasn’t Catholic. He was Episcopalian. Would the Episcopal church in Santa Rosa be willing to hold a service for him on Friday?”
“I can call and ask,” Meg said.
“Or I can call for you,” Cass offered.
Meg nodded gratefully. “Could you?”
By noon, word of Jack’s accident had spread, and flowers began arriving at the house.
By two, most of the big decisions regarding the funeral arrangements had been made and Meg went upstairs to take a bath and lie down and rest before the kids came home.
By three, when Dad, Tommy, and the kids returned to the house after hours walking around Santa Rosa Plaza, the house was full of people and flowers and food piling up in the kitchen.
At four, Sarah cracked open a bottle of white wine and drank a glass fast, standing in the mud room by herself, then poured herself another, bigger glass to take with her into the family room.
Even with the wine to take the edge off, Monday evening felt endless, as Jack’s accident made the evening news, and the phone wouldn’t stop ringing, and flowers continued to arrive what felt like every fifteen minutes.
Dad’s brothers left before dinner, and then Uncle Jack and Aunt Linda left immediately after eating a dish of Aunt Linda’s warm berry crumble, which she served à la mode.
Meg hadn’t eaten more than a couple of bites all day and passed on dessert, but she gratefully accepted a cup of tea from Dad. While Meg sipped her tea, Dad, Kit, Tommy, and Cass kept her company in the dining room, with Dad and Cass making most of the small talk so Meg didn’t have to.
Brianna joined Sarah in the kitchen, drying the dessert plates as Sarah washed, since the dishwasher was already full and running.