Chapter Twenty-Four Marion
twenty-four MARION
Sassy didn’t say a word in the limousine as it drove from the cemetery to Isabella Street. She sat pressed against the window, watching freezing rain stream down the glass, watching people and places Marion knew she would not remember. She was very pale. Very still. Grief stole the energy out of the living, and that seemed even more profound when it struck someone like Sassy.
Marion and Tom kept quiet as well, though Marion longed to hear her friend’s voice. Her heart broke every time she looked at Sassy. If only she could talk with her about what she was feeling and how she would survive this. But that time would come, she knew. Marion would be ready when she was needed.
Tom sat on the Cadillac’s jump seat, facing them. He had not moved throughout the service, but he had kept Sassy’s hand in his, whether she noticed it or not. When it was time, he shouldered the coffin and led the pallbearers from the church to the hearse that waited for them in the sleet. As soon as it was loaded, he was back at Sassy’s side with an umbrella. He held her hand securely where it curled through his elbow. The chauffeur held open the back door, and Tom eased her in like she was fine china.
The cemetery was miserable. The freezing rain was relentless, and everyone shook from the cold beneath their umbrellas. About two dozen people stood at the graveside, which was an impressive crowd for this weather. Marion estimated just as many had chosen to forgo the wet part of the ceremony. Among the mourners, she recognized a couple of politicians from newspaper photos, wearing expensive trench coats over expensive suits. Marion’s gaze drifted over the shivering crowd, and she wondered how many of them really knew Jim Rankin. How many had been friends? Did they know how lonely he was without his son? How he’d avoided his daughter for so long and chosen liquor instead of talking about the truth? Did they realize they could have helped him if they’d tried?
Afterward, Sassy held on to Marion’s hand, so Marion became the receiver of the well-wishes.
“Thank you for coming,” she said over and over, but she did not shake any hands. “Thank you. We appreciate your kind words. Yes, it was very sudden. Thank you. Thank you.”
On Sassy’s other side, Tom appeared solid as he acknowledged the businessmen he knew then thanked them for their condolences. He was being as strong as he could, for Sassy. They all were. But Marion saw the pain in Tom’s eyes.
Sassy stood in a daze, mute.
Now, in the elevator, on the way up to her apartment, Sassy let out a long sigh.
“I wish Joey was here.”
Marion bit her lower lip, trying not to cry. It wasn’t fair. None of it was fair.