“May I take care of the obituary here locally, or have you handled that?” Amanda asked.
“Already done,” Judy said. “Don’t be impressed. Maeve had all this outlined and finalized. All I have to do is show up.”
“I’m not surprised.”
“Me neither,” Judy said with a laugh.
Maeve’s obituary ran in the paper the following morning.
On the day of the funeral, cars were parked down the main beach road for as far as Amanda could see. Throngs of people came to say goodbye to Maeve.
The service was beautifully done. On a large easel at the front of the church was a large portrait of Maeve on the beach, facing the water, her skirt flowing in the breeze and her arms open wide. A gorgeous carved wooden box with a golden seashell on top contained her ashes.
The pastor did a lovely job outlining Maeve’s life, then opened the microphone for anyone who cared to share their memories.
Amanda, Paul, Hailey, Jesse, and Tug sat in the front row with Judy. Becky, Kimmy, and Nate sat behind them. The rest of the pews were filled with people from town.
A few folks got up and shared stories about their relationship with Maeve, and then Tug rose to his feet and walked to the front. He seemed shaken, but his voice was loud and strong. He looked across the room, then closed his eyes. “Maeve, my girl, I’ll never stop loving you. You’ve been the light in my heart for as long as I’ve known you. You’ve been the life of this town. If you can see all of us here today, then you can see that you’re already missed.”
Tug’s message was short, but from the nodding heads and tears, it was obvious it landed on every heart in the church.
He sat down next to Amanda. She squeezed his hand as she watched people line the aisle. They walked up front and placed a single shell in the sandy tray under the box holding Maeve’s ashes.
The choir sang a song, and a local country band performed two other songs that Maeve had requested, including “Go Rest High on That Mountain” and “Don’t Cry for Me.”
As they sang, Amanda walked up and knelt beside Maeve’s picture.
Thank you for being at my side through every wobbly step I’ve made since I hit these sandy beaches. Thank you, Maeve, for being a true friend and sharing your most precious memories and experiences with me. You gave all your gifts in such an unselfish way and challenged me to find mine. I hope I can learn and live by that. Methuselah is acting like a puppy, and he is having daily playtime with Denali. You wouldn’t even recognize him. It’s so sweet. We love you.
Tears blurred her line of sight, but Paul reached for her hand and led her back to gather the children and leave.
They walked with Tug to the parking lot.
“It was really lovely.” Tug wiped his eyes. “I miss that gal.”
“We all do.” Amanda reached for Tug’s hand. “You two were friends forever. I only had the privilege to know her for a short time, but she was an angel to me. She really changed my perspective. She cleared the murky sadness from my heart and reminded me to live.” Amanda squeezed Tug’s fingers. “I will always love her for that.”
“I miss Maeve, Mommy,” Hailey said.
“Me too.” She gave her daughter’s hand a gentle squeeze. “It’s okay to miss her.”
Jesse stood wide eyed, clinging to Paul.
“But Maeve promised me she’d tell Daddy I love and miss him,” Hailey said. “So I’m okay. She said she was excited to be going to the streets of gold. I told her to take her sunglasses. I hope she remembered.”
“I bet she did.” Amanda looked at all the cars in the parking lot. Maeve touched so many lives, and they didn’t even know the half of it.
Judy walked up behind Amanda. “Thank you again for all you did for my sister.”
“Of course. Won’t you come over?”
“No, I’m headed straight home.” Judy rushed off to a waiting car. Amanda wasn’t sure if she had driven or was catching a flight. Amanda was so thankful Judy had honored Maeve’s wishes for the service.
Paul led Amanda and the kids to the truck and drove them back to the beach house. When they pulled into the driveway, there was already a car parked there.
Paul looked at Amanda with a question in his eyes. “You sit tight for a minute.” Paul got out and spoke with the man in the car, then motioned for them to come on.
He introduced the man to Amanda. “This is Mark Ledger, Maeve’s lawyer. He has some papers for you.”
“Oh, okay. That’s fine.” She examined the tall man. He didn’t have that lawyer look. No, he looked more like he could catch a wave with his longish hair and sun-kissed skin, despite his advanced age and the high-dollar suit. She’d seen him at the service.
The kids went to the backyard to play with the dogs while Paul and Amanda met with Mr. Ledger in the living room.
“I thought it would be best to get this over to you today. It’s pretty cut and dried.” He set a folder in the center of the table. “Her sister, Judy, left me some things from Maeve to you. Before she moved, Maeve and I had a couple of meetings to get everything taken care of.”
Amanda sat with her hands in her lap. She thought it odd that Judy wouldn’t have just given them to her herself.
“Maeve signed the deed to this house and property over to you. You’ll be responsible for taxes and insurance beginning two years from now. She’s left the funds to take care of it until then and to board her dog if you choose to do so.”
“We’ll take care of Methuselah,” Amanda said.
Paul dipped his head. “Absolutely. We’ve got that covered.”
“All I need is your signature here and here and we’ll get the deed