THE FUNERAL PLANNER

Post Chapter News V.3: After the Epilogue - What's Under the Rock

Post Chapter News V.3: After the Epilogue - What's Under the Rock

Being a newlywed offered a new set of challenges. I had been alone for so long that it felt odd to share every inch of my world with Victor. I thought I was impeccably tidy until I started living with Victor. His version of neat made me look like a mess. On top of that, my reading at night in bed was an issue for him. The beauty of reading words depicting new worlds gave me pause to wonder more deeply about things and to relax into the story, which helped me fall asleep but the light kept Victor awake.  Even the light from a Kindle or a Nook. I started wondering if these differences were a bad omen to our marriage. So I would often leave our house and wander next door to the old cottage of Uncle Sam’s and sit in his old rocking chair on the porch to read.  I would have gone inside but the place was empty.  Devoid of Uncle Sam and all of his furniture which he had bequeathed to family and friends and businesses scattered around town. For example, I would visit Richard Wright at the funeral home and see Uncle Sam’s desk. I would visit the local barber shop and see Uncle Sam’s mahogany credenza. I would visit the orphanage and see his lamp. It was as if he had left a part of him all over town and so I never truly felt alone. It was comforting. And I felt special in that he left his favorite rocking chair on the porch to me.  But the rest of the cottage remained empty.  Victor and I had a ton of expenses and furnishing Uncle Sam’s cottage took a back seat to all the other renovations and company expenses.  I often wondered why Uncle Sam bequeathed his furniture around town.  I had to admit it was a really neat thing to do, but why leave the cottage empty. And then, one night the answer to that question revealed itself.  It was a hot summer night and I slipped out of bed where Victor soundly slept and walked over to the cottage to sit on the rocking chair under the porch light.  It was a beautiful full moon.  I started rocking.  I just kept rocking and rocking, missing Uncle Sam and wondering why he would leave me a barren cottage.   And then it hit me.  Uncle Sam used to say to me, “You want answers, sunshine, look under the rock.”  But he never told me which rock. And there were no rocks on his property.  But what if he had meant under the rock of the rocking chair?  Curious, I got up and looked. And sure enough, there was an envelope taped to the bottom… with my name on it.  I carefully removed it and even more carefully opened it.  Inside was a handwritten letter:  Dear Sunshine, What took you so long to look under the rock? J  I hope you’re living life to the fullest.  I hope you’re in love.  Speaking of love, that’s why the cottage is empty (or should be).  I want you to have the cottage but I also want you to start your own life, Maddy. Surround yourself with beautiful things.  And take pleasure in decorating to suit your tastes (not mine).  And the tastes of your mate.  Remember when I gave you that gift to buy new clothes so you could feel special and build your company?  Well, I want you to feel special and decorate the cottage.  So there’s a gift certificate at Charlie’s Furniture Store waiting for you to redeem it.  Furniture and the process of furnishing a home is important and should be joyful. By the way, I recommend Magnussen.  There’s nothing like a home grown business that instills pride inside every detail of the products they create and build.  So enjoy, Sweetheart.  Make room for love with your partner and visit me once in awhile in your memories while you rock.   With Love & Fondness, Uncle Sam.   I couldn’t believe it.  He left me a note from the after life and he explained the mystery of the empty cottage.  I immediately looked up www.Magnussen.com and found an incredible array of furniture.  In addition, I learned all about the founder of the company, a German immigrant who started the company in 1934.  That week, Victor and I went to Charlie’s Furniture Store and picked out the River Ridge line.  It even had drawers in the bedframe for extra storage which came in handy.  Of course, Eve helped out with interior design to determine which pieces would fit best where.  The end result was a beautiful new cottage for me to set up offices for Lights Out Enterprises and… for me to read in…. as well as rock out on… The previous build-up of tension between Victor and I evaporated and our love grew stronger.  Uncle Sam wasn’t the elephant in the room.  He was more like the quiet hummingbird on the porch.