Sing Me To Sleep (formerly From Maggie May to Penny Lane)

Chapter 2 - Funeral

From Penny Lane To Maggie May,

I’ve laid out a different outfit for you to wear.  Those trousers don’t do you any favours.  I might burn them later.

The pencil skirt is much nicer and you should wear with that blue blouse I got you for your birthday.  It really brings out the blue in your eyes and I know Dad liked it too.

Wear your hair up, not down, it makes you look younger.

Lots of Love, Penny Lane xxx

I woke up to find this beside me instead of my sister.  Penny was already downstairs helping Gammy make French toast for breakfast.  None of us were particularly hungry or talkative, which is saying something in Happy’s case whom always has something to say.

Gammy’s hair was in a bun again but it looked like Penny had some help to make it so sleek and straight.  She wore a simple black and grey dress with a pair of small heels.  Harry wore a matching grey suit with a red scarf, matching tie and very shiny black shoes.

“Oh, look,” Penny started at my appearance, “she actually took my advice for once.”

“Hello dear, you look lovely.” Gammy said, stacking my plate high with French toast, bacon and eggs.

“Thank you, Gammy.”

“Well, eat up.  We need to go to the florist before the cemetery.” Happy said, pushing his barely touched plate away.

Gammy tried to coax him to eat but no matter what she said or did he just kept pushing his plate away.  In the end, she wrapped it in cling film and put in the microwave for later, just in case.

By the time we were ready to leave it started pouring down outside, the skies turning a miserable looking grey.  We swapped our shoes of wellington or walking boots and Gammy put our formal shoes into a little bag for later.

Umbrellas at the ready we piled into the car and prayed that, by the time we left the florists, the rain would be off.  But no such luck.  The rain was still hammering down on the roof of the car, bouncing off the road, pavement and the many umbrellas that could be seen to make their way towards the church.

“Are we later?” Penny asked.

“No, dear.” Gammy said.  “Some of them wanted to come speak to us before the service started.”

“Well,” Happy said grimly, “I suppose we’d better get in there.”

We greeted Dad’s cousins, we didn’t have any from his side, since he was an only child but, my Gran and Penny’s Gran both showed up along with Penny’s aunt Sheila, who was a guidance councillor at Penny’s school (where Dad worked as a music teacher too).  Neighbours came to wish as well, men and women from the school that he worked with were there, along with some of his students.

After the service, Penny, Gammy, Happy and I were directed by the pall bearers, along with cousin Tim, Miss Marsh from the school, and an old college friend, worked the ropes and lowered my Dad’s coffin into the ground.

More people came to speak, hold our hands, hug our frozen forms till we murmured words of thanks after the funeral was complete.  The headmistress, Miss Thorne, of my father’s school, and Miss Marsh, the assistant head, came my way speaking words of comfort to Penny at first.

Miss Thorne was the eldest of the two women and had a very lined face and steel grey hair.  Her suit was made of, what looked like, tweed and she wore fine gold jewellery on her fingers, at her ears and around her neck.