Flower of Heaven by Julien Ayotte Page B

he talked about selling it all, the farm too, to a big bakery in Nashua. They made an offer that he was really thinking about, more money than we’d ever seen in our entire lives.” Alice walked over to the desk in the adjoining office area and reached for some papers on Charlie’s desk. As she approached Dick, Alice said, “Your father signed the agreement three days ago and told me about it the day before he died. He was going to tell you that night at supper. I could see a sense of relief when he told me, like a big load had been taken off him. He even smiled when he told me,” Alice continued, “if only I’d known, but Doc Hinkson said there was no way I could’ve known, Charlie hardly ever complained about anything.”
    Dick started reading the papers his mother had just given him and looked up at her in a daze. “What are you going to do, Mom, where are you going to go? I’m still here; I’ll run the business if you want to stay.” uttered Dick as he rose to his feet.
    “No, Son, you’re gonna go back to school where you belong, except now you’re gonna live in Plymouth at the school and, come vacation time, you can come down to Florida to live with me.”
    “Florida? You’re moving to Florida, who are you going to know down there, except Uncle Sean?”
    “Your Uncle Sean and Aunt Jean were planning on opening their own little restaurant in Boca Raton, right near the ocean, and your father and I had sort of agreed to go in with them. I called Sean yesterday and he’ll be here tomorrow to help me get some of these things straightened out,” Alice went on, “and your uncle Sean doesn’t need any money. He just wants me to come down there, live with them for a while until I find my own place and then, maybe do some cooking at the restaurant if I want.”
    “I’m nearly sixty-five years old and I can’t take care of this place by myself, nor do I want to. And I don’t want you here either. I’m tired of pushing and pushing to make a bigger business. It’s time for me to slow down and see some of the world out there. I haven’t been out of New Hampshire in over twenty years. “Your father once told me he probably wouldn’t get to see the sun set anywhere but here before he died. I didn’t know then just how true that statement would turn out to be.”
    As expected, on the day of Charlie’s funeral, St. Barnaby’s was packed with mourners who had known Charlie Merrill for nearly fifty years. Whether it was out of mere business courtesy or genuine sorrow for the loss of a dear friend, they all came. Father Gavin had paid particular attention to all the details personally. Somehow the attachment to his young pupil for several years compelled him to reach for that extra ounce of energy to show his compassion for Dick’s father in the only way he could.
    The pews were lined with a delegation from the Knights of Columbus dressed in their navy blue uniforms complete with feathered hats. There were bouquets of flowers surrounding the entire vestibule. Father Gavin had summoned all of the altar boys from the local school to attend, dressed in full cassocks as they stood in rows near the church choir to the left of the sacristy. The altar was draped with rich white cloth and more flowers. It looked more like a royal wedding than a funeral.
    The time soon came for Dick to deliver the eulogy. He had not discussed it nor allowed anyone to read it. It was to be his thoughts about his father and he was going to say them as he wrote them. As he approached the lectern, he glanced at Father Gavin seated behind the altar. Father Gavin was clutching the crucifix hanging around his neck with his left hand while, at the same time, signaled a sign of the cross toward Dick with his right hand.
    As Dick placed his prepared talk on the lectern, he noticed a simple message taped to the facing. It read: I am with you, Dick, do not despair.
    “Most of you,” Dick began, “have known my father much longer than I have,