A Myrtle Clover Christmas

Chapter Seventeen

The next morning, Myrtle got ready for Glynis's funeral. She got dressed early this time because there always seemed to be mishaps regarding her funeral wardrobe.

She'd anticipated that with all the festive Christmas activities, her funeral clothes might be a little tight on her. She'd even gone to the trouble of purchasing special undergarments intended to compel oneself into an outfit. To her delight, however, she somehow appeared to have lost a small amount of weight and could easily slip into the clothes.

Miles arrived promptly thirty minutes before the service to pick up Myrtle. Wanda declined when Myrtle asked her if she wanted to go. "Cemeteries is loud places for me," she said with a shrug.

Myrtle thought that sounded like a reasonable excuse for a psychic to make. Miles shivered.

The service was graveside and, according to the local gossip, had been in accordance with Glynis's own, very detailed instructions. Faith and the minister were merely there to ensure everything went according to plan.

One thing that had perhaps not gone according to plan was the appearance of Edgar Ross at the funeral. Although Glynis was Edgar's sister, Myrtle had the feeling Glynis wouldn't have welcomed his presence there. He was wearing the same suit he'd worn to his daughter's wedding.

Miles quietly observed Edgar, who seemed to have found some friend from the old days there and was laughing with him. Miles murmured, "He appears rather peppy for being at his sister's funeral."

"Well, they weren't all that close, after all. But his behavior does seem to be upsetting Faith."

Sure enough, Faith was watching her father with a worried look on her face.

Miles said, "Just the same, it seems a bit disrespectful to be laughing right before a funeral starts."

Tippy quickly joined them, looking a bit harried, which was unusual for Tippy.

"Everything all right?" murmured Myrtle.

Tippy nodded, smoothing down her immaculate black dress. "It's fine. I simply got busy with work-related things and time got away from me. Thank goodness the service hasn't started yet."

"Did you know Glynis well?" asked Myrtle.

Tippy gave a slight shake of her head. "Not really. I think Glynis liked keeping to herself most of the time."

Miles said, "I suppose she must have been involved with the church. Considering the service, I mean."

The graveside service did indeed seem to be geared toward churchgoers. Aside from the minister, there were a couple of folks in choir robes who seemed ready to burst into song at any time.

Tippy said, "She was a very important member, although a quiet one. Glynis didn't serve on any committees or volunteer, but she was always there and seemed to get something out of the services. She also was very generous with her donations."

Myrtle figured as much. "Such a terrible chore for Faith. It's too bad that she had to plan her aunt's funeral. Unless what people are saying is correct and Glynis had the whole service laid out."

Tippy said, "The gossips are right, at least in this instance. Glynis was so very organized, you know. She planned her own service from beginning to end. Faith only had to print out the instructions for the minister."

Miles said slowly, "But she had no inkling she was going to pass away, I'm assuming. Unless you're saying that there was some sort of overt threat Glynis was responding to when she penned her instructions."

"Nothing like that, no. But Glynis had an entire file she'd labeled 'in case of my demise.'" Tippy seemed to realize she appeared to know a lot about the situation. "I went over to give Faith a hand at Glynis's house. But once we found that file, everything was easy. Glynis had even written her own obituary."