Abediah Thornton

Chapter 9 - Tuesday

By the time Louise arrived Abediah had finished all of her morning tasks and was waiting at the kitchen table. Louise was surprised to see her old friend looking more refined than ever. Instead of the usual chaps and boots, Abediah was in a dress, her hair piled tidily on her head, not a speck of mud to be found!'Ready?' asked Louise.'As I'll ever be,' sighed Abediah.

She had originally planned to get herself to the funeral but at the last minute Louise had offered to drive. She had been surprised and touched that the vet would think to come to Frank's funeral. Remembering her own emotional response when the police officers had come on Thursday, Abediah had decided to go along with Louise's suggestion. The two women climbed up into the cab of the black pick-up truck and Louise steered them off towards town.

Abediah was surprised to see the car park at the little white church was full. There were groups of people, dressed in black, gathered around the entrance. She sat taking it all in. Louise walked around to the passenger side of the truck and helped her down. They walked arm in arm towards the church. 'Why are there so many people here?' whispered Abediah.'Are you surprised?' Louise whispered back. 'I had no idea he knew so many people!' said Abediah in quiet surprise.

Pastor John and Mrs Stratton were standing at the open door. They both welcomed Abediah warmly.

'Now you just go right to the front pew Mrs Thornton,' said Mrs Stratton. Her high pitched, slightly condescending tone, again reminding Abediah of an elementary school teacher. 

Louise steered her past a surprising number of faces, all turned towards the two women with curiosity. There were probably at least thirty people in the church. Many of them obviously knew each other. Most of the faces were new to Abediah, although she recognised some from the grocery store. She nodded to Aster Davies who ran the feed store. She saw Dr Fletcher and his wife, they worked together in the Dr's office in town. Dr Fletcher had been their Doctor since she and Frank had moved into the farm. He was still working, despite being older than both of them, although it was a family business now and his son and daughter looked after most of the patients.

In the front pew they met Mr Goodman, all dressed up in his Sunday best. He didn't look much different from when she had gone to the funeral parlour with him, although this three piece suit was entirely black. 'Good Morning Mrs Thornton,' he said, reaching out to grasp her hand. She shook the hand reluctantly. 'Thank you for coming Mr Goodman.''Indeed. Indeed,' he said heavily. 'A good turn out for old Frank,' he added.

She thought it strange that the lawyer always referred to her husband as 'old Frank', it seemed like a term of endearment rather than an adjective for Frank's age. How well had they known each other? She could only guess.

As she sat down in the front pew she could hear the murmured conversations behind her. Most of the congregation was keeping several pews back so she couldn't really hear specifics. In front of her was Frank's coffin. The oak veneer looked good. Someone had draped what looked like a white table runner over it and on top a large flower arrangement had been placed. She could smell the white lilies, it was a beautiful collection of white flowers.

As they waited she looked around the front of the church. They had continued with the white theme inside the church but there were a couple of beautiful stained glass windows and some gold dotted here and there for the look of the thing. The choir was already organised under the main stained glass window, dressed in wine coloured robes they were chatting quietly amongst themselves. After a few minutes Pastor John walked up the aisle. Everyone else read the sign and took their seats.

The service was everything Abediah would have hoped for, had she known what to hope for at a funeral for her husband. Everyone sang beautifully. The readings were very nice and appropriate. She felt grateful that she was able to maintain her composure. A few tears escaped but there was no embarrassing sobbing. Several people came up from the audience and read things for Frank. Mr Goodman did the eulogy. That was a surprise! She hadn't even thought about it. Now looking back that's probably what had been discussed in the funeral parlour, or maybe he'd mentioned it directly to the Pastor. She couldn't remember anyone mentioning it to her. However, she was glad the decision had been taken out of her hands.

Listening to Mr Goodman's speech she felt again that strange shifting of the ground beneath her. She was beginning to question who her husband had been and how it was that for so many years they had just not known each other, despite living in the same house. Mr Goodman talked about days walking across the golf course with Frank, about evenings over dinner. Conversations they had shared and what a good friend Frank had been to him over the years. Part of her wondered if the lawyer had just made a bunch of stuff up to make Frank sound more outgoing than he was! But the speech seemed heartfelt. She got the feeling that Mr Goodman really had liked her husband and perhaps even missed him. She wondered if she had been too brisk with the man. Although, he had only ever seemed barely polite to her.

She left the church feeling sad about Frank's passing but also glad it was all over. She was feeling very confused and discomforted by the way so many people seemed to have a better idea of who her husband was than she did. Mr Goodman's behaviour seemed to hint that he might possibly have an insight into the rather estranged (she now realised) nature of her marriage. She didn't like that Mr Goodman seemed to know more about her marriage than she did. She didn't like that he seemed to be barely trying to be polite. But surprisingly, for the first time in so many years, Abediah really wished she could go home and ask Frank! She had so many questions for him and he was the only person she actually wanted to talk to right now.

The two women made their way back down the aisle. Again observed by what felt like the entire town. A few people expressed their condolences and shook Abediah's hand. At the door she stopped to thank the Pastor and Mrs Stratton for their hard work. She commented on how beautiful the church looked and how well the choir had sung. She again expressed her appreciation for all the food Mrs Stratton had brought and asked her to pass on her thanks to the ladies who had been so generous with their time and skills.

Finally she was back in the pick up truck and on her way home. She breathed a sigh of relief and closed her eyes. She had really appreciated Louise's quiet kind presence all day. Really it was over and above for a vet! She was glad she had someone to keep her company.