Christmas Cake (15 page)

Jessie waited for more.

“She's got you. She's got Louise and Beatrice. She's got Charlotte. And I bet that no matter what she finds when she gets to west Texas, she will understand that her greatest gift was not what she found but what she already had.”

Jessie turned away.

“You will not bring disappointment or more sadness to Margaret than she is already facing. That's impossible.” He squeezed her on the shoulder. “Only goodness and loveliness can come from this adventure. It is rooted in the very best ground. It is rooted in love.”

Jessie looked to her husband again.

“There is no better gift for Christmas than the gift you are giving to your friend.” He pulled her into him.

“Now, get that suitcase packed because I think I hear Louise and Beatrice coming up the driveway.”

Jessie and James both leaned toward the bedroom door where they could see out to the road. Lana had left the front door open, and they both heard the van as it drove up.

“Is there somebody dead on our street?” James asked.

Jessie looked more closely at the vehicle coming up the driveway.

“Lord, have mercy, we're driving to Texas in the funeral home van.”

And both of them shook their heads and laughed.

 

 

Oatmeal Cake

1 cup oatmeal, uncooked

1¼ cups boiling water

½ cup vegetable shortening

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs and 2 egg whites

1½ cups sifted flour

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup raisins (if desired)

 

Mix oatmeal and boiling water and set aside to cool. Mix all ingredients well and add oatmeal mixture. Stir until fairly smooth. Pour into greased 8-inch square pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

 

 

TOPPING

1 stick margarine, melted

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped nuts

1 bag of coconut (14 ounces)

2 beaten egg yolks

 

Add ingredients to melted margarine. Cook about 2 minutes. Spread on cake while hot, and brown in oven.

D
on't even say a word.” Louise was opening the passenger side door and stepping out of the van. “I have already said everything that can be said.”

“I…well…I…” Jessie could only stand on the front porch shaking her head. She didn't even know what to say. She had certainly not considered taking the trip in a van from the funeral home. It was absolutely a shock to her, and she was at a complete loss for words.

“Jessie, it's all I could get on such short notice.” Beatrice was opening the driver's side door and walking toward the couple. She was trying to explain her choice before Louise said everything.

“You had five days, Beatrice. We told you on Wednesday that we would need the van on Sunday, five days.” Louise was clearly rattled, clearly upset by what Beatrice had done.

“Yes, but it's Saturday!” Beatrice exclaimed. “It's not Sunday, it's Saturday. I could have gotten a van from Hertz tomorrow but they didn't have one today.” And that was true, she had tried to find a van.

Louise didn't respond. There was no need. She had checked. None of the rental agencies had any suitable vehicles, and there was nothing they could do about it. She shook her head and stood by the van.

“Aren't you going to say something?” Even though Louise had told her not to say anything, she was hoping her friend would make some comment.

Jessie still did not speak.

James came down the porch, carrying Jessie's suitcase and an ice chest, and walked over beside her. “Well, it is roomy,” he said, trying to sound cheerful. He peeked in the back window. “What is it used for, flowers and stuff?” he asked.

Louise rolled her eyes. “It's a funeral home van, James, a funeral home van.”

She could not believe that he was going along with the idea so easily. She looked again at the side of the van where “Family Funeral Home” was clearly displayed and shook her head again. She stomped over to Jessie for support.

Beatrice walked around to where James was standing. She opened the back door. “Yes, they use it to transport materials,” she replied. “Or they take the staff to meetings and things. It isn't used for dead bodies.” She looked over at her friends as if that information would ease things. “You hear me, Louise, it's not for dead people.”

“Humph.” Louise sighed, waving her hand at Beatrice while turning aside. “Look at what it says on the side,” she said sharply.

“So?” Beatrice asked, sounding very innocent. She turned to James, who was still checking out the vehicle. “And see, I was able to add that third seat and still have room in the back for all of our stuff.” She pointed to a third seat that had blankets and pillows placed on it. “That way, if Margaret needs to lie down, there's a place for her
to do that.” Beatrice was smiling. “And it's brand-new,” she added. “Hardly any mileage on it at all. Dick says it rides real smooth. Plus, it's free.”

James smiled and nodded. “You are quite the savvy travel arranger, Bea.”

Louise made another humph noise. She turned to Jessie, who was still standing on the front steps, still not saying a word. “What do you think, Jessie, you want to try and go after Christmas?” She asked the question in her most concerned voice. “You want to try and drive one of our cars? I think Margaret's car could hold us all comfortably. I know mine is too small.” She was thinking out loud. “Maybe we could just take one of our cars to Statesville. I know they have a van there.”

Louise looked up at Jessie, still waiting for some kind of response from her.

And then Jessie laughed. She laughed a lot. She laughed so much and so hard that it took a few minutes before she could speak. Louise, James, and Beatrice just stood and watched her. They thought it was very peculiar behavior, and they then glanced around, looking at one another.

James placed the suitcase and ice chest in the back and shut the door. He headed toward his wife. “You okay, Jess?” he asked.

She blew out a big breath and laughed again. “It's absolutely perfect,” she finally said. “Margaret will love it.”

Louise turned around to look at the van again and then turned back to face Jessie. Clearly she didn't see the humor in it or how Margaret was going to love driving to Goodlett, Texas, in a funeral home van. She thought it was an exercise in very poor taste.

“Jessie, are you serious?” she asked.

And Jessie laughed some more.

Beatrice, on the other hand, didn't see the irony or the tastelessness in her choice of vehicles. She thought it was a perfect solution to their problem, the problem of not having an appropriate vehicle to drive Margaret to Texas comfortably.

She had tried all morning to find a van for them to rent and there was nothing available except a twenty-foot moving truck from the U-Haul place or a station wagon from the closest car rental place. Apparently the few vans that the local agencies carried were being rented for family holiday trips and there were none available until they got to Statesville, which was about two hours away.

At first, when Dick came home for lunch with the van, having picked it up after a wash and wax, Beatrice didn't consider the possibility of using it; she was thinking about how she had failed again at her one assignment, how Louise was going to yell at her again about not being able to follow through with her one task.

It wasn't until her husband left, taking the car and leaving the van in the front yard, that Beatrice knew it was the solution she needed. It was like a miracle, she had thought; but of course she had not told that part to Louise. But she did. She really thought it was a miracle, a sign or a gift from God.

She saw Dick pulling away and she ran out the door and started inspecting the vehicle. She looked in all the windows and kicked the tires. She even tried to open the hood and look at the engine, though she knew that she would have no idea of what she was looking at. When she couldn't get the hood open, she just patted it on top.

She continued to examine the vehicle, nodding as she went, and determined that it was big enough for the four women. She could also
see that with the third seat installed there would be room enough to allow for a bed in the back for Margaret. It was all clean inside and still had that new car smell that she always liked. She didn't think anything about the sign on the side, designating it as a funeral home vehicle; she thought it was exactly what the women needed. It even had four-wheel drive in case they ran into snow on the roads.

She didn't worry about borrowing it because she knew that the funeral home had other vans, and she guessed that they wouldn't really miss the one that was parked at the house. She figured that she could just take the van, drive to Texas, and be back by Christmas. She thought that since the owner of the funeral home was taking his family to California for the holidays, Dick wouldn't really be in any trouble because she guessed that no one would really ever find out. He was in charge, after all. So she finished getting ready, called Dick to say good-bye and that she would be home in a few days, loaded her suitcase, and went to pick up Louise.

When Beatrice called Dick to say she was leaving, she didn't mention that she was taking the van. She knew he would have told her no. He would have given a thousand reasons that it was a bad idea, including the one big one: that it wasn't their van. So she decided she would wait until she was out of town to let him know what they were driving, let him know that she had the van. She would call when she got to Asheville or Knoxville, a spot too far from home to have to turn around and drive back. She thought her plan was perfect and she was intending to tell her friends about what she was doing, not sensing that anything would be wrong with any of it.

However, by the time Louise had finished yelling at Beatrice, saying she wouldn't go in that van, and making calls, only to find out
what Beatrice had already told her, that there were no vans available, Beatrice had made no mention of the fact that Dick didn't even know about the use of the vehicle. She knew after hearing everything she had heard, Louise would go crazy if she found out that they were actually stealing the funeral van. So Beatrice decided not to share that part.

After almost an hour of screaming at Beatrice, saying she wouldn't allow Margaret to ride in that van, wouldn't allow Beatrice to drive them in that van, Louise got in the vehicle and agreed to go over to Jessie's. Maybe, she thought, Jessie would have some other idea of how they could get a van. Maybe, she thought, Jessie could make Beatrice see what a ridiculous idea it was to take Margaret to Texas in a funeral home van.

Now, however, Louise realized that Jessie wasn't going to take her side. Jessie thought it was funny. Jessie was going to allow them to drive Margaret to her hometown place somewhere in west Texas in the funeral home van. Louise couldn't even believe it.

She just shook her head and stomped back to the van, got in the passenger side, and shut the door. She was so flabbergasted, she didn't even know what to say. She couldn't believe that Jessie didn't think this was a horrible idea, that Jessie thought this was funny. So she just decided to go with them. The only thing she could think was that maybe Margaret wouldn't notice the sign on the side. Maybe she could hurry out and slide open the side door and Margaret wouldn't see what they were driving. She slid down in the seat, trying to figure out the best way to get that accomplished.

“I even have a little cake,” Beatrice said, trying to sound upbeat. “You ready, Jess?” she asked.

Jessie nodded and gave a good-bye kiss to James. He whispered something in her ear and she smiled. She walked over to the side of the van and slid open the door and got in.

Beatrice got into the driver's seat and pulled the seat belt across her shoulders. She turned on the engine. “It's oatmeal, the cake, I mean. It'll be nice for the mornings.”

She waited until Jessie was in the seat with her seat belt on. They all waved to James, who was standing on the porch. Jessie blew him a kiss and he smiled.

Beatrice pulled out onto the street and turned the car in Margaret's direction.

“It smells nice,” Jessie noted as she glanced around inside the van.

“I know,” Beatrice said proudly. “It's new.”

Louise looked out the window.

“And you were right, it's real roomy, isn't it?”

“They can carry one hundred arrangements in the back, if they take that seat out, of course.” Beatrice pulled to the stop sign and looked in both directions carefully before pulling out.

“One hundred?” Jessie asked. She looked all around the van again and nodded. “It was sure nice of Dick to let us borrow it,” she noted.

Beatrice made a kind of humming noise, and Louise turned quickly in her direction.

“Dick does know, doesn't he?” Louise asked.

“Oh my,” Beatrice quickly answered. “Do you think we should have packed a thermos of coffee?” She wanted to change the subject as quickly as possible.

“I have one,” Jessie replied. “And I brought an ice chest with some sandwiches in it.” She knew that James had put it in the back.

“Great!” Beatrice exclaimed. She was glad to talk about food and not about her husband.

“I think this is real nice, Bea,” Jessie said.

Louise sighed and shook her head. She still couldn't believe that they were going to pick up their friend, sick with cancer, and drive her to Texas in a funeral home van. It was all just beyond her good senses.

“Oh, come on Lou, it's fitting,” Jessie said, reaching up and slapping her friend on the shoulder.

“How is it fitting?” she asked.

“For us,” Jessie replied. “It's simply fitting for us.” She laughed again.

“We are the cookbook committee,” Beatrice added, even though her comment made no sense to anyone.

“Now, I was thinking that we would take turns behind the wheel,” Beatrice announced. “I will drive first and then we can take two-hour shifts. We're staying in Knoxville tonight, right?” She glanced over to Louise.

“That's the plan,” she replied.

Suddenly Beatrice made a sharp turn down a side street, slinging Louise and Jessie across their seats. She made the quick turn because she realized that if she went the way she was planning to go, she would have driven right past the funeral home. She certainly did not want to do that. She tried to play off what had happened. “Wheeee,” she said, trying to make it seem like she had intended to make the turn.

“Beatrice! What is wrong with you?” Louise was sliding back into her seated position. She had been thrown toward the console stationed between the two front seats.

“Oh, I just remembered how much holiday traffic we would run
into if we took River Road over to Hawthorne.” Beatrice nervously looked in the rearview mirror, trying to make sure that no one had spotted the van and was following them. She didn't see anything.

“Well, if you're driving like that to Knoxville, your shift is about over,” Louise noted. She could tell that Beatrice had gotten nervous about something. She turned around to look behind them.

“So, we'll get to Asheville about five
P.M
. Do we want to stop there for dinner?” Beatrice asked, trying to distract Louise. “Or will we just eat the sandwiches and cake and keep going?”

“Why don't we just wait to see when we get hungry or tired of sitting?” Jessie replied. “There's really no schedule for this adventure. We'll let Margaret decide how she's feeling.”

Beatrice nodded. She made the turn down Margaret's road and then drove into the driveway. When they stopped, Louise jumped out and quickly slid open the side door of the van so that the sign was not visible. She hoped that Margaret wouldn't walk around to the other side. There was nothing she could do about that sign.

“I'll go get her,” Jessie said as she stepped out. Louise stood by the door, guarding it. Jessie just shook her head when she realized what her friend was doing. “It won't matter, Lou,” she said. “She'll see it eventually. And I promise you, Margaret will think this is a hoot.”