Cannot Wait to Get to Heaven - Fannie Flagg [106]
“Still, I feel terrible, that poor man. He was so nice.”
“Yes, he was, but he can afford to be, he’s not in the real estate business. You know what they say, don’t you, Norma? Real estate agents never die, they just remain in escrow forever. Isn’t that a good one? I made that up myself.”
No two ways about it, Norma was learning the business from the bottom up.
A Visitor for Elner
12:48 PM
Over the past months, Mrs. McWilliams, La Shawnda’s mother, and Elner had written each other several times, and today La Shawnda had driven her mother all the way to Elmwood Springs for a visit. When they arrived at Elner’s house, she was waiting on the front porch to greet them.
“Hey, Mrs. McWilliams, you made it,” she said to the small black lady, who scurried up the sidewalk toward her, grinning from ear to ear and carrying a large black-and-white striped hat box with a caramel cake inside.
“I did,” she said, “and I made us a cake!”
They had a nice long visit and between the three of them ate most of the cake that the old lady had made, and it was almost as good as Dorothy’s.
Later, as they were sitting out on the porch, Mrs. McWilliams said to Elner, “I’m so glad we got to come out today. I’m going to be moving back home tomorrow, back to Arkansas, but I wanted to meet the cake lady before I went.”
“Well, I’m so glad you did too. Us old country women have to stick together. These youngsters don’t know what it’s like to wake up and hear the birds, do they?”
“No, they don’t…. All the young want is to listen to all that nasty hippity hop music and run their cars up and down the road day and night.” She looked over at her daughter and said, “I’ll miss my baby here, but I’ll be so glad to be home.”
La Shawnda said, “I’ll come and visit you, Momma.”
“I hope you do.”
Mrs. McWilliams looked out in the side yard and remarked, “That’s a mighty fine fig tree you got out there, Mrs. Shimfissle.”
Elner looked at it and smiled. “It is, isn’t it?”
As the two visitors got up to leave, Mrs. McWilliams said, “I hope I get to see you again someday.”
“Oh, you will,” said Elner.
Going Professional
11:08 AM
Six months later, after Norma had passed her real estate exam and gotten her license, Beverly told Norma that they needed a picture to put in the office brochure. A few days later Norma brought in the picture she had had made at Wal-Mart, where she was wearing her bright red jacket with the emblem and a black turtleneck sweater.
Norma thought it looked very professional, but Beverly looked at it and said, “This is nice, but you don’t want just an ordinary pose, you need a photo that will grab people, a gimmick, a hook, something to set you apart.” Beverly had her photo made with her in a picture hat, holding her two pet ferrets, Joan and Melissa, with the caption “Let Us Ferret Out a New Home for You.”
But Norma was at a loss. She told Macky, “I’m as dull as a dishwasher,” as she flipped through the multiple listings looking for ideas for a professional picture. A lot of agents had their pictures taken with them talking on a phone, one had her picture with a cello, a lot had their dogs, another one was standing by an antique car, and somebody named Wade had his picture made at a castle somewhere. It could have been made at Disneyland. It was that picture that sparked the idea for Norma. The next day, wearing her red jacket, she went over to Aunt Elner’s yard with Macky and she stood by the birdhouse that Luther had made Aunt Elner, and smiled.
LOOKING FOR A HOME?
CALL NORMA
Tot Still Telling It Like It Is
9:45 AM
As busy as she was on Wednesday, Norma was in her chair as usual and had braced herself for another tirade from Tot.
“I’m telling you, Norma, entertainment has gone from bad to worse. With all that violence and sex stuff they put in the movies now, no wonder people around the world don’t like us, if they think that’s what we are like.”
“It could be,” said Norma.
“Why don’t they make movies about nice people like they used to? I don’t mind a little cussing,