Cannot Wait to Get to Heaven - Fannie Flagg [44]
Before Dena had become ill, her first priority had always been her career, getting ahead, chasing after success and money. It had never even occurred to her that anything else was important, and so a woman who lived in the most humble of circumstances and seemed content to do so was an enigma to her. Having lived ten years in New York City, Dena couldn’t believe the woman never locked her doors, didn’t even own a key to her own house, and Elner was the first person she had ever met who actually seemed content, and she didn’t understand it. Dena thought that she must be a little simpleminded and her almost childlike fascination with nature was just a lack of sophistication. “God, who could get so excited at finding a four-leaf clover?”
Before she had left New York, Dena had certainly never paid the slightest attention to nature, had never seen a sunset or sunrise unless it had been an accident. She had rarely even noticed the moon or the stars or even the seasons changing, other than switching to heavier clothes. And most of all she was at a loss to understand why anybody would go out of their way to see the same sunrise every morning, and the same old sunset every night. As far as she was concerned, if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. But Aunt Elner had explained, “Oh, honey, it’s never the same, every morning it’s an entirely different sunrise, and every night an entirely different sunset, and it will never ever happen in quite the same way again.” And Elner had turned to her and said, “My question to you is, how in the world could you stand to miss even one? It’s better than any picture show and it’s free too.”
It had taken Dena a while, but after joining Elner every evening, sitting with her and watching the sun go down over the fields in the back of her house, she had come to see what Elner had been talking about. Aunt Elner had taught her to look for the tiny green flash that happened just as the sun dipped down into the horizon. The first night she came over and sat out back with her, Aunt Elner had said, “You know, Dena, there’s a secret to watching a sunset, most people think that once the sun goes down, that’s the end of it. They stop watching too soon, because the really pretty part is just beginning.” Aunt Elner had been right, of course, and every night after that they sat in the yard and watched until the last rays faded and until after the sky had turned dark blue and the first star had appeared.
Aunt Elner said, “I just couldn’t go to bed if I hadn’t made a wish on the first star, could you?” Dena had always wondered what Aunt Elner wished for, but when she asked, Aunt Elner had just smiled. “If I tell, it won’t come true, but it’s a good one, I can tell you that much.” Since those days, Dena had come a long way. Aunt Elner had been the one who had first opened her eyes, made her see the things that had always been right in front of her, all the things she had never stopped long enough to look at. Later, she came to realize just how smart Aunt Elner really was, and now she hardly ever missed a sunset. All of a sudden another wave of sadness hit her as she realized what a lonely old world this was going to be without Aunt Elner.
Meeting the Husband
Dorothy and Elner walked down the hall, past the old cedar chest, and when they reached the last door on the right Dorothy