Cannot Wait to Get to Heaven - Fannie Flagg [54]
“No, I missed it today. Why?”
“They said that Mrs. Shimfissle died.”
Mrs. Franks was stunned, she had just talked to Elner on the phone yesterday about the Easter egg hunt.
“What?”
“Yeah, Bud said she died this morning in the hospital in Kansas City. Didn’t you know her pretty well?”
Mrs. Franks suddenly felt herself getting dizzy and sweaty.
“Yes, I did.”
The clerk saw the stricken look on her face and said, “I’m sorry, I figured you might have heard by now.”
“No. I hadn’t heard.” Then Mrs. Franks turned around and walked out the door.
The clerk called after her, “Hey…you left your things here.
“Well, I guess she didn’t want them,” he mumbled to himself.
Mrs. Franks drove out of the parking lot in a daze and about a block later pulled over and parked.
She sat there thinking about what the clerk had asked so matter-of-factly. “Didn’t you know her pretty well?”
Pretty well? Even the words “She was the best friend I ever had” would have been inadequate. No one would, or could, ever know what Elner had done for Mrs. Franks and her daughter. Then her thoughts and concerns went immediately to her daughter, Polly, who was now at day care waiting for Mrs. Franks to come pick her up. How would she ever be able to explain to Polly that Mrs. Shimfissle had died? Polly loved Mrs. Shimfissle; she had been the only other person in the world whom she would spend the night with without crying and screaming for her mother. Every year, Mrs. Franks had dressed her daughter up in her new outfit and driven her to town for Elner’s big Easter egg hunt. Other than Christmas and having her picture made with Santa Claus, Easter was Polly’s favorite day of the year. She loved playing with the other children, and no matter what eggs she found in the yard, Elner always made a big fuss over it, gave her the biggest prize. One year her prize was a jeweled silver cowgirl belt with two cap guns that she still loved to play with to this day.
Poor Polly, even though she was now forty-two years old, she was severely retarded and had the mind of a six-year-old; she would never be able to understand why Mrs. Shimfissle would not be there anymore, or where she had gone. “I won’t tell her today,” she thought. “I’ll just give her a bag of marshmallows and let her be happy, for just a little while longer.” She was halfway home when she realized she had left her groceries on the counter and had to turn around and go back and still could hardly believe it. Elner Shimfissle dead. Elner, the bravest and purest soul she had ever known. Gone. “Where is she now?” she wondered.
As Louise drove along, she thought that if there was such a thing as heaven, then surely Elner had to be there right now.
What a Surprise, Huh?
As they walked down the hall, Dorothy said, “We could have our cake in the dining room or out on the front porch. Which would you prefer?”
Elner said, “Let’s have it on the porch.”
“Oh, good, it’s such a pretty day, I was hoping you would say that.” As Elner followed Dorothy, she suddenly heard a noise coming from the living room where Dorothy used to broadcast her show, and realized the noise was someone playing “You Are My Sunshine” on the tuba. “That sounds like Ernest Koonitz,” she said.
Dorothy said, “It is. Why don’t you go say hello to him while I get the cake. I know he’d love to see you.”
Elner walked by and poked her head into the room, and there he was, bad hairpiece and all, wearing that same black and white checked suit he always wore, with the red bow tie. “Hello, Ernest! It’s Elner Shimfissle.”
He looked up and seemed thrilled to see her. “Hello! When did you get here?” He walked over and shook her hand through