Cannot Wait to Get to Heaven - Fannie Flagg [57]
“Thank you, but you know, Elner,” she said thoughtfully, “speaking of color, I wonder if I didn’t make a mistake.”
“How so, honey?”
“With people? I wonder if I shouldn’t have made them all one color? I had no idea it would cause so much trouble, and I just feel terrible about it.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about that, Dorothy, things are changing in that department. My niece Linda just adopted a Chinese baby and she’s a real pretty color, everybody says so.”
“Well, I’d like to think it’s getting better, and I must say, even with all the problems, Raymond is very optimistic about the future.”
“I know he is, and after talking to him, I feel a whole lot better,” said Elner. “And I felt pretty good before.”
Just then Raymond came out onto the porch and pointed to his watch. “Ladies, I hate to break this up, but Elner has to get on back.”
Dorothy looked at her watch. “Oh, dear. I was having such a good time, I’ve kept you far too long.”
Elner was totally surprised. “Am I not staying?”
“No,” said Raymond, “as much as we would love to keep you, unfortunately, we have to send you back home.”
“You mean, I’m not going to get to see Will?”
“No, honey, not this time,” said Dorothy.
Elner slowly put her coffee cup down on the table. “Well…I’m very disappointed, of course. I sure wanted to see Will. But mine is not to question, I guess. Anyhow, it was sure nice being with you again, Dorothy, and visiting with you, Raymond.”
“Wonderful to see you too, dear,” he said.
Dorothy wrapped a piece of cake in a napkin. “Here, honey, take this with you.”
Elner said, “Are you sure you don’t want it for later?”
“No, you take it, I have half a cake left in the kitchen that we’ll probably never finish.”
“All right, then,” she said, standing up and putting the cake into her pocket. “You know I’ll enjoy it.” She looked at both of them. “Is there anything I can do for you? Any messages you want me to take back?”
Raymond thought for a second, then said, “You could tell them that things are not really as bad as they seem, more people are getting educated every day, more women are voting, new technology is coming, new medical discoveries—”
“Wait a minute, hold it, Raymond,” said Elner, looking around for a pencil. “Shouldn’t I be writing all this down?”
“No, that’s all right,” he said. “Just tell them we love them, we’re pulling for them, and to hang in there, because good things are just around the corner. Anything else, Dorothy?”
Dorothy said, “You might want to remind them that life is what they make it, to smile, and the world is sunny, and it’s up to them.”
“All right,” said Elner, trying to remember it all. “Good things are coming, and life is what you make it, anything else?”
Dorothy looked over at Raymond, and he shook his head. “No, I think that’s basically it.” Suddenly Elner felt her robe filling up with warm air and expanding all around her; then she slowly began to rise up off the floor and gently float off the porch, on out into the yard like a big hot air balloon. As she rose higher in the air, she looked down to see Raymond and Dorothy standing in the yard surrounded by pink flamingos, and blue swans, who were all smiling and waving good-bye to her. “Good-bye, Elner!” they said. “Well, bye-bye…thanks for the cake,” she called back, as she floated higher and higher right over the top of the Elmwood Springs water tank and on over toward Kansas City.
Saying a Final Good-bye
2:46 PM
When Norma looked up and saw her daughter, Linda, walking down the hall, she burst into tears all over again. After they had pulled themselves together a bit, they discussed the matter of the autopsy and agreed not to have it done. As Linda said, if it couldn’t bring her back, then what was the point? The harsh reality of death was so damned final, so irreversible. They would just let her go in peace and not prolong the inevitable. They would follow Aunt Elner’s wishes and go ahead and arrange for the remains to be picked up for cremation. Norma burst into tears again. When she heard the word