Rish De Terra

The Pointing Picture

As far as funerals go, this one could have been worse, Jatoun thought to herself. Aunt Benny didn’t scream and holler like she had at all the funerals since Jatoun was an itty bitty girl. Mommy did all the cooking this time so at least the repast food wasn’t burnt and bland like when Aunt Cherise makes it. Mommy and Benny joked that their baby sister’s food tasted like free lunch. The Vernon Family Funeral Home had been operating since the late 1800s and had been passed down from father to son for 7 generations. Grandaddy hadn’t had any boys and maintained a warm and protective distance from his daughters. With no sons to take over, he hoped that Mommy being the oldest would do what was necessary to assume leadership. No one would have known that Mommy was his favorite unless they paid close attention while he was alive. Aunt Benny knew. That’s probably why she didn’t lay on the casket with a wail and flail during the burial.