“What? Is Uncle Zed sick? Have you called his doctor or 911?” Tawny screamed and ran toward the door.

Dana stopped her, hugging her close while they both sobbed. “He’s already cold. I called 911, and they’re sending the coroner. They told me not to touch anything.”

Brook crossed the floor and sat down with a thud beside Harper, who leaned into her shoulder and continued to sob.

“He’s sittin’ in his easy chair.” Brook said a word at a time. “His hand is stretched out touching the other chair. He just looks like he’s sleeping. I can’t believe he’s not going to walk me down the aisle when I get married.”

Harper gathered the child into her arms, and suddenly her other two sisters were there in a group hug, their tears mingling on their cheeks.

“What are we going to do without him?” Tawny whispered. “He was the glue that held us together.”

“We’ll have to rely on his and Granny’s memories. I hear sirens. That must be the ambulance,” Dana said.

Harper shook her head. “I don’t even know what to do next. We’ve got to close up shop for a couple of days.”

Dana nodded in agreement. “Call the lawyer. Remember, that’s what was in Granny’s letter. She said there was another letter when Uncle Zed went and to call the lawyer.”

“I’ll do it when . . .” Harper couldn’t finish the sentence.

“We are brave. We are Granny Annie’s girls. Suck it up,” Brook said. “Let’s go to the store so we can stand by him when they put him in the vehicle. We can cry and carry on like babies later.” She got up.

Harper and Tawny did the same and then followed Dana and Brook out the kitchen door. The ambulance pulled up behind the store and Dr. Tipton got out of the passenger’s seat. He and the driver went inside, but he was back out in only a few seconds.

“I’m not going to do an autopsy. The congestive heart failure and bad lungs finally took their toll. Two years ago I would have bet a hundred dollars that he’d go before Annie,” Dr. Tipton said. “I reckon you want him taken to the same funeral home as Annie? I can do that right now if you want, since I’m the acting coroner until we can get another one.”

“Yes, please,” Dana said. “Which one was it?”

“Let me write it down for you. If I don’t, you’ll forget ten minutes after I leave. I’m so sorry for your loss and it coming so soon after Annie.” The doctor wrote on the back of one of his business cards. “His heart just played out, but from that last visit, I’d say he knew it was coming. And, girls, this is a blessing. It wouldn’t have been long until he would have had to have continual oxygen—possibly a respirator in a few weeks. Y’all want to go in there and tell him goodbye before we take him?”

All four nodded. Chins quivering, backs straight, and holding hands, they entered the little apartment that had been his for more than fifty years. He could have had so much more, but he’d opted to stay and help Annie after their grandpa died.

Harper went right to him and touched his gray hair. “Goodbye, Uncle Zed. I’m going to miss you so much. I hope you know how much I love you.”

Dana took a few steps forward and draped an arm around Harper’s shoulder. “Is this why you gave each of us one of your prized possessions? You knew it wasn’t going to be long, didn’t you?”

Brook slipped an arm around her mother’s waist. “I love you, Uncle Zed, and that comb you gave me will bring you right in the room with me on the day I get married. I’ll feel you and Granny sittin’ on the front pew, and you can wear your overalls.”

Tawny stretched out her arm to embrace all three of them at once. “Peace. You helped me find it. I owe you so much. I can’t say goodbye because it hurts too much, so I’m just going to say that I’ll see you and Granny someday. Until then, I’ll touch this ring when I need your advice, and you can pop into my memories anytime you want to.”

They stood, two on each side of the gurney, as the doctor and the folks in the ambulance rolled his body out of the apartment. As it drove away, four hands went up to wave goodbye, and a fresh batch of tears started to flow.

“Let’s just go in there and sit in those chairs for a little while. Maybe his spirit hasn’t completely left us yet,” Harper said. She led the way back inside and sat down in his recliner.

Dana eased down in the chair beside it, and Brook sat in her lap.

Harper moved over, leaving enough room for Tawny to join her.

“Smoke. I can smell his cigarettes in the fabric of this chair,” Tawny whispered as she wedged in beside her sister.

“I get a whiff of Granny’s perfume in this one,” Dana said softly.

Harper looked around at the sparsely furnished room. Two recliners, a television on a stand with lots of movies on the shelves under it, a queen-size bed in the corner with a colorful quilt on top, and pretty lace curtains on the windows. He hadn’t left much in material possessions, but what he’d left in love couldn’t fit in a mansion.

It was daylight when the lawyer showed up. No one had called him, but there he was, tapping on the café window while the sisters were having packaged sweet rolls from the store and coffee for breakfast. Barely able to swallow, they damn sure weren’t ready to deal with him, but there didn’t seem to be any other choice but to let him in.