Free Miss Julia Inherits a Mess by Ann B. Ross Page A

prepared for where she’d been moved
to
. It’s really quite shaken me up.”
    â€œWell, me, too,” Mildred said, a great deal more soberly than she’d started out. “I had no idea that she was in danger of
leaving
us. Believe me, if I had, I would’ve bestirred myself to go visit her with you and LuAnne. I wish now I’d gone with you.”
    â€œDon’t worry about it. She wouldn’t have known if you were there or not. But I expect we’ll all have a few regrets in the next several days. Sam says we can’t dwell on those, though, since nothing can be done about them now. Still, I wish she’d known that I’d thought enough of her to bring petits fours.”
    â€œYes, that’s a pity. She loved those things. But, Julia, have you told LuAnne?”
    â€œNot yet, but I will.”
    â€œWell, hang up and do it right now. I want LuAnne to know that she’s not always the first to know when something happens.”
    I had to laugh, for LuAnne would be beside herself at hearing a bit of news about which she had absolutely no idea. And especially to hear it from one who was generally the last to know anything.
    _______
    â€œLuAnne?” I said when she answered her phone. “I hate to be the one to bring bad news, but Miss Mattie died sometime last night.”
    â€œWhat?”
    I told her again, adding, “I just happened to have gone to see her early this morning, and . . .”
    â€œAnd you didn’t call me to go with you?”
    â€œWell, LuAnne, I had several unforeseen obligations to take care of, and I wanted to speak to her about them.”
    â€œWhat kind of obligations did you have that you didn’t want me to know about?”
    â€œIt wasn’t like that, LuAnne. I don’t care if you know that Mattie had given me her power of attorney . . .”
    â€œ
What!
Why did she give it to you? I’ve known her as long as you have—longer, even.”
    â€œI don’t know, but, believe me, I would’ve been glad to pass it along to you if I’d had the chance. But really, there was little to do, and now, nothing at all. Any powers I may have had expired when she did.”
    â€œWell, I still don’t understand why she picked you. Why, Julia, I took her a loaf of banana nut bread every Christmas, and picked her up to take her to I-don’t-know-how-many parties, just to keep us all safe from that car. I even offered to drive her to and from church every Sunday, but she turned me down. I did that after she backed into two cars in the church parking lot. One of them was mine.”
    â€œI know, LuAnne, you were always very thoughtful whereMattie was concerned. And the only reason I can think of for not naming you was that she didn’t want to burden you.” I was doing my best to console LuAnne for having been found lacking in Mattie’s eyes, or perhaps for having been merely overlooked. Although, to tell the truth, as much as I cared for LuAnne, she would be the last person to whom I’d entrust my business affairs. And the thought of her being in charge of my medical decisions sent a shudder down my spine.
    â€œLuAnne,” I said, inspired by a sudden thought, “I would count it a great favor if you would call everyone, starting with Pastor Ledbetter and Emma Sue, the organist who’ll need a heads-up for the service, and all our friends and tell them about Mattie. They all need to be notified, and I am just overwhelmed here. Would you have time to do that?”
    There was a noticeable silence. Then she asked, “You haven’t already called them?”
    â€œNo, I just learned about it myself.”
    â€œAnd called me first?”
    I hesitated for a moment of silence. “Yes, except I did tell Sam and Lillian. I mean, of course, they were right here when I walked through the door.”
    â€œWell, okay. I can do that, if you’re