The Cherry Blossoms (21 page)

“Is Michal still there?”

“He is.”  She chuckled, “He’s been working with the ranch hands.”

Grant
laughed aloud, “Est-ce qu'il est monté un cheval comme un cow-boy dans les films ?”

Danny laughed and retorted, “I’m not so sure that he looks like a cowboy in the movies; he hangs onto the horse for dear life.  I’ll call as soon as I can.”

Danny went into the kitchen to help her Nana.  When she looked up, Betty wiped the tears from her face.  “Don’t mind me child, I’m just a blubbering old fool.  Come give me a hug.”

Danny wrapped her arms around Nana, and let her sob against Danny’s chest.  “I’ve been working for that old fool for so long, that I’m really gonna miss him.”

Not letting go of her hold, she told Nana, “I know that you will, but I’m really going to need you now that he’s gone.”  Danny thought about telling Betty just how much money she would inherit and decided that this was not the right time.

They spent the afternoon getting things in order for the first viewing. 

When their guests arrived, Danny was astounded by the number of people that arrived with food along with their condolences.  Danny couldn’t keep count of how many times she said thank you to them.  The evening turned into a blur of faces on people she didn’t know.  They were kind and offered her help.  One gentleman told her that he’d gone to grade school with her grandfather.  His wife chimed in, “That was back in the day when they rode horses to school.”

She felt someone take hold of her arm and whisper in her ear, “Let’s get you out into some fresh air.”

Garrett then walked her out to the porch and handed her a glass of wine.  “You looked like you were getting a bit overwhelmed.”

“Whew, I sure was.  Thank you.  I can’t believe how many people are here.  I knew the house was big, but oh my word, I guess it’s huge.”

“Have you had anything to eat?”

“No, I’ve been greeting guests all evening.”

“I’ll tell Betty to set aside a plate for you.”

Danny laughed, “There’s enough food in that house, that I’m sure I don’t need her to set aside a plate to save me some.”

“I saw you speaking with Michal; did he have anything interesting to say?”

“Nope; he didn’t say anything that I found particularly interesting.”

They saw that the guests were leaving, so Danny and Garrett went into the house to thank them for coming.   When the last guest left, Danny grabbed a full plate of food, refreshed her wine glass and sat at the kitchen table, where Nana was already seated.  “Child, I’m just getting too damn old to manage this number of people.”

“That’s just not true and you know it, but let’s look into hiring you some help.  You could have this new person do all the work you don’t like.”

“While I appreciate the offer, I only need help on these big events.  Most days, whoever you hired would just get in the way.”

Danny put her plate and wine glass into the dishwasher.  “Whatever you say; I’m exhausted, so I’m turning in.”

On her way to her bedroom, Danny peeked into the living room to say goodnight to her grandfather.  The room had been so crowded with guests that she hadn’t seen the floral arrangements.  She wandered around the living room reading the cards.  She recognized a few names, but most of the cards contained the names of people that she didn’t know.

“Daniella, that collection of flowers is impressive, isn’t it?”

She hadn’t heard Michal enter the room, but there he was standing beside her.  Astonished by the number of arrangements, she wasn’t sure what to say.  She moved along reading the cards, when she heard Michal’s voice a second time.

“It appears that your grandfather had a number of good friends.”

Without looking at him, she responded to him in a soft voice, which was closer to a whisper, “It does, doesn’t it?”

“Yes, it does.  It is not my place to speak, but those arrangements were obviously very expensive.”

“Is there a point to that statement?”

“What I meant, and did not speak it well is that he must have been loved deeply by many.  The expense of the flowers must have felt small in comparison to the love his friends felt.”

Lost in a sea of the names on the cards, she missed his inference that the arrangements were expensive.  She spoke to him in a soft voice, “Yes, that’s probably true.”

He moved beside her as she made her way through the living room, “Daniella, when do you plan to return to Paris?”

Not sure if she heard him correctly, she asked, “I’m sorry, I was lost in my own little world; what did you ask?”

“It was nothing important.  I will take my leave, so that you may read your sympathy cards.”

Michal left as quietly as he had arrived.

In the morning flowers, guests and food started arriving before noon.  Danny felt homesick for Paris when a large vase containing sprigs of cherry blossoms, sent by the House of Daniella arrived.  Mixed in with the cherry blossoms were tulips, tiger lilies and baby’s breath. 

Danny spent the majority of the day helping Nana keep track of the incoming food and guests.  Danny dug through all the cupboards, pulling serving bowls out.  “What are we going to do with all this food?”

“I was just wondering that myself.  We’ll fill the coolers as best as we can.  What doesn’t get eaten tomorrow after the service, I’ll have Garrett drive to the soup kitchen in town.”

After another evening of thanking people she’d never met, Danny was so tired that she went into her grandfather’s office, shut the door and took a nap on his leather sofa.  As she drifted off, she heard her guests attesting to the fact that Matt McPherson was a man among men.  She had no idea how long she slept, but when she felt someone shake her shoulder, she sat up suddenly.

“Danny, Nana sent me to find you.  It’s very late; everyone’s gone, so let me walk you up to your room.”

Her voice sounded groggy when she asked Garrett, “Did you say everyone’s left?  I just needed a quiet minute.  I wanted to thank everyone and say goodbye.”

He took her hand in his to help her up.  “You’ve had a couple of long hard days.  We’ll all need several days to recuperate after the funeral.”

“Are you hungry?  I’m starving.  Is there any food left?  I haven’t eaten since breakfast.”

Garrett chuckled, “I can always eat.  I helped Betty put the food away, so I know where all the good stuff is stashed.”

Danny scampered behind him to the kitchen.  “Now, you just sit and watch the master work miracles.  Ah, but first, let me offer you a glass of wine.”

Garrett somehow managed to take the sting out of her painful heart.  She giggled, “I would love a glass of wine and would be delighted to watch the master work.” 

He poured her a glass of wine, and then he made a roast beef sandwich for her.  He poured a cup of coffee for him, and sliced a piece of Nana’s apple pie.  Garrett sat across the table from her.  He noticed that her eyes were puffy from crying and that her pale face looked exhausted.

“When do you plan to return to Paris?”

Astonished that he would ask about her return to Paris before her grandfather was buried, she wearily told him, “You’re the second person to ask me that question today.  I haven’t set a time just yet.  I need to get through tomorrow before I can even begin to think straight.”

“I take it the other person to ask you about Paris, was Michal?”

“Yes, it was.”

“What did you tell him?”

Feeling as though he was attempting to control her behavior, she angrily responded, “For the record, what I told him is none of your business.”  Danny stormed out of the kitchen and up to her room.  She asked herself several times as she sat on the edge of her bed, who gave men the right to question a woman’s actions.

She said aloud in the dark room, “Men are assholes; controlling assholes at that.”  She vowed that night that she would remain single for the remainder of her life.

In the morning, dressed in her black suit, Danny prayed that she could get through the emotionally charged day to bury her grandfather.  When she joined her family in the kitchen, Nana told her, “Why child, that is a striking suit.”

She quietly responded, “Thanks Nana.” 

The kitchen was void of the normal morning chatter.  The ranch hands solemnly ate their breakfasts without the usual animated discussions laying out the day’s work.  Danny poured a cup of coffee and joined them at the table.  She stared at the cup for what seemed a life time before taking a sip of it.  Nana touched her on the shoulder bringing her out of her trance.

“It’s time child.  Guests are beginning to arrive.  Garrett is in the driveway managing the parking situation.  Is there anything you need from me before you and I greet our guests?”

Danny stood to hug her Nana, “I don’t need anything.”

Betty clung to the little girl hugging Danny as tightly as her small frail arms could.  When she saw Danny wasn’t going to be able to greet the guests, Nana told her, “Randy’s ushering everyone into the living room, so we’ll sit here until Garrett comes to get us.”

When Danny sat down on the chair to wait for Garrett, she realized she that she’d managed to get the obituary written, but had not given a thought to his eulogy.  Her knees began banging against one another, and she couldn’t breathe because her heart was racing.  How had she forgotten that she had to give the eulogy during the funeral?

“Are you okay child?  Your face looks a bit sickly.”

She couldn’t tell her Nana that she’d forgotten to write something, “I’m okay; I guess I’m having a bit of stage fright.”

Garrett finally arrived to say it was time.  Everyone was in the living room.  Danny was grateful for the interruption in the conversation she was having with Nana since it was likely that Nana would ask about what she’d written.  Randy took Nana’s arm to escort her to a chair in the living room.  Nana winked at Danny, as he walked her out of the kitchen.

She and Garrett were next, as he took her arm, she asked, “Did Nana, just wink at me?”

Smiling down at her he said, “I didn’t see a thing.”

Garrett escorted her to the front of the casket, where she whispered to him before he left her, “Who closed the casket?”  She almost giggled aloud, when he winked at her.  That small wink let her know that she would do just fine.

Danny smiled as she looked at the faces around the room, watching for her to either speak or pass out.  Her emotions felt as though they had been entered into the Daytona 500 NASCAR Race, as they ran in circles inside her heart. 

“Good morning, my name is Daniella McPherson.  I am Matt McPherson’s granddaughter.  I know many of the faces in this room, but there are so many more faces that I don’t know.  I want to thank you for coming to honor my Grandpa.  Those of you, who know me, know that I was orphaned when my parents were killed in an auto accident, so it was my grandfather along with Betty Shaffer, who raised me.  My grandfather’s generosity allowed me to attend school in Paris, France.  Since returning to the ranch, I have learned that Matt McPherson’s generosity has also been extended to many people in need.  In the few days that I have been home, I’m overwhelmed that my grandfather not only owns a large horse ranch, but that the ranch now operates as a place for handicapped children to visit as a part of their physical therapy.

“The McPherson Ranch also takes in abused horses and turns them into gentle giants.  They too have emotional and physical handicaps, but they work hard to be a part of the children’s program.  While I was abroad, my grandfather, Betty Shaffer, and Garrett Ryan turned this old ranch around into something I am very proud to be a part of.  I am the sixth generation to own the ranch, and my only hope is that I can live up to the expectation of my Grandpa.  It would be wrong if I didn’t repeat myself and thank you for honoring my grandfather, Matt McPherson.”

Garrett reached for her arm as he whispered, “You look close to passing out.”

“I am.”

“I’ve got you.  Take hold of my arm.  There’s a horse and buggy just outside the door.  You’re gonna ride in that buggy with Betty.”

When Garrett helped her up to sit next to Nana, she chided him, “This is not a buggy sir; it is a carriage.  In its day, it was the talk of the town.”

He smiled at her, “I then offer my apology to the mistress of the house for calling it a buggy.”

The carriage in question had traveled with the first McPherson years ago from Boston to Denver.  He appointed himself as the Mayor and took the carriage to Sunday church services.  It was polished every week to keep its black exterior glistening in the sunlight.  It was an open air carriage, much like the ones used in Newport, years later, when the wealthiest men in the country tried to outdo one another showing off their wealth.  The first McPherson’s use of the carriage became an amusement to the residents in town.  He was laughed at since they rode to church in the more rugged homemade buckboards that adapted to the terrain.  A buckboard replaced the ornate carriage for Sunday church services and trips for supplies into town.  The carriage was placed in its own barn, or now, one would call it a carriage garage, and only used to transport the McPherson coffins to their final resting place in the family graveyard.  This was Danny’s second trip in the carriage.  The first was to bury her parents.