Thus, retreat.
She didn’t realize just how long she’d been standing there until Libbie walked over and put her arm around her shoulders.
“Come on,” Libbie softly said. “Let’s go upstairs for a few minutes.”
Mandaline nodded and let Libbie take her upstairs to the apartment. Libbie got her seated on the sofa and pressed a tissue into her hand. “It’ll be okay,” she said. “We’re all here for you.”
Then Mandaline’s tears flowed again. It felt like she’d done nothing but cry over the past few days. She leaned into Libbie’s embrace. “What am I going to do without her? She was my best friend. My soul sister.”
“You’ve got all of us. I know it doesn’t make it any better right now, but we’re here.”
“I should be downstairs.” There were a few early arrivals, close friends and longtime customers who’d loved Julie, but the wake wasn’t scheduled to officially start for almost an hour, at eleven.
“Sachi, Makenzie, and Grover are downstairs. Paige, Anna, Kim, and Mina will all be here any minute. You need to take a few minutes for yourself and rest. It’s going to be a long day and we’ve got everything under control for you.”
“Thank you for everything you’ve done. I know this isn’t easy on you, either.” Libbie and Grover had gone with her that horrible night nearly a week earlier, Grover driving, to make the official ID. They then helped her make the arrangements with the undertaker. Libbie had known Julie growing up and considered her a good friend, almost as close to her as Mandaline was. Julie had even suggested the name of Libbie’s bakery, It’s a Sweet Life.
“We’re all going to miss her,” Libbie said. “She’d want us to stand beside you right now.” Mandaline felt her palpable hesitation. “Did you call your parents and tell them what happened?”
Mandaline blew her nose. “Yeah. I don’t expect them. When I finally got a hold of them on Saturday they were in Northern California. They’d just pulled into an RV park there.” Since her father’s retirement five years earlier, their home had been an RV and wherever they wanted to park until they got restless.
Usually within easy driving distance of her older brother’s house.
“Did you ask them to come back?” Libbie gently asked.
She shook her head. “Nope. Dad made the offer. They barely knew Julie anyway. They didn’t approve much of her when we were in high school because of all the rumors about what her great-grandfather did and because she got me into reading Tarot.” She let out a little snort. “They shut up about her when she graduated valedictorian of our class.” She wadded up her tissue. “They never did admit they were wrong about her.”
“I’d think they’d want to be here to support you right now.”
She shrugged. “They rambled on about Greg and Michelle and the new baby. They’re fifteen minutes from their place in the park they’re staying at. They wouldn’t know what to do if they were here. They’ve called me a couple of times since then to check on me.” She took a deep, cleansing breath. “I know they love me, but you know they never were quite sure what to do with me once I hit my teen years. Greg’s the successful one.”
They heard quick, heavy footsteps on the stairs. Grover appeared in the stairwell. “Libbie, I need to talk to you, hon. Right now.”
Mandaline sat up straighter and sniffled. “What’s wrong?”
The large man looked agitated. “It’s okay, Mandaline. I just need Libbie for—”
“Grover, please.” He’d been a blessing, helping fend off paparazzi who wanted to hear about Julie and what she’d been doing at the famous author’s house, acting as “official family spokesman” with the legitimate media outlets, and helping her navigate the dizzying paperwork avalanche to get everything officially transferred into her name so she could keep the store running and access the bank accounts to pay the other employees and freelance teachers, as well as the suppliers.
He let out a sigh and stepped all the way into the apartment. “Samantha Corey and Matt Barry just showed up.”
Mandaline nodded. “It’s all right. I asked them to come.”
Shock froze his face. He looked taken aback. “You invited them?” he finally managed.
“They didn’t kill Julie. They’re as upset by this as we are. They were attacked, too.”
“But her husband—”
“It wasn’t Steven Corey,” Mandaline quietly, but firmly, insisted. “It might have been his body, but he wasn’t in his right mind. Julie died to help them. To save them.” She let out a tearful laugh. “If I held what happened against them, she’d come back and haunt me in a bad, bad way.”
Grover walked over to the couch and knelt his bulk in front of her. “I beg to differ with you, hon. The sheriff’s office says it was Steven Corey.”
“I know what I know,” Mandaline quietly insisted. She reached out and hugged him. “It’s okay. Please, don’t turn your back on them. They’re hurting, too. They liked Julie, and Julie liked them. I want to honor her spirit.”
Grover exchanged a glance with Libbie before reluctantly nodding. “All right. It’s your call. If you’re okay with them being here, it’s okay.”
“Thank you.” She blew her nose again and went to wash her face before rejoining them.
Downstairs, Matt and Sami sat in a corner. Matt looked grim, fading bruises on his temple and face attesting to what he’d been through. Sami looked like she’d been crying and was seconds away from tears again. They both stood when Mandaline walked over and hugged them.
“Thank you for coming,” she said to them. “Julie would have wanted you here.” A gentle peace settled over her. She could almost picture Julie’s pleased smile. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
Sami exchanged a look with Matt. “We just…we’re so, so sorry.”
“I know.” She took Sami’s hands in hers and held them as she stared into the other woman’s eyes. “I know it wasn’t your husband’s fault,” she whispered so no one else but the three of them could hear. “I know it was George Simpson.”
Sami looked shocked before she burst into tears. Before Matt could embrace Sami, Mandaline engulfed her in a hug. “When are you burying your husband?” she asked.
“I…I’m not. I can’t have a…I won’t. I’m going to have him cremated. I’m going to scatter his ashes at the…” She shuddered. “Where everything else…” She tried again. “There,” she simply said.
“The Oriole cemetery plot?”
Sami nodded. “They haven’t released his…him yet. They said by later this week we could…” She took a deep breath and fell silent.
Mandaline looked into her eyes again. “Please, let me perform a ceremony for you. For him.”
Matt stepped closer. “Thank you, but we can’t ask you to—”
“You’re not asking,” Mandaline quietly said. She squeezed Sami’s hands. “I’m asking you. Please, for my peace of mind. Julie’s mission in life was to help people. I want to do this for you as much as for her.” She took a deep breath. “I also want to make sure there isn’t anything left there that can hurt either of you. Or anyone else. For Julie. She’d want me to help. Please?”
The couple exchanged a glance before Sami tearfully nodded. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Mandaline hugged her again. This felt right. This felt good.
This felt like what Julie’s spirit wanted her to do. “Please don’t stop coming by to see me,” she said. “That’s all I ask. And that you keep her spirit alive by passing her energy and her giving nature forward to others.”
Sami nodded. Mandaline hugged Matt. “And,” she whispered, “when we all get past the craziness, I want to come cleanse the house for you. Finish what she started.”