Love Letters From the Grave(65)

I hunched my shoulders. ‘Not really,’ I said, ‘but I’ll just sit here at the back, if I may.’

‘Sure,’ said Harriet, and bustled away to deal with some other waif and stray who was wandering around, looking lost.

I parked myself beside a family of five, who smiled at me with huge welcoming grins although they’d never met me before in my life.

‘Brendon,’ I said, by way of introduction.

The woman pointed to her left. ‘This is my husband, Prentice,’ she said, ‘and I’m Jemima. These are our grandchildren, Ruby, Rebecca and Martin.’

The children, who ranged between about ten and fifteen or so, all shook my hand solemnly.

‘Did you know Molly well?’ asked Jemima.

I shook my head. ‘Hardly at all, unfortunately. How about you?’

‘She saved our lives,’ said Prentice, as Jemima’s eyes filled with tears.

Here we go, I thought, and as the crowds continued to pour in, I heard their story.



When Molly became a little more infirm (she’d been eighty-five when Charlie died, after all), she had made a small concession in her manner of living: she agreed to hire a live-in housekeeper.

She was introduced to Jemima, and liked her from the start. Fortunately, Jemima was immediately available to provide weekly maid service and Molly hired her on the spot. Over the next few weeks they discovered not only that Jemima was an excellent housekeeper, but was also a grandmother of three and married to Prentice, a 20-year veteran of the Navy, who retired as Chief Petty Office, and was a long-term employee of the U.S. Postal Service.

They lived in a small, three-bedroom home on the edge of the shabbiest, most crime-ridden area of the city. She and Prentice had been raising their three grandchildren for the past seven years, since their daughter died of a drug overdose. It had been quite a struggle, mainly because they were stuck in a neighborhood that not only was extremely dangerous, but also offered only a dismal future for the children. It was literally impossible for them protect the children from daily exposure to drugs, prostitution, pornography, profane music and language, robbery, shootings, and murder.

Worst of all, in their opinion, were the public schools the children were forced to attend, which left the children so poorly prepared in the three R’s that most of them were essentially unqualified for anything except the lowest paying jobs in society. As soon as the children began attending their local elementary school, they began to become increasingly desperate to find a way to move the children to a better environment.

So when Jemima discovered that the basement apartment at Molly’s house had never been lived in and wasn’t likely to be any time soon, she immediately made a proposal to Molly. Her proposal was simple and straight-forward: she would keep the house cleaned, inside and out, do the laundry, and do the cooking for her and her guests, and her family would do the maintenance, landscaping, and other chores of the farm. Her family would basically take care of everything in the house, and on the farm, and their only compensation would be a lease on the basement apartment. Jemima reasoned that Molly would essentially be getting all her skilled labor for free, since the apartment was not being rented, nor were there plans to rent it in the future. Molly readily agreed with Jemima’s proposal, and told her that she would immediately have the lease drawn up by her attorney.

Jemima was so overjoyed that she could hardly wait to surprise Prentice with the good news. After finishing her day’s work, and thanking Molly so profusely that it embarrassed her, Jemima left for home, literally shaking with excitement.

As she rushed into her home, sobbing uncontrollably, Prentice ran to her side, thinking that she had met with a tragedy.

After controlling her sobs, she told him excitedly about their new home. Although he had never seen the house, nor the mini-farm, Jemima had described it in glowing terms many times. When the children heard shouts of ‘Bless the Lord’ and ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘We’ve been delivered’, they ran into the room to stand at her side and the group stood for a long time in a five-way hug.

Over a celebratory supper at McDonald’s, Jemima described the brand-new apartment where they would be living.

‘It’s on a farm,’ she told them. ‘A fresh green farm with many, many animals, and a vegetable garden, and fruit that you can pick in the orchard straight from the trees, and you will be encouraged to do just that! There’s lots of wonderful fresh air, and best of all, there are amazing, safe schools for you to attend, all three of you. It’s truly a miracle.’

And shortly after arriving back at their home, the miracle improved. Jemima received a phone call from Molly telling her that she would have the lease ready for signing the next day. The family could begin moving in as early as tomorrow. She also told her that her neighbor had several trucks had volunteered to help with the move.

As soon as Prentice left for work, Jemima loaded her car with some of the family’s personal belongings, dropped the three children off at their school, and then made a bee-line to the farm. Molly was on the porch as she drove up and parked, and invited her to come into the dining room for coffee and pie. As soon as she sat down at the table, a smiling Molly shoved the lease over to her for her to sign. Jemima signed it without even reading it, trusting Molly and her attorney, implicitly.

‘Welcome to you and your family,’ said Molly, gripping Jemima’s hand. ‘I’m so happy about it, and I know it will mean an enriched future for us all.’