Widowed at eighty-three, she didn’t cry until they closed the lid on Harold. Never to see him again in that beautiful dark blue suit, worn on so many of their date nights over many years. The love of her life, resting in the Peters-Carmody Funeral Home, before the hearse would take him away.
Five years later, Maud Smith noticed an elderly woman sitting in the front row of mourners patiently waiting for Father David to begin the rosary. She approached the funeral director and quietly asked “Who is that old woman in the front row? Why is she sitting with my family?”
“That’s Mrs. Crowley, ma’am. She often comes to our viewings if the decedent is male. Her husband Harold’s service was here five years ago. I think she imagines him lying there, near her again. You see, to her, death is quite romantic.”
Image from Pixabay.com
lillian the home poet 
This is incredibly poignant, Lillian! You paint a vivid scene here, I can picture here sitting in the front row so clearly! Gorgeous use of the line by Dylan ❤❤
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Thank you, Sanaa!
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You’re most welcome 🙂
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That is really sad but very comforting Lillian. The grieving can be very long.
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I learned a long time ago, when my brother died at age 51 and I never saw my mother shed a tear, we all grieve in different ways.
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That is truly a magic story. I can only imagine what she thought with all those men in their best suits. Very poignant
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Thank you Bjorn! Just putting together our photo diary from our cruise and you and Lotta are in it! 🙂
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If she finds comfort in the practice, good for her. I guess the grieving family could perhaps find comfort from her also?
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People all grieve differently, right?
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Very well done, Lillian! I love the great twist in the story at the end.
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Thank you!
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Awww, so sweet Lillian. We take our comfort wherever we can. ❤️
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Exactly. And I truly believe, we all grieve in different ways.
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That’s sad and yet sweet, Lillian. I can see that actually happening .
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Yes….even though Maud and Harold are fictional here (or should I say poetic?), they could be real. I think so too.
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This is beautifully sad, the heart needs to heal in its own way.
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Yes, I agree. I’ve always thought we all grieve in different ways. Just because someone is smiling, out and about, it does not mean they’re “over” their grief.
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I agree with Grace that your story is sad but comforting, Lill. And I love that you used the names Harold and Maud, one of my favourite films, in which the eponymous characters were regular funeral visitors. The music in that film was great, too.
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Yes….I love that movie as well. Thank you for your comments here, Kim. So good to have you back!
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At 88 she shouldn’t have long to wait for her own romantic departure. I wonder if she’ll feel the same then?
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hmmmm….I wonder. Of course, she’d be gone…so the question is, who will grieve for her?
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She’d have to tip the nuns off in advance, and pay for a few novenas
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Interesting 😊
Much❤love
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Thank you, Gillena.
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