31
Afew days later, Cally was at the church. She had walked past the blue nave door of Lovely Bay Church many, many times on her walks to the manor. She’d never been inside, though, until now. She’d arrived to help Doreen with the final few bits of the funeral setup. Stepping into the porch, she inhaled as she looked around with a strange, sick sensation in her stomach. The preparations for Alastair’s funeral had made her reflect on the lead-up to her grandmother's funeral, which had been a completely different kettle of fish but just as horrid nonetheless. Her grandma’s funeral had been an end-of-life, natural passing that had been sad, yes, but not distressing. This felt very different. Full of trauma and grief and a life that had ended too soon. The horror of a plane crash. Stricken parents unable to cope and a whole family plunged into distress. All around, in every aspect:dreadful.
Cally paused just inside the inner door, allowing her eyes to adjust to the dim light and stood on the ancient stone floor for a second. High above a centre aisle, vaulted ceilings soared, stained glass windows lined the walls, and beautiful timber pews led the way to the altar. Everywhere she looked, white roses and lilies looked at her. There had been none of the ‘noflowers’ malarkey for the Henry-Hicks family. Doreen had been instructed, by way of Cecilia, to fill both the church and the marquee with as many white flowers as possible.
As Cally walked further into the main church, she noted that Cecilia’s instruction had been followed to the letter. The ends of the pews drowned in elaborate arrangements of white roses and lilies tied with long satin ribbons, shimmering in the light coming in through the stained glass windows. Baby’s breath, ivy vines, and sprigs of greenery fell from the pews to the aisle, and in every nook and cranny, roses and lilies jostled for space. Cally shook her head and raised her eyebrows. Simple, elegant, serene and timeless. Just like everything else to do with the Henry-Hicks family. A plethora of whites and creams appeared to almost dance in front of her eyes. Sadness right there for all to see.
Cally’s mind flicked back to her grandma’s funeral. A small, simple affair in a modest church. A few odd bunches of flowers here and there. A scavenge of random relatives. No support. Just as Cally was bending down and looking at the beautiful embroidery on a kneeler, the door creaked open behind her. She stood up to see Doreen, her arms hanging with gigantic lanterns.
Doreen put the lanterns down, smiled and walked over. ‘Hey, our Cally. How are you?’
‘Fine, thanks.’ Cally gestured to the flowers. ‘It looks amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many flowers in one place.’
Doreen pursed her lips and nodded. ‘They’ve followed the brief, that's for sure.’
‘They have.’
‘Just this last part and we’re all set. Thanks for all your help.’
‘No worries.’
‘Everything is done now. There’s nothing left to do here apart from the candles.’
Cally lifted her chin in the direction of the door. ‘Birdie should be here any second.’
As if on cue, the church door opened again, and Birdie shuffled in, weighed down with cardboard boxes.
'Ah, Birdie, there you are. We were just saying…'
Birdie piled the boxes on a table at the back of the church. 'Sorry, I'm a bit late. Took me a while to get the rest of the order in the car.'
Doreen shook her head. 'Not to worry. We've plenty of time yet.'
Cally peered into one of the boxes, her eyes widening at the sheer number of tea lights stacked inside. 'Wow, that's a lot of candles.'
'And there are more in the car,' Birdie added, stretching her arms. 'I think we've enough to light up half of Lovely Bay.'
Doreen nodded approvingly. 'Good. Cecilia was very specific about wanting candles and flowers. Thanks for letting me use your delivery company. That express service is unreal.'
Birdie nodded. ‘Not a problem. I thought they’d deliver and they did.’
Doreen smiled. ‘It’s really helped us out.’
Cally listened as Doreen instructed them on the plans for the tea lights and lanterns. Each pew end was to have a cluster of lanterns, with more candles scattered along the aisle and at the entrance.
Cally began to slit open the inner boxes of tea lights and Birdie started to slot them into lanterns.
‘How's Logan holding up?' Birdie asked in a hushed voice as they worked.
Cally slid another box of tea lights in Birdie’s direction. 'Not great, to be honest. He's struggling.'
Birdie clucked. 'Poor lad. It's never easy, losing someone so young. More like brothers than cousins, really.'
‘Yes, I suppose so.’
As they worked, light streamed through the stained glass windows, an overpowering scent from the flowers filled the air, and a quiet sound of three women, heads-down getting a sombre job done. After a good hour or so, Birdie put her hands on her hips and looked up at the windows and mused. 'It's beautiful in here. I've lived in Lovely Bay for a long time and it never fails to amaze me how pretty it is.’
'It is. I've walked past it so many times, but I've never been inside...'
