"Golden Texas Tea" (pg 21)

"Hello? Who's calling please?"

"Hello. This is the Newington, CT police department. By chance does Miss Azalea Gold live there? And if she does, is she there?"

Uh oh thought Wanda, this cannot be good news. Out loud, she said, "Yes, she does and no, she's on vacation. As a matter of fact, she's vacationing in Connecticut, why?"

Silence followed her answer to the officer's query as he decided on what to course to pursue next. Choosing his words carefully, he asked, "Is she black, age about late thirties or early forties, somewhat tall and very good looking?"

Wanda said very quietly, "She's dead, isn't she?"

Again, silence followed as the officer had no idea on how to respond to her answer. Wanda did for him as she said, "Don't worry, I'll make the arrangements down here. When the time comes, could you let me know who'll be shipping her back home, please?"

"Sure thing."

"Thanks."

Epilogue

Two weeks later, they had a two day lavish wake and a beautiful funeral for Azalea. Both families temporarily made peace with each other, but not with Walter, as they believed, right or wrong, the he was the main cause of her death.

The wake and funeral service was S.R.O. as everyone came out to celebrate her lived. She had made numerous friends from her many stops in life. From her days living in and working in the East to the friends she made living and semi-working in the Midwest, they all came out to say their final goodbyes.

During the wake and funeral there were some truly heartbreaking moments of grief. Jey and Jen approached the closed casket, their eyes rimmed with redness from the tears that were still pouring out, was a truly heart rendering sight that no one could forget. But it was what they said about Azalea that really drove that unforgettable point home.

Sobbing heavily, Jey did the speaking for both of them. "Miss 'Zea, I can't begin to describe the pain that I'm feeling right now as I stand here in front of you. Even though I treated you horrible for these past four years because of what I thought you did to my mom, you never let it sow how bad it was that I'd hurt you. You kept plugging away, trying to get the both of us to accept you as a step-mother, even though we treated you like garbage. You kept showering us with love and respect, even though we threw it back in your face."