The phone rang, and Jacob picked it up. The person on the other end explained what they had called about, and once he understood, he apologized: “I’m sure that’s not what Mary meant.” They talked briefly, and then, after he hung up, he went to find his wife.
Though they were both in their late thirties, they had only been married just over a year. Both of them had wanted to marry years earlier, but neither of them had found the right person. When Jacob met Mary, he immediately knew she was the right one for him. She was kind, loving, and had a wonderful, gentle nature about her.
But she had one weakness, and that was probably what had turned off most guys. He was sure that was also the reason for the phone call.
Jacob entered the kitchen to find Mary crying and making a delicious-smelling dinner. “Mary, what are you doing, and why are you crying?” he asked.
Mary turned to him with tears pouring down her cheeks. “You remember my friend Jenny Smith. I’m fixing dinner for her family. She died today.”
“Why do you think that?” Jacob asked.
“It had to be today,” Mary said. “I saw her just this morning.”
“So, why do you think she died?” Jacob asked.
“Because I saw it in the paper,” Mary answered.
She handed him the paper, and he turned to the obituaries. “But, Mary, this isn’t her.”
“It says Jenny Smith.”
“But there are probably thousands of Jenny Smiths,” Jacob replied.
“But it’s her picture,” Mary said.
“I don’t think so,” Jacob replied. “This lady may look a lot like her, but it is a picture from the woman’s early years because the obituary says she was born in 1928. That would make her around ninety-six, and your friend is only in her thirties.”
Mary turned to him, her tears subsiding. “So, Jenny is okay?”
Jacob smiled. “She must be. She just called me, and I don’t think heaven has phone service.”
Mary smiled through her tears. “I’m so glad she’s okay.”
“Mary, did you stop to think about the fact that you saw Jenny this morning and the paper would be printing obituaries from yesterday and before?” Jacob asked. “There is no way you could have visited with her in the morning and read her obituary later the same day.”
“I didn’t think about that,” Mary said.
That was Mary’s one weakness. She didn’t always put things together and make logical decisions. He had talked to her about it, but she couldn’t understand the problem.
“What did Jenny say when she called?” Mary asked.
“She said her family was concerned about the message you sent them,” Jacob replied.
“I was only expressing my condolences at her passing,” Mary said.
“I know that,” Jacob said. “But since Jenny is still alive, some of her relatives took your note saying you hoped she would rest in peace as a threat.”
“Why?” Jenny asked.
“Have you ever seen a movie where a mob boss is mad at someone and says to his hit man, ‘May he rest in peace?’ That is his way of saying they are to knock the person off.”
Mary shrugged. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
“Jenny knows that, but her family didn’t,” Jacob replied.
Jacob wanted to talk more about Mary trying to think things through better, but he knew it would have to wait. Mary had the dinner ready, and they needed to take it to Jenny and her family while it was still hot.
(To be continued)
