Aunt Jackie's Girls' Time

It seemed like yesterday since my Aunt Jackie gave me advice on boys. Aunt Jackie would always say, “If he can’t accept the word, No, then he isn’t the one.” She, my cousins, and I would bake cookies when my parents were at work. We would call our baking sessions, Momma Jackie, and girls’ time. We talked about our days, laughed, and played music. Her cookies only turned out good when we talked about finance, during girls’ time. Aunt Jackie was a Bank Branch Manager for thirty-nine years. Everyone in the town, probably the whole state of Florida knew my Aunt Jackie. The way she talked about lending and savings, I could tell she was passionate and knowledgeable about her job. Her enthusiasm and attention to detail were infectious. When I didn’t qualify for scholarships or grants, she pulled some strings to have me attend NYU with a low-interest loan. At NYU, I met my husband, Jesse. Jesse and I have four beautiful children (Joann, Rita, Jocelyn, and Lawrence). My Aunt Jackie was more than a role model, she was my rock. Her door was always open and she never complained. She is the reason why I became a Merger and Acquisitions Banker. After she retired, she volunteered at soup kitchens and local gardens. She was ninety-two years old. She left behind my Uncle Theo, six children, had fourteen grandchildren, five great-grandchildren, two great-great-grandchildren, plenty of relatives, friends, and colleagues. As I put my thoughts together, I feel a rumbling on my thigh. I look at my phone. What does he want? Jesse’s hand covers my backhand and wrist. He takes my phone rolls his eyes and says, “Don’t worry about that. You’re about to speak, Veronica.” The choir director signals for the organ player and choir to silence. Jesse puts his arm around me, grabs my shoulder as I weep then runs his hand down my lower back. Pastor Corey calls me up to deliver the eulogy.

“Sister Jackie was a God-fearing, righteous woman and is at rest. As we celebrate her life, we acknowledge her impact on the community. She will be greatly missed. I would ask for Sister Jackie’s niece, Veronica to speak and pay her respects.”

Jesse compliments my speech.

“You did well up there. Aunt Jackie would have been happy.”

That was a good service. I walk up and catch up with cousin Maxine. Cousin Maxine was a short and thin woman with long black hair. Don’t let her size fool you. Her hugs were tighter than trying to open your fingers with a rubber band around them. All of Maxine's children were at least four inches taller than her.

“Glad to see you, Veronica. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah, M-Me too-o M-Maxine. I still can’t believe Aunt Jackie is gone.”

Maxine releases her grip. “Sorry, I forget my strength sometimes.” We both chuckle and giggle and we did as little girls.

“How’s the family and job?”

“We are fine. Jesse’s promotion gave him extra time with me and the family. The kids are doing well at school. Jocelyn is about to graduate this year and undecided where she will go to. Her top choices are the New School and NYU. I was in the middle of a deal with a past client. He decided to move some funds from another business. He wants me to look over his portfolio and how the foreign trade market would impact his profitability.”

Maxine smiled and said:

“You know I don’t know that finance lingo. That was you and Mom. I only repeated what she said so the cookies would be good. Mom was only focused on baking when you two were talking about banking. Adam, Jonathan, Jesenia, and Lizette look your cousins are on the other side of the church. Go and say hello.”

The second cousins meet up and are laughing and talking. I Maxine to take the kids to Aunt Jackie and Uncle Theo’s house.

“Jesse and I are going to meet you at Uncle Theo’s house. See you there, kids.”

As my husband and I are driving, we talked about the phone call. Jesse was keen on work-life balance. When we were dating and newlyweds, he set time for us to see each other. As our family grew, he worked long hours during the day and saw us once a week. He worked long hours for two and a half years in order to get a promotion to cut back on hours.

Jesse huffs and taps his thumb on the steering wheel. He asks, “What does your job want?”

“My manager messaged me asking if I could back to work earlier. They want to close the Roderick deal before the quarter is over.”

We stop at the stoplight. Jesse rolls his eyes and turns to me.

“Can’t someone else handle it? Don’t they understand that you are grieving? Did you respond yet?”

“Apparently Roderick only wants to deal with me. My bank is asking because he is a multimillion-dollar client and could bring in more referrals and accounts. I did not respond to them. The connection isn’t working. When the connection comes back on-”

“Don’t respond until tomorrow morning.”

We pull up to the house. There are many relatives who I haven’t seen in a long time. Everyone is having a good time. All of a sudden, we are all hot. My crazy cousin, DC hollers, “Who turned off the air conditioner? It’s hot!” The lights come off. More relatives complain that too many appliances were on and blew the fuse box. We check and fuse box and see that it’s not the problem. A neighbor comes over and asks if we have electricity. There is a power outage in the neighborhood. Aunt Sarah just got off the phone with Con Edison and explained that that was a power outage and it would take ten hours to fix. Maxine suggests that we camp in the backyard. I think that’s a great idea. We gather Aunt Jackie’s’ old recipe book and all the food out of the refrigerator.  What a great way to spend the night. Aunt Jackie is still here with us.