Shura Sheindel .â
âI thought it was Rifka .â
âNo, that was Grandma, I think.â
âLook, the cemetery needs a Jewish name for the records and for when the rabbi says the prayer.â
âWeâre not having rabbi,â Annaâs girls said in unison. âOur mother didnât want a rabbi,â Janet added.
âHoney, weâre not burying a pet here. Donât you want Anna Goldman to depart with dignity? What kind of funeral can it be for your mother without a rabbi?â
Because the funeral had to be on a Sunday, there would be a charge of $200 to open the grave and $200 more for overtime. Because the mortuary didnât want the coffins shifting around in wet weather, they required a two-piece sealed concrete grave liner, an additional $400. âYou wouldnât want your mother to end up under the plaque of Hymie Schwartz, would you?â their counselor prompted.
âDoes the concrete liner keep out the bugs?â Carol inquired.
âHoney, nothing keeps the bugs out. Iâm sorry to tell you this, but even the $10,000 bronze casket doesnât do the trick. Dust unto dust, itâs the way of the world.â She checked her list. âYou brought clothes?â
Janet handed over a paper bag that the woman peeked into.
âA bathrobe? You want your mother buried in a bathrobe?â
âWe want her comfortable,â Carol said. It was Annaâs favorite red quilted bathrobe with little blue anchors on it. She could see that one of her daughters had replaced the plastic buttons with new gold ones for the occasion. (Maybe it wasnât such a bad thing that her sister Gert had taught the girls to sew.)
âYou want anything buried with her?â
âHer book of Chopin nocturnes. Itâs there in the bag.â
âA musical mother, how nice.â
The girls stared at one another and inhaled deeply. Janet consulted her watch. The Russian Czarina went down the list of costs: the transfer of the body to Burning Bush, the use of the refrigerated holding area, hairdresser, cosmetics, bathing, and the placing of the features in repose as well as the fees for the memorial arrangement coordinator, the personnel for traffic service, ushers, flower arrangements, clerical support, memorial prayer booklets, acknowledgment cards, seven-day yahrzeit candle, filing fee, death certificate, burial permit, and sales tax.
âWe have one copy of the death certificate here. Youâll have to pay to have others made; youâll need them for social security, insurance, other legal matters. And youâll need an announcement in the paper. Do you want it mentioned that your mother died from Alzheimerâs?â the Russian asked.
âAlzheimerâs!â Annaâs daughters cried at the same moment.
âSo it says on the death certificate.â
âItâs wrong. The doctor, if he thinks my motherâs mind was goneâheâs the one with Alzheimerâs.â
âThey often write down Alzheimerâs, it covers everything,â the Russian said. âIf the doctor had to fill this out on New Yearâs Eve, as I see he did, he made it easy for himself.â
âWe have to have it changed,â Janet stated. âShe died of pneumonia.â
âDarling, whatâs the difference? You want to spend a week calling up people? You want to hold up the wheels of bureaucracy?â
âNever mind,â Carol said. âIt doesnât matter, does it?â Carol turned to Janet. âLetâs just get out of here.â
âWe want to be sure that no one uses makeup on her. Our mother doesnât want any makeup.â
âLook, girls, I understand your mother gave you a lot of instructions, she sounds like a tough cookie, but youâll want a little makeup if the skin turns black or blue, and it sometimes doesâespecially since you have to wait so many days Iâd say, go for