Father Kelly:
I definitely prefer doing memorial services as opposed to weddings. It’s not that I’m ghoulish and enjoy seeing people weeping copiously, suffering through the loss of a dear one. No. That’s not it. It’s just that I hate dealing with brides, their mothers, caterers, florists, photographers, wedding planners and the whole retinue of people that you have to deal with to put a wedding together. I thoroughly dislike weddings. So much fuss and bother. On the other hand, I am glad when I can offer comfort to a family at such a difficult time. This service is going to be a bit difficult. I need to forget that I was Mary’s personal confessor. I can’t think about what I know.
Everybody is here. There must be 500 people. Better not ask Tony to say anything. He seems totally distraught. Guilt or sorrow? Probably both. Well, I’d better get started. The mass is said. Communion has been dispensed. Now it’s time for the eulogies.
“Dear family and friends: We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Mary Acosta, one of the most important and impressive women in our community. I am privileged to have known Mary since she and Tony were married in this church 45 years ago. I can’t think of anyone who has done more good for this community than Mary. No task was ever too great, no need too pressing and no good cause too exhausting for Mary to tackle. She always managed to find time to help those in need, while at the same time tending to her home, her three children and her husband. As you all know, Tony owns and manages the oldest winery in this area and the demands on his energies have been great. And over the years, Mary was always there to give him the support and assistance he needed.
Mary Acosta was not only an exemplary wife and mother, but also a talented operatic singer, a singer who could have graced the stage at the Metropolitan Opera house had she not chosen to forgo a promising career in favor of love and family. She was the driving force behind the establishment of our own Wine Country Opera house. On countless Sundays her voice filled this sanctuary in praise of our Lord. For many years she directed our choir and played the organ until her health forced her to resign. Mary has left a void in all of our lives and we will carry her in our hearts forever. Now I invite the family and friends to please come up to the podium and share with us, their own personal experiences with Mary. Thank you.”
Tony, the widower:
Well I’m sure not going to get up there and speak. Yes, Mary was a wonderful woman...to everyone except me, her husband of 45 years. What a laugh! Husband! She kicked me out of bed 20 years ago, but would never give me a divorce. She said I had lost her respect and she couldn’t make love to a man she didn’t respect. What nonsense! What did she think, that all the money we accumulated over the years grew on the vines? Didn’t she realize that many times I had to make deals, go into other businesses, sometimes with people you wouldn’t invite to dinner? How did she think we could afford to live the way we did if it hadn’t been for my ability to smoke out a good deal? Mary, Mary! Always so prim and proper. She expected me to live like a monk. No sex, not even once during those 20 years. But, Oh Yes! We had to keep up appearances. We couldn’t hurt the children. And we were Catholic. Good thing we had adjoining rooms or else everybody would have known that Tony Acosta had a wife in name only. Hey! I was still young, virile. I had needs. She left me no choice. I’m lucky I found Amanda. Now there’s a woman who knows how to make love. Nothing is off limits with her. She can still make me feel and perform like a young buck. But still...yes. Mary was the heart of the family. Somehow, it feels strange. I can’t believe she’s really gone. I can’t believe I feel empty.
Amanda, the Mistress:
Look at that old goat! He sits there simpering as if he really cared that Mary is gone. For fifteen years I have lived a lie. For fifteen years I have waited for Tony to leave Mary and make an honest woman of me. It hasn’t been easy, hiding, pretending that I was just a friend of the family. The spinster, Mary’s closest friend. The one she always came to for advice. Godmother to their youngest child. At first I felt guilty, but then I convinced myself I had a right to be happy and Mary had brought this on herself.
Sometimes I wonder why I got involved with Tony. There had always been a strong attraction there in spite of our age difference. Tony and my dad were competitors, but they were also good friends. Our families had settled in the valley three generations ago and have prospered side by side. They represent wine in this region. Nobody has more vineyards, nobody produces more wine than the Acostas and the Pinellis. I don’t need Tony’s money. My father left me well fixed and my brothers take care of the business. I’ve had many suitors over the past 15 years, but I could never break away once I took Tony into my bed. It was hard at first when I still lived in the main house, but I persuaded Dad to build a little house for me, up on the hill, at the edge of our property, adjacent to the far end of Tony’s vineyards. I told Dad I needed a place of my own. I wanted my own home even if I remained single. He was resigned to the fact I would never marry. He just didn’t know why. Now Tony had better marry me. He has no excuses now. First it was his reputation. Then he couldn’t divorce in the Catholic church. Then our families would be alienated and the community would be in shock. He has no excuses now.
The Doctor:
I couldn’t save you, Mary. By the time you came to see me, the cancer was too far advanced. It had metastasized into the lymph glands and finally entered your bones. Oh Mary! Why did you wait so long? How am I ever going to live without you? After Grace died I never thought I could ever love anyone again. Then I met you.
How innocently it all started--- two frustrated singers working to get our little opera house off the ground; you did most of the work: fundraising, performing, recruiting talent, singers, musicians. You were amazing. You brought new meaning into my busy life. Before that, it was all work and no play.
I’m not complaining. I love my work, but my whole life was centered around my patients and the hospital. My friends were my colleagues. Then I met you at that hospital fundraiser. You told me you were looking for tenors for a local opera company you were putting together. I told you that as a young medical student I had also trained as a singer. You encouraged me to come for an audition, I said I was too rusty. “Nonsense,” you said. And so it all began.
How long ago? Fifteen years? We soon discovered we enjoyed singing together and the audiences loved to hear us perform together. Then we fell in love. You told me we were both too old for romance and that you would never divorce Tony. You couldn’t hurt the children and scandalize the community. I accepted your decision and contented myself with an occasional meeting in the City - ostensibly on opera house business. How I hated that, sneaking around like a couple of thieves.
Now you’re gone and I can’t even grieve for you openly.
Father Kelly:
“I want to express my appreciation to all the family and friends for sharing so many stories about Mary. How many Marys have we eulogized here today? Mary the loving wife and mother. Mary the singer, the teacher, the entrepreneur. We will always remember this extraordinary woman and the special way she touched our lives.
Now she is with her Lord. May she rest in peace.
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