Chapter 3 – A sad time part Two.
When Machelle, Sherri and Dean came back from the hospital, they told Roman and Margaret about the chimes. Roman and Margie smiled and thought that maybe they were right. Maybe it was Sharron that sent the sign, she did love chimes.
When Dean and Roman went to different countries, they always went to find nice sounding ones just for her. It wasn't all the time Sharron hung them outside. Just the ones that sounded good and wouldn't annoy the neighbours in Sharron's building.
Now they had the task of calling all the others to tell them she had passed. They all were kind of waiting for the call but, Margie had called most of them after Machelle and Sherri left for the hospital.
Roman, Sherri and Machelle went and drove Margie to the airport. While Dean went and stayed with the boys, who were still sleeping.
Once Margie checked in and went through security, they all left. They went back to the hotel, the boys were now awake and Roman and Machelle told them the sad news.
"Nana has gone to heaven to be with Uncle Jamie and Great Nana." Roman told them.
The boys really didn't understand every thing but, Roman and Machelle reassured them she would always be in their hearts, just like Uncle Jamie was. That part they kind of understood.
The boys obviously didn't know Jamie but, Machelle, Roman and Dean showed them pictures and told stories about him all the time.
Machelle and Sherri had decided not to have a funeral but, instead have a Celebration of Sharron's life. Neither one of them wanted it to be sad either. Something like Jamie's, is what they had planned.
Sharron didn't know many people in Alberta so, they decided it should be in Vancouver. Where she knew lots of people.
Sherri called her Aunt Lisa, and told her that they wanted to do a Memorial. Lisa said they had a common room and she would ask if it was available, Lisa just needed a date.
The next afternoon Lisa had called and said it was available. So, Machelle called Steve and told him and he said he would pass it along to all the staff. She told him it wasn't going to be a sad thing with sad speeches but, a happy thing. With funny stories and reminiscing on Sharron's life. They decided on February 21st.
Over the next three days, Machelle and Sherri had the task of getting Sharron's apartment cleaned out and packed things.
Margie was going to take over the apartment. Sharron didn't have a lot of things there. So, it was kind of easy.
They both had gone and talked to the people they needed to, like the bank. The bank told them it would take a month to sort it out, and they would call them. The funeral home had told the government so, that part was taken care of.
Three days later they all went and got Sharron's ashes, her porcupine Perseus that JJ gave her and Fizz-gig a round ball that looked like a fox that Jake gave her. They couldn't cremate them. Taylor had given her an Angel for her sweater that couldn't be burnt so, Machelle put it on Perseus's ear, JJ said it was okay.
They gave the keys to the neighbour for Margaret and left Alberta to go home to Tampa and plan.
Four days before the Celebration both families came to Vancouver. They visited their friends and got things prepared. They had gone to Costco for the food and a friends daughter had made a spice cake, Sharron's favourite.
The celebration was on a Sunday so, the people who worked through the week could come. The word had gone through the shop and through work. Machelle and Sherri's friends through the years had said they wanted to come. Most of them called Sharron Mom anyway.
Lisa's husband Charlie, had let them all in to the common room. Where the girls put up a board with pictures and surrounded it with flowers. They put up a kind of shrine for Sharron's ashes. It looked beautiful by the time they finished.
Machelle and Sherri's, Aunt Lisa, and Aunt Constance had gone to the airport to pick up their niece Leyla up. She also had picked up Lisa's daughter Brittany, who lived close to the airport.
Tony and his wife had showed up first. Tony worked at the store. He fixed the jewellery, if you needed a necklace fixed or you had a thin metal ring that needed to be sized, he could do it right at the store. Machelle had sent a pair of earrings of Sharron's to him. The store had given Sharron a pair of one carat Cognac diamond earrings when Sharron retired. Sharron wanted the girls to get them made into a pendant and Tony did that for them.
Tony was looking at the board and you could tell he was kind of upset. It just had pictures of Sharron through the years. He had told Machelle he was booking a ticket to come and see Sharron but, then Machelle called and said she had passed.
Sharron and Tony had a great working relationship, he called her his work wife. Just because Sharron would boss him around as told by Tony, and visa versa. His wife Jessie knew they were close and loved that they had the good working relationship.
When Tony had started working at the store in 1992, Tony and his wife's first daughter had just been born. She was 22 now. So, they had known each other since then.
Through the years Sharron always sent Tony home with a birthday cards or Christmas presents with him for his kids. Sharron was like that, always remembered the people who she worked with and their kids of course.
Then it was Tom and his brother Dean who showed up next. Tom was the manager of the store at one time. Sharron was the assistant manager. That was until she had her first heart attack. The two worked very closely at one time, until Tom went and worked at the shop.
Dean worked at the shop setting diamonds in rings and earrings. Dean didn't work with Sharron in person but, he talked with her on the phone a lot. They saw each other at Christmas parties and company functions.
Steve the owner and his daughter Jennifer were next to show.
Steve, was 13 when Sharron started working for the company. He at one time worked at the retail store, then he went down to the shop and travelled. He had just got back from India that day from a buying trip. He had come straight from the airport.
Jennifer worked with Sharron and grew up right in front of Sharron's eyes. Sharron had sent her a baby present when she had her baby and Jennifer sent pictures to Sharron. She also brought a scrap book of pictures. The scrap book was supposed to be sent to Sharron after she retired but, Sharron moved and they forgot about it. It was just pictures of Sharron and her co-workers over the years, news paper clippings of Sharron getting an award for the Work of Excellence award and pictures of the displays Sharron did for the windows at the store.
Suzanne, Pam and Lillian from the shop came about five minutes later.
Pam was the one who made the ring waxes. Sharron talked to her all the time. She was also the one who answered the phone at the shop.
Suzanne was the caster of the rings. After the ring was formed in wax from Pam, Suzanne made a mold of it and then it was cast it in gold. Suzanne invited Sharron down to the shop and Sharron had seen some of her customers rings being made.
Lillian was the designer and wife of Dale. Lillian was the one who designed Machelle and Sherri's wedding rings. She also was the one that designed a ring for Sharron when the store celebrated Sharron's 30 year anniversary working for the company.
The company was very good to their employee's, especially when it was someone that worked with them for ages. They had about three people that were there for more than 30 years still and 12 altogether.
Then it was Kelly who came next. Kelly worked at the store with Sharron. Kelly didn't work at the store anymore but, was there for seven years working with her. She was devastated when she heard Sharron had passed.
Lisa and Constance had arrived with Leyla and Brittany.
Leyla worked as a stewardess on an airline and just happened to have a layover that day. Her Mom Heather had seen Sharron but, Leyla couldn't go when Sharron was in the hospital.
Machelle and Sherri hadn't seen Leyla for ages. Although they had talked on the phone, arranging flights for her Mom to come. Leyla hadn't even met Taylor, JJ, or Jake before.
Brittany lived in Vancouver so, she saw Aunt Sharron all the time, before Sharron moved. She had made sure she wore the ring Aunt Sharron had given her for her 16th birthday. It wasn't a big ring just a silver band with a diamond in the middle but, she loved it.
Lisa and Charlies Daughter in law and two grand daughters were the next people to arrive. They had drove four and a half hours from Penatang Lake by Kamloops, BC to come to the Celebration.
Alice was six and Maizey was three, they didn't really remember Aunt Sharron but, they still came down. Their Mom Jolene knew Sharron. Sharron had been at Lisa's when her and Charlies son Heath came down and at their wedding. Heath had to work that day.
It was a great day of looking at pictures, and telling stories about Sharron. A happy day, Taylor had put pictures on her computer and added Jason Aldean's song 'See you when I see you' as the back ground music. Sherri picked the song. She knew it was about lost love but, it seamed to fit.
Sherri made Machelle listen to it, even though when it started Machelle cried her eyes out. Machelle had left the room, when Taylor played the video for the others. Then muted the music for Machelle.
Machelle and Sherri, had some jewellery for the female relatives and had taken them aside to give it them.
Sharron had picked them out and Machelle had written them down. Sharron loved all her relatives but, she didn't have anything special for the guys. So, she gave jewellery to the girls in their lives.
Brittany had gotten a diamond and gold picky ring Sharron had always worn. Brittany when she was young, had always admired it.
Constance got a silver ring with a Green Lapis stone in it. Sharron wore all the time, on her days off of course.
Lisa got Sharron's moon stone bobble from her charm bracelet and a copper box with a sand dollar in it. Sharron and Lisa found the sand dollar when Lisa first came to Vancouver 30 years ago. So, it meant a lot to Lisa to get it back.
Maizey got a silver bracelet and her sister Alice a Mother of Pearl necklace.
Leyla had gotten a Seed Pearl Necklace. Her Mom Heather had taken it back to Toronto and gave it to her. Leyla wore it that day.
There was only a couple pieces left that Machelle and Sherri had left. A gold watch the store gave Sharron. Three loose diamonds and a Jade and diamond ring. That was very special to Sharron, the ring was given to her from Dale, Steve, and Steve's dad Don. A year before Don died and three years after Dale.
Machelle and Sherri talked to Steve, about them. Steve said he would buy them all off the girls.
He told them to go and take the family on a cruise to Alaska. That was the next trip Sharron was supposed to take. So, that was what they were going to do.