Aunt Daisy’s Funeral

Aunt Daisy’s Funeral By Terry O’Reilly “Yeah, okay, well thanks for letting me know. Call me when you’ve made the arrangements. Bye, Jack.” Danny Foley hung up the phone. Leaning forward, he put his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. Trixie, his black and white fox terrier came and sat in front of him. She c****d her head to one side and whined. Danny raised his head, smiled, and let out a sigh. “You always know when I’m upset, don’t ya, girl?” He sat up and patted his lap. Trixie jumped up on him and licked his nose. “Aunt Daisy’s gone,” he told her, his eyes filling with tears. The little dog whined again, as if she understood. She licked his face once more. Trixie settled on Danny’s lap, leaned against him, and rested her head on his arm. The dog’s presence made Danny feel somewhat better. As he sat there, petting the dog, his thoughts turned to Aunt Daisy, a feeling of profound sadness welling up in his heart. The sadness stemmed from the loss of the one person in his family who had seemed to understand and accept him. Danny was the youngest of three children. Born many years after his brother Jack and his sister Paula, he’d always felt he was a burden to his mother, a disappointment to his father, and an inconvenience to his older siblings. Danny’s mother had been planning on returning to her career as a teacher when Paula and Jack had reached middle school age. Then she had the surprise pregnancy. She seemed to resent Danny for taking away the opportunity to return to the work she’d loved. He and his dad had never really related well as Danny didn’t share the man’s passion for hunting and fishing or the sports in which his brother excelled. Danny’s attraction to all things artistic seemed to rankle the man. He never supported Danny’s participation in drama club productions or musical activities, putting them down as sissy stuff in which a real man would never take part. During Danny’s childhood, Jack and Paula had treated him with strained impatience, always claiming his needs were infringing on their rights to the time and attention of their parents. Aunt Daisy, on the other hand, had always been there for him, defending his interests, attending his concerts and productions, and spending many hours talking with and listening to him. She had never married and Danny had seemed to fill a void in her life. In later years, she had been the only one in whom Danny had confided his s****l orientation. It was no surprise to him that her acceptance had been immediate and complete. Being raised in a strict Catholic family, Danny had suffered the constant burden of guilt that he was gay and was sure to be damned to hell for something he’d had no say in determining. Aunt Daisy had been the one to whom he turned. She’d helped him throw off the yoke placed on him by his religious upbringing and accept who he was. While never divulging his secret, she’d stood up for him to his parents’ and siblings’ constant pressure for him to find the right girl and get on with the business of starting a family. She would say, “One day Danny will find the right person, settle down, and be happy. You all just need to butt out and leave him be. He’ll find his way.” Danny smiled at the memory. Her words had yet to prove prophetic as he hadn’t found the right person. In fact Danny had never engaged in even casual s*x nor had a boyfriend. But Aunt Daisy had been unwavering in her faith that he was destined one day to find his Prince Charming and live happily ever after. She had vowed she would dance at his wedding, even if they had to go to Canada to accomplish that. Now she was gone. Both Danny’s parents had passed on some years before, but only now did he have a sense of being orphaned. * * * * Trixie trotted into the room and sat up on her haunches with a leash in her mouth. “Not this time, little girl,” Danny said as he stood by his bed, packing his suitcase for the five hour drive to the city for the funeral. Danny usually took the dog with him when he went to visit his family and Aunt Daisy. His aunt had loved to have the little dog sit with her on her bed in the nursing home as she and Danny talked. Feeling sad for Trixie because she wouldn’t be making the trip, Danny added, “Pat and Lee are going to take care of you while I’m gone.” At hearing the names, Trixie’s ears perked up. She dropped the leash and ran out of the room. She returned a few moments later with a tennis ball and sat down and looked at Danny expectantly. Danny laughed. “That’s right, girl, Pat and Lee.” The ladies ran a dog sitting service. Trixie probably got more play time and walks when the two women were taking care of her than when Danny was home. Danny’s job as a senior research development specialist at Iowa State University often kept him away from his apartment most of the day and well into the evening as he worked with graduate students, helping them to design their projects for a master’s thesis or doctoral dissertation. He had found this wonderful couple to come and take care of Trixie during the day and when he was away on trips on which she couldn’t accompany him. He knew he probably wouldn’t have a chance to have a dog if not for their pet care service. It just wouldn’t be fair to the animal to be cooped up alone all day. Pat and Lee were gay—and in love. Danny sighed. Thinking of them reminded him of his own single state and that Aunt Daisy had left before he was able to find someone with whom to share his life. It would have made the old lady so happy. Danny sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Trixie, who was now lying on the floor with the tennis ball between her legs. Fred’s wrong, Danny mused. Fred was a co-worker who maintained animals didn’t have thoughts, feelings, or emotions. Dogs do think and understand. She knows what’s going on. Trixie’s response to Danny’s grief at Aunt Daisy’s passing and her actions now while he was packing proved it to him. Danny picked the ball up and tossed it into the hallway. Trixie ran after it, brought it back, and dropped it at his feet. He reached down, picked her up, and buried his face in her soft fur. It would be so nice if he did have someone to support him when he said goodbye to Aunt Daisy.