Sally nodded at the funeral director, and he pushed a button on a CD player. Alan Jackson’s voice singing “I’ll Fly Away” floated out across the rolling hills as the sun dipped behind the bare mesquite trees. Mack handed clean white hankies to each of the three women when the song started. When it finished, Sally took a step forward, opened a well-worn old black Bible, and read, “To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die.” She closed the Bible and handed it to Holly. “She would want you to have this since so many of your ancestors’ births and deaths are recorded in this book. Granny Hayes wanted to be buried as the sun was going down. It seems appropriate, but I like to think of her in a place now where there is no night or day, no age or youth, and time doesn’t matter anymore. That’s all I have to say, but I thought we needed a little more than a song.”

“Amen,” Lily said.

Holly laid a yellow daisy on the casket. “You weren’t a rose, Granny Hayes. You were a wild daisy, doing what you wanted. I really loved you.”

That reminded Lily of a Dolly Parton song, “Wildflowers.” She pulled it up on her phone and turned the volume up as high as it would go. The lyrics said that wildflowers didn’t care where they grew, and that she’d grown up in a different garden than other folks. There wasn’t a dry eye among the bunch of them when the song ended.

The sunset was beautiful with the bright array of oranges, yellows, pinks, and purples that evening. Lily was sure that God had planned it special for Granny Hayes, just as surely as she’d felt that He had answered her prayers that morning when the sun came out bright and warm. It just wouldn’t have been right or fair for that particular Monday to have gray skies and rain.

Holly was sobbing and wiping her eyes with the hankie Mack had given her when the song ended. “Mama, that song was perfect for Granny Hayes. Thank you for playing it for us.” She wrapped her arms around Lily.

“I should go visit Mama and Daddy’s graves.” Lily motioned toward her right. “They’re over there and . . .”

“I’ll take the kids to Dairy Queen. We’ll meet you there,” Sally whispered.

“Thank you.” Lily gave her a quick hug. “I don’t think Holly can take much more today, but I haven’t been . . .”

“I understand.” Sally shushed her with a wave of her hand. “Go on. We’ll get a table and be waiting for you.”