Death Goes Shopping by Jessica Burton

Author:Jessica Burton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dundurn Press

Twelve

After Ed left, I did a bit of paper work on next year's Mother's Day promotions. As usual, I was running a “My Mom's the Best” contest. In its fourth year, it had proven to be one of our most popular events.

Towards the end of the year, I send a letter to all the local grade schools asking the teachers to have the kids write me a letter telling why they think their mother is the best of the lot. The kids get large buttons with our logo and “My Mom's the Best” printed on them, and we display all the letters throughout the shopping centre, by school and grade. The idea is that the kids will insist their parents and grandparents come to read them.

A panel of volunteer merchants plus Helen and myself read all the letters and cull them, eventually coming up with three winners. These mothers get prizes that have been donated by merchants, and although the first year's gifts were a bit cheezy and had to be fleshed out by my promotion budget, we've had some excellent prizes handed over since then.

My original intention was to have one winning mom and make her “Queen of Rosewood” for a day, but the response was so overwhelming and the letters so sincere, that it was impossible to limit it to just one. So I dropped the “Queen” idea and now I just make a little ceremony in Centre Court for three mothers, some of the Board members and the local press.

A disappointing number of the letters each year say “my moms the best ‘cause she buys me this, that or the other…” which I find rather sad, but my all-time favourite—and first winning one—said “my mom's the best ‘cause she loves me.” I have that one framed on my office wall.

Picking up my change purse, I went up the hall.

“Shirley, see if you can find Keith for me, please. Ask him to meet me downstairs at the Bagel Bonanza. My treat.”

She held out a sheet of paper as I went passed her desk. “Here's the scoop on the funerals for Gerry Menard and Cathy Haggerty,” she said. “Want me to arrange flowers?”

“Yes, please. Send them to the funeral homes. Just have Rosewood City Centre put on the cards.”

“The Haggerty family has asked for donations to the Cancer Society. Seems she had a bout with it last year.”

“Send flowers anyway. I'll see to the donation. Thanks, Shirl”

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