Victoria had to adjust to the island rituals, though she found some of them morbid. She joined her mother’s close friends in cleansing the body and preparing it for viewing. Bessy was attired in her best cotton dress, her hair curled and combed. She lay in a simple wood casket set in the main room of her home. As tradition required, her head faced the mountain and her feet the ocean. Candles created an eerie glow, with shadows of visitors bouncing off the walls and ceiling. Victoria sat nearby, greeting guests who came from all over the Islands to pay their respects. She tried to act composed though she was aching inside. Each handshake and word of condolence reinforced the fact that her mother was gone to her forever. The unfamiliar faces reminded her of how little she knew her mother. Most of the people were strangers, some distant relatives she didn’t even know. Fellow employees and management from the resort where Bessye worked came with tears in their eyes.
