And in the lobby of Mercer & Field headquarters, there is still a photograph of me.
Not the corporate portrait.
Nessa removed that after I died because, according to her, “you looked unbearable.”
The photograph they use instead was taken at Store 184.
No disguise.
No suit.
Just me standing beside Maeve and Ellie after the scholarship program launched.
Ellie is holding a paper bowl.
I look irritated.
She looks delighted.
Below it is a small plaque.
Not my quote.
Hers.
She chose it.
It says:
KINDNESS IS NOT AN INHERITANCE. YOU HAVE TO KEEP USING IT.
Apparently she became inspirational after all.
Lorna would have loved that.
And if there is any part of me still capable of amusement somewhere beyond all this, I hope she is enjoying the fact that after fifty-three years of building a retail company, millions of dollars in meetings, and more strategic plans than any sane person should endure, the final lesson arrived in a paper bowl of overly salty chicken soup.
I went into that store looking for an heir.
