Orange Blossom Special

Jerome Malcolm needs a partner for one last waltz. . . The author of Georgia Author of Year Award winners Bless Her Heart and Oh My Stars presents a novella about the family we have, the family we make, and how those two sometimes come together at the oddest times. Edie Malcolm isn't sure she wants to keep living after her husband of sixty years, Jerome, passes away. Jerome, as he always did, had other plans-and a few surprises for his beloved wife. Unfortunately for Edie, those plans involve teaming up with her not-so-favorite sister-in-law Janice and two neighboring teens who haven't quite figured out who they are going to be in life, much less how to deal with Jerome's death. Thanks to Jerome's wacky will, the foursome will have to travel the length of Tennessee in the Orange Blossom Special, an ancient hearse that Jerome had painted an orange and white checkerboard in homage to his beloved Volunteers. As they spread his ashes in the places he requested, Edie and Janice are tempted to leave behind years of hostility and forge a new kinship. Even though nothing goes according to plan, the quartet still learns about love, grief, and the odd ways in which friendship can blossom.