Preta's Realm Read Online Free Page B

record collection. The album covers intrigued him more than the music. The big band and jazz records celebrated sadness that promoted a good mood, a paradox lost on children.
    ***
    The sedan cruised towards the off-ramp like it had hundreds of times before. Drew steered the vehicle with the slight guidance of his left hand while the right fumbled through the controls on his MP3 player jacked into the car’s stereo system. He scanned through the folders and hit the play button on the Dropkick Murphys.
    Irish punk-drunk rock , he thought.
    He ripped the volume knob to eight and basked in the fast-paced, bagpipe-laden motif of Boston’s finest. With Bob Marley and the Dropkicks on his player, it was difficult to feel down for long.
    He grabbed his travel mug, messenger bag, and gloves as he skipped through the set of revolving doors of the office building. Drew smiled at the others in the elevator, even those hammering away on their smartphones and BlackBerrys. He hummed “Jump Jive an’ Wail” as the cable tightened and pulled the occupants into the upper reaches of the building.
    ***
    “Resigned?”
    “Quit.”
    “Same difference. How did you find out?”
    “Got the whole department buzzing. Haven’t you been to the break room yet?”
    Drew shook his head, indicating that he had not been part of the rumor buzz infiltrating the floor. “What’s the scoop?” he asked Brian.
    Brian sat on the edge of Drew’s desk. He leaned forward and lowered his voice as if divulging top-secret, highly classified information. “Johnson found a letter of resignation on his desk this morning. Her desk is cleaned out.”
    “What did it say?”
    “Something about a family situation that ‘demanded immediate attention’ and that she regretted leaving this way.”
    “She doesn’t have family. I thought she was an only child and her parents were dead?”
    Brian sipped from his coffee and exhaled a satisfied breath. “Extended family?” he asked Drew.
    “None that I know of,” Drew replied.
    “Don’t you think it’s weird that she printed out her resignation? Why not email it or leave a voice mail? I know that it’s more professional to write a letter, but if you quit like this I’m not sure what good a hard copy does ya.”
    Drew contemplated what Brian said and shook his head. “I’m sure details will emerge. She had friends in the department, right?”
    “Yep. Leave it to me, hoss. Next happy hour at Sully’s I’ll get the scoop from Brooke or Jen. Even if I have to sleep with them to get it.”
    “You’re such a team player. Always willing to sacrifice yourself for the good of the whole.”
    Brian smiled and slapped Drew on the shoulder. “Somebody’s gotta do it,” he said and walked off towards his cubicle.
    Drew hit the power button on his computer and saw the dark reflection of his own smile in the black screen. I knew today felt like a good day , he thought.
    ***
    Molly set the crock of soup on the table. Drew’s eyes became the size of the saucers underneath the bowls. He grabbed the ladle and dipped it deep into the pot.
    “Thanks, hon. What a perfect ending to a fantastic day.”
    Molly grinned and her shoulders lifted. Sara and Billy looked at their mom and caught the contagious wave of relief. “Something at the office? New client?”
    Drew reached for the bag of crackers with one hand and delivered a generous dousing of Tabasco sauce with the other. “Office, yes. Something unexpected.”
    “Don’t tease us. Did you get a raise?”
    “Nope,” Drew said with Molly’s famous tortilla soup running down his chin. “Vivian quit.”
    Billy and Sara lost interest in the conversation and began seeing how many crackers they could fit into their mouths at one time.
    “Oh,” replied Molly while her hands busied with napkins and unused cutlery.
    “Yeah. She left a letter of resignation, cleaned out her desk, and that was that. Something about a ‘family emergency’ is buzzing around the