Same Old Truths Read Online Free Page B

little office pleasant and comfortable - as much for Kay as for visitors.
    Tony accepted Kay’s invitation and slunk into one of the chairs, maneuvering into the seat with all the grace of a huge jungle python having just swallowed a small antelope. The bored/dimwitted expression never left his face.
    Evelyn declined. “No thank you, Dahling,” she said, resuming her pacing. “I’m too upset to sit.”
    Evelyn walked over to the window, peering back and forth in search of some unseen menace.
    “What’s going on? It sounds serious.” Kay was anxious to hear what the story was this month.
    “Oh, Dahling, it’s more than serious,” Evelyn said, still searching through the window. “My Tony informs me my in-laws on my dead husband’s side are having the verge to murder me.” Evelyn pulled a tissue from her sleeve and dabbed at her eyes, pushing the smudges around.
    Kay was “having the verge” to laugh, but didn’t want to be disrespectful.
    Kay looked at Tony. “Is this true?”
    Tony, still staring at the floor, shifted his girth uncomfortably in the chair, shrugged and muttered, ”I don’t know. I guess.”
    Evelyn finally turned away from the window and approached Kay’s desk. “Dahling, they’ve always hated me, but this has to be the final nail in the coffee. They’re jealous because their mother gave me her diamond pendulum on my wedding day. Now they’re demanding it back. They hound me day and night. My God, it’s like they have channel vision.” She walked back to the window and resumed her search. “But they’re going to have to kill me to get it.”
    Wow, this is one of her better performances.
    But despite the entertainment, Kay couldn’t help feeling sorry for the woman. “Evelyn, no!” Kay said, hoping to convey genuine concern. “I can understand why you’re so upset. Have you gone to the police?”
    “The police?” Evelyn said indignantly. “They can’t help. You know how they are. They won’t do anything until a crime’s been permitted.”
    “What are you going to do?” Kay asked, deciding to indulge Evelyn’s drama.
    But just as Evelyn opened her mouth to respond, the intercom buzzer interrupted. “I’m sorry to bother you, Kay,” Ruth said, “but Mr. McNab is here with a picture for his wife’s obituary. He also has some changes to the list of pallbearers.”
    “Ask him to have a seat, Ruth. I’ll be right out,” Kay said. She was a little disappointed Mr. McNab had chosen this exact moment to show up.
    “Evelyn, you’ll have to excuse me. I have something I have to take care of in the front office. It shouldn’t take too long.”
    Kay walked over to the file cabinet, searched the B’s and pulled out the one labeled “Burleigh.” The folder had been handled so many times, the edges had become frayed and it was beginning to come apart at the crease.
    “Here’s your file,” Kay said, handing it over to Evelyn who was finally sitting. “Look it over and when I come back you can let me know if there are any changes you’d like to make.”
    Kay made her exit, but before she was able to completely close her office door, she heard Tony complain in a menacing voice that took her by surprise. “Look, Old Woman. You promised if I came with you, you’d take me to Clucky’s Chicken Hut. I wanna get outta here and go eat. NOW!”
    Behind the closed door Kay could hear the muffled sounds of a bullied mother trying to pacify an over-grown brat. Kay’s heart broke for the woman who had to live with this nasty Baby Huey.
    Kay took a quick detour through the small hallway separating the display room from the auxiliary chapel. At the end of the hall was a drinking fountain and Kay badly needed the refreshment the cool water had to offer. She had just leaned over to catch the arc of liquid in her slightly parted lips when her boss, Ed Salinger, appeared behind her, causing her to choke on a tiny trickle of water going down the wrong way. He waited patiently for her