“Don’t be. I’m glad I was here.”
Emily surprised herself when she said, “Me too. It’s good having someone you care about to share your most embarrassing feelings with.” She reached out and touched her daughter’s blonde curls. “Your parents did a terrific job raising you.” Naomi’s face reddened at the compliment. “I’ll be right back,” said Emily. “I’ve got to wash all this slobber off my face.”
“How do you feel now?” asked Naomi when Emily returned from the bathroom.
“Awful. My nose and eyes are red, and I’m due at the bar in less than an hour.”
“No. I meant about Fred.”
“Typical Fred, I guess. I still miss him, but he did have some annoying traits. He couldn’t have waited to kick off after my birthday?”
Naomi looked at her mother in astonishment.
“Just kidding. But it would have been nice if he’d stuck around to deliver the present in person, given me a cake, and we could have blown out the candles together.”
“It’s not too late.”
Emily looked at her daughter with curiosity. “What do you mean?”
“In all of this upheaval you missed your birthday, and I’m sure Fred planned some kind of a celebration. This will proves it.” Naomi waved the document back and forth in her hand. “So what do you say? Let’s have a party. What would you most like to do for your birthday?”
She wanted to say, “Bring Fred back to life,” but she knew she needed to move on with her life. Emily thought for a while. The will had taken her by surprise, and she found it difficult to contemplate something as frivolous as a birthday party. But what the heck, she decided. I know what I’d like.
Not everyone could fit into Donald’s bass boat, but Emily assured Clara, Hap, Vicki, and Darren that Donald promised to be back by early afternoon to partake of cake and ice cream at Clara’s.
Her daughter’s mood had been positively ebullient after finding that Donald and Lewis’s visit to her husband in the hospital seemed to convince Barry he should avoid her at all cost. This morning she stuck her nose into the wind and smiled widely as they sped up the river toward Donald’s favorite fishing place.
“Close your mouth,” said Donald, “or you’ll be flossing bugs out of your teeth tonight.” Naomi laughed and waved his comments away.
The only person aboard the craft who didn’t seem as happy as he might with the day off work and Emily in the boat with him was Detective Lewis. His mouth had difficulty maintaining the smile required when a man contemplated a fresh catch of speck. Emily figured he had in mind a more private celebration of her birthday, but this party was for her and Fred. Besides, she wasn’t sure if she was ready for another man in her life.
And then there was the question of which man. Emily glanced at Donald who seemed sanguine about Lewis’ presence, but then, she and Donald worked together most nights at the bar.
Meantime, Emily sat in the bow of the craft and let the early morning, cool river air blow through her hair. And she determined this time to catch something other than, well, you know. She was after fish.
THE END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lesley retired from her life as a professor of psychology and reclaimed her country roots by moving to a small cottage in the Butternut River Valley in upstate New York. In the winter she migrates to old Florida—cowboys, scrub palmetto, and open fields of grazing cattle, a place where spurs still jingle in the post office. Back north, she devotes her afternoons to writing and, when the sun sets, relaxing on the bank of her trout stream, sipping tea or a local microbrew. In her words, “I come to the “Big Lake” to write, hang out in cowboy bars, and immerse myself in the Florida that used to be. No beaches, no bikinis, no sand. Just cows, horses, and gators.”
Table of Contents
DEDICATION
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
CHAPTER 25
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dumpster Dying Page 23
