Death By Bourbon by Abigail Keam Page A

and into my bedroom on my own. It was a small accomplishment, but it made me feel
     good. It wasn’t long before I fell into Morpheus’ arms.
    *
    I awoke to find Baby’s snout in my face. He licked my nose, knowing that it would
     get me out of bed. I stumbled into the bathroom, washed my face, washed my arms, brushed
     my teeth, changed my underwear and combed my hair. After putting on a fresh caftan,
     I made my way to the patio where Jake had steaks on the grill. Asa was setting the
     table for dinner.
    “That smells wonderful,” I complimented, peering over Jake’s shoulder at the grill
     where steak and shrimp sizzled along with sweet peppers, onions and potatoes.
    “Mom, what do you want to drink?” Asa asked on her way into the house.
    “Just some tea, dear. I’m not allowed anything else,” I said, mugging a look at Jake.
     I quickly patted Jake on the fanny before finding a seat.
    Asa came back out with tea and wine. Just moments after she’d filled everyone’s glasses,
     Jake put platters of food on the table. Asa let out a gleeful sound. “You know how
     much a dinner like this would cost in New York?” she said.
    “How much?”
    “Too much, Mom.”
    “Then maybe it’s time for you to relocate. Maybe come home.”
    Asa hesitated before she spoke. “I am thinking of relocating . . . but to London.”
    I put down my fork. “What?”
    “It won’t be until next year, but I feel that I have to make this move for the company’s
     sake.”
    “Why?”
    “It’s closer to where most of my people are working and it will be less expensive
     in the long run to have the company centered in London for the next couple of years.”
    “What about your apartment in New York?”
    “I’m going to keep it. I had a key made for you. You use it.”
    There was a long silence at the table before I started eating again. “It’s not forever?”
    “No, just a couple of years and then my contract runs out. I don’t want to renew it
     again. I’ll be pulling out then. I’d rather investigate insurance fraud like art thefts
     than what I’m doing now. It’s an easier way to make a living.”
    “So you are in Afghanistan,” I stated matter of factly.
    Asa didn’t reply but instead nibbled on a shrimp.
    “Please, Mother, understand.”
    “I do. I do. It’s your life.”
    “Thanks, Mom.”
    I smiled weakly. What else could I do? Asa had made her choice.
    “A few weeks in New York doesn’t sound bad, does it, Josiah?” asked Jake, trying to
     put a positive spin on Asa’s revelation.
    “No, it doesn’t.”
    “We could take in a few shows, eat at expensive restaurants, go to museums. Maybe
     even take Franklin with us so the two of you could go shopping.”
    “Yes, that would be fun.”
    “Two years will go like that,” Jake said, snapping his fingers. “You’ll be busy. You’ll
     see.”
    Asa gave Jake a grateful look before cutting into her steak.
    One of the kittens, now almost full grown, jumped on the table. I put her wiggling
     body down on the ground. Before giving me a malevolent look, she went over to Baby’s
     bowl and started to eat out of it. Her siblings joined her. None of the kittens trusted
     me anymore since I’d had them fixed, but I just couldn’t let them run around like
     promiscuous minxes.
    The only animal I wanted having sex on this farm in the near future was me. And now
     I was determined that was going to happen. I was going to go on with my life.
    If Asa wanted to throw her life away on military contracts, I was not going to light
     a candle in the window and wait for her to come home. I was going to put some miles
     on my carriage before the wheels rusted off. It was time to join the dance of life
     again.

14
    Something woke me.
    It was Baby’s growls as he peered out the bedroom’s patio door. With the moonlight
     spilling into the room, I could see that the kittens were with him. Several perched
     on his back looking out the glass door as the others tussled