Monahan 01 Options by Rosemarie A D'Amico Page A

He arrived in about eighteen minutes and I tipped him generously.
    I opened the top of the box and breathed in the aroma. I served myself a slice, put my napkin on my lap and dug in. Although I don’t cook, I believe in the formality of dinner time so food prepared by someone else gets the same treatment in my house. I wolfed down two slices before I started to slow down.
    After I ate, I curled up on the couch with a new book and covered myself with an old quilt. The breeze coming through the open French doors was chilly but I loved the crispness of the air. The apartment smelled clean and the breeze from outside was fresh. I was in heaven.
    I studied the cover of the book. A woman with long, flowing auburn hair was locked in a passionate embrace with a man who looked like he could anchor the evening news on network TV. She was wearing a low cut, peasant-style blouse which exposed the tops of her breasts. I wish.
    The book was a fast read and I skimmed through about three chapters before I stopped to light a cigarette. The story was similar to the dozens of other novels I had read - poor woman, rich man. They meet, they argue, they secretly pine for each other and eventually end up locking lips in a mad embrace at the end of a particularly nasty argument.
    I thought about why I read these books. Always looking for my knight in shining armour and reading these books kind of kept the fantasy alive. Reading for me was pure escapism and I justified my habit by reminding myself I didn’t drink or take drugs. Cigarettes and romance books. My two vices. Probably time to clean up my act.
    I heaved myself off the couch and stood looking out the front windows to the street below. I was restless and had nagging feelings which I tried to pinpoint. I had frantically cleaned my apartment and ate my dinner like a stevedore. My planned and forced relaxation on the couch hadn’t lasted long. As usual, I was avoiding things.
    Evelyn’s death hung over me. As trite as it sounded, it made me sad. Sad is an emotion that usually doesn’t have any backbone and it’s hard to define. My whole body started to ache with sadness, thinking about her. The more I thought about Ev, the more restless I became. I paced in the living room and ruined the nice look of the freshly vacuumed carpet. I couldn’t understand her death. Why did she have to die? I had been avoiding thinking about her all day by keeping busy and now I didn’t have anything to keep me occupied. The book bored me. I checked the TV Guide to see if there were any sports on the television and as usual, I came up empty. Friday night sitcoms and news shows. Forget it.
    I phoned Danny. I hadn’t talked to him since last night. The phone rang a couple of times before he answered.
    “Hello.” He sounded tired.
    “Danny, it’s Kathleen. How’re things?”
    “All right, I guess.” The tone of his voice told me I would have to carry the conversation.
    “Is there anything you need? How are your brother and sister?” I asked.
    “They’re fine. The neighbours have been in and out with food. There’s nothing I need right now.”
    “Danny, when’s the funeral? Have you set the time yet?”
    “No, they’re not releasing the body. The doctor said they have to do an autopsy to determine the cause of death.”
    I was surprised. “I thought she died from a reaction to nuts.”
    “When I spoke to the doctor this morning, he said the cause of death was undetermined so they had to do an autopsy. He said they’re backed-up at the morgue so it could take a couple of days.” He paused. “I just want to bury her.” He started to cry softly.
    I felt helpless and didn’t know what to say. “It’ll be okay Danny. Take it easy. Is there anything I can do? Is there anyone there with you?” I asked.
    “Jonathan’s here. Elaine left a while ago to go home. I’m all right Kate. I’ll call you if I need anything. I gotta go.”
    I said good-bye to a dial tone.
    chapter twelve
    I thought