“I’m so sorry. Somebody said something about him working at one of the stores here.”
“Yes, he worked at the grocery store,” she replied, “but not anymore.”
There was such a sadness to her telling Doreen about him that it was hard not to say something. “Did you know him well?”
“Certainly well enough to talk to him, as I went to the store all the time. But he was that kind of a person who was just really friendly and jovial, you know? One of the nice people in the world.”
“Yeah, we need more of those,” Doreen agreed.
“Oh my dear, we so do. It’s such a sad world out there. You’d think that people would learn to be nicer, but it seems like that’s a hardship for anybody.”
“I wonder about that too.” Doreen smiled and nodded knowingly. “You’d like to think that they could get along in life and could help their fellow man, but too often it takes them down with them.”
“That is sadly very true,” she agreed. She patted Mugs once again. “I’ve got to head home now. You have a good day.” And, with that, the older lady wandered off.
Doreen watched as the older woman headed to the other side of the little mall where the grocery store was and up to what looked like an apartment building on the other side. It was always good to know where people lived, although Doreen had absolutely no reason for keeping track of this woman. Nothing in their conversation triggered Doreen’s alarms in any way. It was sad that the man who had died was only in his forties or so, per her new acquaintance.
That was one of those shocks that you were never really prepared for. You expected to get married and have a happy-ever-after, and, when that didn’t work out so well, it was a blow. It was an ending to deal with. Just like Doreen. She’d married with full expectations of sun, stars, and moon. Too bad she ended up getting a thunderstorm and lightning and then just that eerie calm before a storm.
Even if the storm never hit again, it was always there, that tension, that pressure, that ugliness—all that let you know that the storm could erupt again at any time, and, when it did, it would have devastating consequences. She thought about the earlier painful conversation she had had with Mack, as she just wandered up and down the streets, and how she’d been trying to explain to him about her loose tongue now that she had her freedom. Doreen wasn’t really sure how to say things the way she wanted them to come out.
With a headshake, she wandered back to the car, put the animals inside, and decided to go into the store to get a jug of milk. If she was fast, the animals would be just fine. And it would give her a chance to take a look inside. With them all locked up, she raced inside, grabbed a jug of milk, and headed to the checkout lanes. There she saw two of the cashiers, talking together in low voices. She didn’t want to disturb them, but she didn’t want to leave the animals much longer either.
When she cleared her throat, one of the women looked up. “Oh, sorry.” She came over.
“That’s all right,” Doreen replied. “I heard you guys talking about the poor man who just died.”
The woman looked at her. “Do you know him?”
She shook her head. “I didn’t know him, but I did hear he had passed away, and, of course, that’s just terrible. I was told that he was a nice young man.”
“He was lovely,” the woman replied sadly. “One of the nice guys in the world, and it’s not fair. It seems like the jerks always survive, and the nice guys always die.”
“I know. I have had that same thought myself a couple times.” And the trouble was, Doreen really had. Seemed like guys like her husband thrived, but then the nice guys, like this Alan, who had just passed away, didn’t. “I’m sure it was an accident, wasn’t it?” she asked.
“They don’t know.” And the woman hesitated and leaned forward. “There’s a chance he was murdered.”
“No,” Doreen gasped. “Really?”
At that, the woman nodded. “He kept telling people he was being poisoned.”
“Oh no, oh no. Why didn’t he get help then?”
The woman shrugged. “I don’t know, but toward the end there, he wasn’t very clear about what he said he would do. We kept telling him, if he thought he was being poisoned, then to go tell the police.”
“And definitely go to the hospital.”
“He said something about having been to the cops, but they needed more details.”
At that, Doreen stared at her. “They couldn’t do more? That is terrible.”
“I know. I know.” The woman quickly rang up her milk and waited while Doreen paid. Thankfully her card went through with a tap. She wasn’t sure whether she should run out of there skipping and dancing for joy or just run and get out of the parking lot, just in case the machine decided to double-check her bank account. Because she wasn’t sure if there was very much room left for more gallons of milk or if that was just about it at this point in time. With a quick smile at the woman, she thanked her and headed back outside again.
When she got to her car, she got in, put the grocery bag on the floorboard, and checked that all the animals were doing okay. “Okay, guys, let’s go home.”
And, with that, she drove toward the exit, only to see an old guy standing at the side, watching her. She frowned at that, and he frowned right back.
Not sure why, she pulled up beside him, opened her window, and asked, “Are you okay? Do you need a hand?”
He looked at her and glared. “Do I look like I need a hand?”
She nodded. “Actually, you do. It looked to me like you were calling for help.”
He stared at her. “No, obviously I wasn’t,” he replied in exasperation.
“Oh.” She explained, “Looked to me like that frown was telling me to come over and help.”
“You think that’s what people are looking for when frowning at you?” he asked in astonishment, and then he shook his head. “Lord, you really are crazy, aren’t you?”
She stared at him. “Do you know me?”
“Who in town doesn’t?” he asked. “Those animals are a dead giveaway.”
“But the animals were in my car,” she noted. “I just went in to grab a gallon of milk.”
“Yeah, well, it was pretty hard not to see them,” he snorted. “I mean, the bird just storms back and forth on the headrest, and the dog sits up half the time, looking out the window.”
She nodded. “Yeah, they’re pretty active in my world, but I don’t understand why that would bother you.”
“It’s not the animals that bother me.” He glared at her. “You do.”
She tried not to take offense, but it was hard. “I don’t even know you, so I’m not sure why you would feel that way. I haven’t done anything to hurt you, have I?”
“No, not getting a chance either,” he replied in a grumpy voice. “You’re nothing but one of those nosy-bodies, sticking your nose into everything.”
“Well, hardly,” she argued. “Unless of course you’re one of those people who are always in trouble and needed to be put away for something that you did wrong.”