I said, 'Have you made funeral arrangements?'
'Through Larry's attorney... Apparently Larry planned it all out.
The details-the plot. There's a plot for me too. I never knew.
He took care of everything.......m not sure when the funeral will be.
In these... cases, the coroner... Such a stupid way to.
Her hand flew to her face. More tears.
'This is terrible. I'm being childish.' She dabbed at her eyes with the napkin.
'It's a terrible loss, Mrs. Ashmore.'
'Nothing I haven't seen before,' she said quickly. Suddenly her voice was hard, plated with anger.
I kept quiet.
'Well,' she said, 'I suppose I'd better attend to business.'
I got up. She walked me to the door. 'Thank you for coming, Dr. Delaware.'
'If there's anything I can do-' 'That's very kind, but I'm certain I'll be able to handle things as they come up.'
She opened the door.
I said goodbye and the door closed behind me.
I began walking toward the Seville. The gardening noises had died and the street was beautiful and silent.
When I entered room sosW Cassie followed me with her eyes but the rest of her didn't move.
The drapes were drawn, and yellow light came from the halfopen door of the bathroom. I saw wet clothes hanging over the shower rod. The bed rails were down and the room had the gluey smell of old bandages.
A metered I.V line was still attached to Cassie's left arm. Clear fluid from a hanging bottle slow-dripped through the tubing. The whirr of the I.V meter seemed louder. LuvBunnies surrounded Cassie. An untouched breakfast tray sat on the table.
I said, 'Hi, sweetie.'
She gave a small smile, closed her eyes, and moved her head back and forth the way a blind child might.
Cindy came out of the bathroom and said, 'Hi, Dr. Delaware.'
Her braid was gathered atop her head and her blouse was untucked.
'Hi. How're you managing?'
'Okay.'
I sat on the edge of Cassies bed. Cindy came over and stood next to me. The pressure of my weight made Cassie's eyes open again. I smiled at her, touched her fingers. Her stomach rumbled and she shut her eyes
once more. Her lips were dry and chapped. A small scrap of dead skin hung from the upper one. Each breath ruffled it.
I took her free hand. She didn't resist. Her skin was warm and silky, soft as a dolphin's belly.
I said, 'Such a good girl,' and saw her eyes move behind the lids.
'We had a rough night,' said Cindy.
'I know. Sorry to hear it.' I looked down at the hand in mine.
