Chapter Sixteen

As she was about to push the drawer closed with the toe of her shoe; a box caught her eye. It was a box that checks came in from the bank. Curious, she knelt down and took it out. Opening it, she realized that Steve must have had another account without her knowledge. Having found the money upstairs, she was not surprised. Yet, she did feel a little disappointed. While she knew that her marriage wasn't good, she had no idea that he was stashing money away or had a girlfriend. Her marriage was indeed a fraud, or Steve was.


Kelleigh dumped the checks out into the garbage can, careful to keep one so that she had the account number. As the last checks fell into the can, something followed that wasn't checks. It was a deposit slip. Examining it further, she saw that it was dated one month ago. The most shocking of all was that he had a balance of nearly $10,000 hidden in the bank.


Kelleigh went back into the house and called Delly. "Del, you won't believe what I just found! Steve had a separate bank account, he hid nearly $10,000 from me!"


"What!?! $10,000!! Oh my God, Kel. What are you going to do?"


"I'm not sure. I haven't thought it through that much. I just found it. Because it's in Steve's name, I am not sure that I'll even have access to it."


"Well, call the bank and find out. Hurry! Before Sid finds out!"


"Oh God, I hadn't thought about that. I wonder if he knows about the account?"


"Call them and find out then call me back. Oh, here comes Sid to get his stuff, perfect timing. Call them now. Bye!"


Using the number from the deposit receipt, Kelleigh dialed the number and worked her way through the automated service. She was beginning to become frustrated when finally a human voice came across the line.


"Yes, my name is Kelleigh and I need to check on an account. It's kind of an awkward situation."


"How can I help you?" the nearly bored voice replied.


"Well, my husband just died two days ago." It felt weird to say it, Kelleigh thought, I think that's the first time I've said it aloud. She continued in a rush of words "As I was closing out his papers, I realized he has an account here and needed to check into it."


"Hmm, what's the account number?" Kelleigh read it from the receipt.
"What's his social security number?" Kelleigh rattled it off.
"What's his mother's maiden name?" Kelleigh had to think for a second and then answered her.
"And your full name?" Getting frustrated with all of the questions, she said her full name.


"Just a minute please." The sound of hold music came through the earpiece. Kelleigh regretted not just going down to the bank herself. She began to drum her fingers on the table.


A few minutes passed and another voice came across the line. "My name is Mrs. Hooper, how may I help you?"


Trying not to become snarky at having to explain everything again, Kelleigh repeated the story again. There was a moment's pause then Mrs. Hooper asked, "Do you have a death certificate and marriage certificate?"


"Yes, somewhere I do. Do you need copies?"


"Yes, we do. It seems that you're not listed on the account but by being his spouse, you have co-ownership of the account due to this being a community property state."


Kelleigh breathed a sigh of relief then found her nerves jumping. She would have to get a death certificate; she had fibbed that she had one. She also wanted to transfer the money before Steve's family discovered its existence.


"I will bring them down to the local branch first thing in the morning. Thank you for your help, Mrs. Hooper." She had forgotten that it was a Sunday and she was talking to someone that was probably nowhere nearby. This would give her a little bit of time to get the death certificate and find their marriage certificate.


She picked up the telephone again and dialed the local state police office. She needed to get a death certificate as soon as possible. They referred her to the funeral home. She was hesitant to call the funeral home as they had only been dealing with Steve's family. Nevertheless, she had to get the certificate. Dialing their number, she heard the voicemail message. Of course, it was Sunday and they were only available upon an emergency. Kelleigh declined to leave a message. She would just call first thing in the morning. She did not want to take the chance of anyone overhearing her message and the news getting back to Steve's family.

Chapter Fifteen

Delly dropped off Kelleigh in front of the house with a sheepish goodbye. She realized after Kelleigh's conversation with Sid that she was wrong and felt terribly for dragging her out. It wasn't so much as Kelleigh being in mourning as what other would say, especially Steve’s family. Delly realized that they dodged a very public scene with Sid back at the restaurant.

"Do you want me to come in? Hang out?"

Kelleigh looked at the darkened house then back at her friend. "No thanks, Del. It's not any different than any other night, really. He was never home in the evenings anyway. If he wasn't at work, he was out with friends." She paused for a moment, thinking of the girl in the picture. "It's sad really, but this isn't going to be a big change. Frankly, it's a relief."

Delly looked reassured. "Okay, well. If you need anything just give me a call. Try not to throw any more furniture out the window, okay? At least wait until I can help you."

With that, Kelleigh grinned. "It's a deal, I'll wait for you next time. By the way, what did you do with Steve's stuff?" Kelleigh had completely forgotten that she needed to get a change of clothes to Delly for Sid in the morning.

Delly grinned, "I didn't take them to Goodwill yet. That's what I was going to do. They're in my garage."

"Well, when you see him tomorrow, tell him he can have all of Steve's stuff. Then maybe I don't have to argue with Sid about the car or anything else he mistakenly thinks is Steve's."

Delly nodded "That would be fine. I seem to have a way with him." She wiggled her eyebrows and made Kelleigh laugh.

"That would be great. Thanks, Delly, for everything." She got out of the car and walked to the house. Looking at the garage, she realized that she needed to do something to better secure the door. She didn't trust Sid and could easily imagine him doing something asinine like breaking in.

She let herself in the house, turning lights on as she went. She hated coming home to a darkened house. Steve always complained that she had the lights on for no reason but she didn't care. And now he wasn't there to complain anyway.

She went out to the garage and flipped the lock on the door. It was a flimsy lock at best; anyone could unlock it if they really wanted to. Thinking for a moment, she grabbed the keys to her truck and backed it out of the garage. Getting out, she closed the garage door again then pulled her truck tight against the garage. She got out and checked her truck. She had the bumper nearly touching the garage door. This would surely slow anyone down, at least for now. "I'll have to call a security company in the morning." She said aloud to no one in particular. She had wanted an alarm system since Steve began working nights shortly after their wedding but Steve didn't want one. Now that he wasn't ever coming home again, Kelleigh felt justified in having one installed.

Returning to the house, she went upstairs to her new bedroom. She was suddenly mind-numbingly tired. She got to bed so late last night while remodeling the upstairs and today had been exhausting although she really hadn't done anything. As she undressed, she wondered if she was ever going to feel sadness or loss at Steve's death. Right now, all she felt was release and relief.

The next day dawned sunny and bright. Kelleigh felt much better, the numbness seemed to have retreated. She still didn't feel as if she were properly mourning Steve's death but decided that she wasn't going to worry about it.

She poured herself a cup of coffee and wandered aimlessly through the house. It was Sunday and she had no plans. She felt at loose ends and that frustrated her. She finally wandered out to the garage and leaned against the workbench.

There were tools scattered everywhere, Steve was terrible about putting them back into the very expensive toolbox he insisted he needed. Setting her coffee down on the bench, she began to pick them up and replace them into the toolbox.

Next, she cleaned off the workbench, tossing empty soda cans, and dirty rags, putting away even more tools and sweeping off debris.

Steve left a wiring project unfinished on the bench; it was the one component of the racecar that Kelleigh was unfamiliar with. It was one of the last projects Steve was going to complete before sending the car to the chassis shop and then to the painters.

Kelleigh was a little surprised at her own quick assumption that she would finish the racecar. As she looked at it, it wouldn't take much. She grinned suddenly when she realized that she had $1,000 in the bank: Steve's hidden stash.

Grinning, she decided that she would use the money to finish the car. What his money did not finish, she supposed, she would use her own money from the life insurance policy that she bought for Steve when they married. The house was free and clear and she made a good living. She didn't need Steve's money.

The fact that Steve would be incensed that she would finish and, worse yet, race "his" racecar made her all the more determined. She went back into the house to find the address book. She was going to need some help getting the car finished and she was unsure where or how to start. She certainly couldn't ask Sid or any of Steve's friends.

She flipped through the address book, hoping that a name would jump out or inspiration would dawn. On the second pass through the book, nothing came to mind. Finally, out of nothing more than determination, she called the racetrack. Certainly, there was someone there who could help her.

Finally, a hurried voice answered the telephone. Kelleigh realized as she heard noise in the background that there was racing today and cringed. They would be busy.

"Um, yes. I need to ask a quick question. I need help with a racecar and need to get some recommendations. Who would I talk to?"

There was an impatient sigh through the line. "That would be Eddie, I guess. But he's not available, he's out on the track."

"Can I leave a message for him? Or should I call back?"

Again, she heard a sigh over the din of the cars. "I can't take a message now, why don't you call back later today after the races are finished."

"Okay, I'll do that. Thanks!" She hardly got the words out of her mouth before hearing a click in her ear. She hung up the telephone and tried not to feel disappointed. She knew that it was not going to be easy. Girls were not easily accepted in the boy-world of racecars. She'd experienced it time and time again. She would focus on the fact that she had a name of someone who could possibly help her. She would just call back later today.

Pouring another cup of coffee, she realized that anyone who would help her would need information about the car and it's engine, etc. They wouldn't accept "I don't know" as an answer. She returned to the garage and began to go through the toolbox. She knew that Steve kept a folder in there somewhere with all the receipts and manuals. Finally, she hit the jackpot in the bottom drawer. She found a large, white binder covered with stickers and filled with receipts. This would surely answer any questions that anyone would have for her.

Chapter Fourteen

They weren't seated at the table for a minute when someone caught Delly's eye. Kelleigh wasn't surprised at all; someone was always catching Delly's eye.

Her given name, Delilah, was perfect for her. She did have an appetite for strong men. It became shortened to Delly when they were young, giving even more frivolity to her name and persona for that matter.

Delly's departure in pursuit of man gave Sid an opportunity to approach Kelleigh. She watched him walk toward the table with dread. Her positive interactions with Sid had been few and far between. It also occurred to her that her trepidation of going out to dinner the evening after Steve's death was probably not a good idea.

"Funny seeing you here, Kelleigh. Shouldn't you be home?" Sid began with no preamble or pretense of pleasantness.

"I could say the same to you, Sid" was all the Kelleigh could reply. She looked for Delly but couldn't see her.

"Yeah, well, some of Steve's friends wanted to buy me a beer. What's your excuse?"

"I'm just getting dinner Sid, not that it's any of your concern. What do you want?"

"I'll be over tomorrow to pick up Steve's things. We need a change of clothes for him for the funeral. I figured while I was there, I would pick up his racecar and tools too."

Kelleigh was stunned. "What do you mean that you'll pick up the racecar and tools?"

"Well, they were Steve's. It's not like you're going to use them."

She sat back in the seat and measured her words. The audacity of Steve's family never failed to shock her. "Well, Sid, I hate to break the news but the racecar is mine, the title is in my name. As for the tools, those are mine as well. As the widow, I get to keep his stuff. Not you. I will get you his clothes and personal things but nothing more than that."

"Well, we'll just see about that." Sid looked like he was about to burst into a screaming rage when Delly sidled up to the booth. Kelleigh didn't think she'd ever been more relieved to see her friend.

"Hello, Sid. Sorry to hear about Steve. Tell your mama I sent my condolences, will you?" Delly batted her eyes at Sid, rendering him mute. "Whatcha talking about anyway?" She sat down in the booth and looked coyly between the two of them.

Kelleigh sat up a little straighter now, feeling braver now that Delly had returned.

"Sid needs a change of clothes for Steve's funeral and he would like Steve's things."

"Oh, well that won't be any trouble at all, will it Kelleigh? I tell you what, Sid, why don't you stop by my house tomorrow? I'll have it all ready for you. That way you don't have to bother Kelleigh." Again, she batted her eyelashes at Sid, who was appearing flustered. Delly had that effect on men and she knew it. Many times Kelleigh cursed that about her but tonight was grateful. Delly had deflated a tense situation with her flirting. She continued, "You know where I live don't you? Why don't I give you my number anyway? You'll be there by 10:00, okay? It will be all ready for you. Thanks so much for your help, Sid, really." She beamed a high wattage smile at him and patted him on the arm.

Sid looked momentarily confused, Kelleigh was certain that he had no idea what happened to him. Finally, he mumbled, "Fine, 10:00, I'll be there Delly. Thanks."

He nodded at Kelleigh; "We'll talk later, after the funeral." Kelleigh, trying to emulate Delly's casualness, just smiled "We'll see, Sid." He glared at her in response and walked away.

Kelleigh's shoulders slumped at Sid's departure. "Thanks Delly, for that. There was going to be a scene if you hadn't come back. Where did you go anyway?"

Delly smiled and produced a business card out of her pocket. "There was this most cute guy at the bar. I caught his eye when we came in. We're going out tomorrow."

Kelleigh just rolled her eyes. "Delly, let's just get a to-go order. I don’t trust Sid to keep his cool, no matter how cute you are."

"What did he say?"

"He told me he was coming to get Steve's racecar and his tools. I told him no, they were mine. He was about to blow a gasket when you came up."

Chapter Thirteen

Kelleigh began to turn off all of the lights and trudge up the stairs. Going into her bedroom, she noticed that Delly had closed all of the drawers and closet door. But it still felt empty, just knowing that his stuff – he - wasn't there anymore.



She sat down on the edge of the bed. If she weren’t so exhausted, she would have moved the bed across the hall into the guest bedroom. If she weren’t so exhausted, she would be really pissed right now. "Maybe in the morning" she whispered as she dropped off to sleep, leaning against the headboard.



The morning sun awakened Kelleigh by shining in her eyes as she lay across the bed. She hadn't moved since she lay down, exhausted, just a few hours before.



"Ugh, my head hurts. Why does my head hurt?" Then the memory of last night came flooding back. Steve was gone, dead. Steve had a girlfriend. Steve hid money from her. Her life had changed.



Looking at the clock, she saw that she had only a half-hour to get to the funeral home. She stood up, feeling a little dizzy and steadied herself by holding onto the now mostly empty dresser. "Oh, it's got to go too." She muttered as she left the room. She wanted nothing that reminded her of Steve right now.



She showered and dressed in lightning speed. Taking a cup of coffee with her, she left for the funeral home with minutes to spare. She hoped that she would be in a better frame of mind before having to face Steve's family.



But it wasn't meant to be. As she pulled into the parking lot, Sid strode across to her. She hardly got the door open before he was in front of her. "I thought I was clear. We don't need you here."



"I am Steve's wife. I am here to make the arrangements for his funeral. I have every right to be here." Although she didn't want to be intimidated by this hulk of a man, she felt a little tremor of anxiety.



"No." He reached around her and opened the door to her truck. "You aren't needed here. Go home. We'll call you if we need anything."



Unable, and perhaps more unwilling, to fight with him, she turned and got into her pickup. To his credit, Sid gently shut the door behind her and didn't slam it as she supposed he would. Leaving his hand on the windowsill for just a moment, all he said was "I'll call you with the details." Then he strode away. Kelleigh looked but didn't see Steve's mother anywhere in sight. She didn't know whether to be relieved or angry.



As she returned home, she was no longer unsure. She was angry. Spitting angry. Everything that had occurred in the last twelve hours now exploded out of her.



She went upstairs to their room and began to tear the room apart. It was no longer their bedroom. He was no longer her husband and she refused to sleep in that room ever again.



She emptied the remaining drawers of the dresser onto her bed. She would buy a new dresser. Like a madwoman, she pushed it over to the window that faced the back yard. Yanking the window open, she turned to the dresser and measured it with her hands. It would fit. Lifting the dresser up onto the sill, she gave it a shove. With a large crash, the dresser fell to the patio below and splintered apart.



Kelleigh giggled. It felt good to destroy something, especially something of Steve's. Especially something that he had hid the picture of that, that chickie in.
Next came the bed. This she couldn't throw out the window. But she did slide it out of the room, down the stairs and out of the house. Leaving in on the sidewalk, she returned upstairs and did the same with the box spring. Again, returning upstairs, she dismantled the bed frame and carried it downstairs as well.



Returning to the room, it was nearly empty. Left were the bed stands and her grandmother's cedar chest. She went down the hallway to the guest bedroom. Luckily for her, there was another bed in there. She turned on the lights and opened the windows to air it out. It was rarely used, as they never had guests.



She went back into her old room, opened the closet, and began packing her clothes out. She slid the closet door open in the guest bedroom and haphazardly hung her clothes. A few trips later, the closet was empty. She then tugged, pulled, and pushed her grandmother's cedar chest out of the room, down the hall and into the new room. Returning one last time, she took a long look. Anything that she cared about was in the other room. She closed the door and locked it. She wouldn't need to go in there again.



Finished with her tantrum, she returned to her new room and began to organize. She put her clothes away in the dresser and reorganized the closet. She stripped the bed and took the sheets down the laundry room. As the room had never been used, the sheets were a little musty.



While she was in the laundry room, Delly came in. "Kel? Where are you?"



"I'm in here Delly. Just a minute." Kelleigh came into the living room smiling.



"You're smiling, that's something. How'd the morning go? What did Steve's family say? You didn't call."



"Sid wouldn't let me go into the funeral home. He sent me home."



"He what? He had no right to do that! What did you do?"



"I came home. I realized that I was relieved not to have to go through the motions of being the grieving wife. Everything changed last night. I was almost happy to let them take care of it."



Delly was listening to her then something caught her eye. "What is that?" She pointed out onto the patio.



Kelleigh broke out into a giggle. "That's Steve's dresser. Or, was Steve's dresser."



Walking to the patio door, Delly turned back to her. "What did you do?"



"I threw it out the window. It was symbolic."



"You what?" Delly stood there, shocked and silent. Finally, she started laughing.



"My bed is out on the sidewalk."



Delly shook her head. "No, it's not. It wasn't there when I pulled in."
Kelleigh laughed. "Well, that's done then. It didn't take long for someone to come get it."



"What did you do?" Delly was still looking at her, shocked.



"Come upstairs and see." Kelleigh lead her upstairs. At the top of the stairs, Delly instinctively turned toward their room. "No, it's over here now." Delly followed her down the hallway.



"I moved out of that room. This is my bedroom now." Kelleigh gestured as if a model at an auto show.



"You've lost your mind." Delly replied, shaking her head.



"No, I got pissed. I had to do something productive with that anger. This is better, yes?"



Again, Delly laughed at her. "Yes, this is better. It's a very productive use of your anger, I must say. Do you feel better?"



"Yes, I do. I'm sure that the anger will return or sadness but that's okay. I'll just clean out another room."



Delly smiled and slung an arm over her shoulders. "Want to go out to dinner? Let's get out of here."



"Sure. Let's go. Hey, wait. What did you do with the money we found?"



Dally slipped a hand into her pocket and drew out a slip of paper. "I put it in the bank, it's in your account. I didn't want to take the chance that you would do something stupid with it. Like burn it. Now, I'm glad I did just that."



Kelleigh took the deposit slip and left it on the dresser. "Thanks Delly. For everything." She felt tears begin to well in her eyes at her friend's kindness.



"Oh come on. Let's go get dinner before you get all weepy on me." Delly took her by the hand and tugged her downstairs.

Chapter Twelve

Kelleigh went back downstairs, through the kitchen. She glanced at the counter, flashing back to just a few hours ago when Steve pushed her. Her heart tripped a little with fear. Then she remembered: he was gone, never to return.

She opened the door to the garage and flipped on the light. It shone down on the racecar and Kelleigh paused. They had put so much time into this car. Steve would never see it finished. For the first time, she felt a twinge of sadness.

Here, in the garage, is where she found Steve. The essence of his life was in this garage. Here were his tools, his books, his everything. Kelleigh stood by the car, with her hand on the primered fender. Although their marriage had been rocky, they had some good times and they were mostly centered around this car.

"I'll finish the car Steve. Don't you worry. It'll be done." This would be how she honored Steve's memory. Not with a funeral, not by keeping his things around her like a shrine, not with fighting with his family. She would finish the racecar.

Turning her back to the car, she picked up boxes that used to hold car parts. Steve kept everything and for once, it came in handy. She thought it apropos that she pack his things in these boxes.

Returning upstairs, she found that Delly had stripped the bed and remade it. She was sitting on the edge of the bed now, waiting for Kelleigh. "You okay? You were gone a bit."

"Yeah, I'm fine. This is just so weird, you know?"

Delly nodded "Yes, it's definitely not how I would have guessed it to happen."

"Well, let's get to it." Kelleigh went to the closet and began taking out shirts. There were mostly t-shirts and occasionally, Kelleigh would fold one and set it aside. "I'm going to keep some of these." Was all she said. Delly just nodded and continued to pack.

Soon, the side of his closet was empty. They had packed everything away and were now working on the dresser. This was an easy task, impersonal things such as socks, jeans, and underwear. It went fairly quickly.

As Delly took out one last armful of socks, something fell to the ground. It was an old wallet. "I haven't seen that wallet for years." Kelleigh commented as she picked it up. Opening it, she saw that there was a wad of bills inside. "What's this?" She took it out, counting the bills on the bed. There was nearly one thousand dollars in the wallet. "I wonder what this is for?" Kelleigh was a little confused, she had always made sure that Steve had enough money for everything, including the racecar.

Looking at the wallet, she saw a picture slipped into the ID pocket. Turning the wallet, she looked more closely at the picture. It was a dark-haired girl, not unlike Kelleigh. "Who is this?" Kelleigh looked at Delly.

Delly, in return, looked a little guilty. "Delly, do you know who this is?"

"Um, well, no. Not exactly."

"Not exactly, what does that mean? Delly, what do you know?"

"I don't know who that is…"

"But what? You've known others? Delly! What's going on?"

"Well, Kel, it's not exactly what I know or what's going on. It's just that…"

"Delly, dammit. What do you know?" Kelleigh was beginning to get angry; she could feel it creeping up around the edges of her brain. Her eyes narrowed and she felt her fingers begin to clench.

"Well, rumor has it that there have been…um, well…others."

Kelleigh was deflated, sat down hard on the bed. "Others?" She looked at the photograph again. One couldn't ignore the similarities between she and this girl.

"Just rumors, Kel. If I knew something specific, I would have said something. I promise. But they were just rumors."

"Apparently not." She responded by holding up the picture. The anger faded and the numbness returned. Nothing, absolutely nothing about her life was what it seemed.

Frowning, Delly took the wallet from her hands. "Kel, go downstairs. Sit down, have a drink. Let me take care of the rest of this." Delly didn't want to say, but now she was afraid of what else they may find.

Kelleigh nodded mutely and went back downstairs. She sat down on the couch and stared, just stared. Nothing was what it seemed. No wonder she felt numb. She must have known subconsciously, she had to have known. She sat in silence as Delly made a few trips up and down the stairs; her arms loaded with boxes.

Returning, Delly sat down next to her on the couch, another of Steve's beers in her hand. "It's done. Everything is packed and put away."

Leaning her head back on the couch, Kelleigh looked at her friend. "Thanks Delly, for everything. You're a good friend." She paused. "I’m not mad, I'm not. I'm just so numb now. Nothing is what it seemed."

"No, no, it's not. But look at it this way. You've got no where to go but up from here."

All Kelleigh could do was nod in response. She was exhausted. Exhausted from everything that had happened and exhausted because it was so late. "Go home Delly. It's late. I need to go to bed."

"Are you sure? I can stay here, it's not a big deal."

She shook her head. "No, you go home. Sleep in your own bed…or Johnny's, whichever you choose." She smiled; it was the first attempt at humor since the discovery of that stupid wallet.

"No, I'll go home. Johnny was just a back-up date. I wasn't going to sleep with him. You're sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm just going to go to bed. I have to meet Steve's family at the funeral home in the morning." Kelleigh looked at the clock. "In a few hours."

"Okay, if you're sure. Call me in the morning. Let me know how it went." Delly stood then stooped over, giving her an awkward hug and kiss. "You'll be fine, Kel. Really, you will."

"I know. Thanks Delly." She watched Delly get in her car and leave. She was a little relieved that she was gone and she couldn't help but think Del knew more than she was telling.

Chapter Eleven

"Steve had an insurance policy, his mom bought it. She's the executor. They're taking care of anything. He implied that I wanted their money." She shuddered at the thought. She couldn't think of anything she wanted less than blood money from Steve's family. "They told me that I needn't come to the funeral home, they would take care of it." She took a long drink of the beer, grimacing when she finished.

"Wow, I didn't see that coming…" was all that Delly could say in response.

"Yeah, neither did I. I didn't see any of this coming though. I was just going to move him out…" She let the sentence drift.

Delly sat down next to her at the table. "Kel, I'll stay here tonight. We'll see what happens tomorrow, okay? There's nothing to be done tonight."

Kelleigh just nodded in response. There was nothing to be done, Delly was right. Steve's family was going to have the last word.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes, Delly not knowing what to say and Kelleigh not knowing what to do. Finally, Kelleigh got up, needing to do something to burn off the nervous energy that she was feeling.

"I've got to do something, Del. I can't just sit here." She paced the living room. She still wasn't upset or sad at the loss of Steve. She wondered about her non-reaction. Was she that heartless? Or was she just that finished with their relationship? She just didn't know.

Del stood, "Kel, you usually clean when you're upset. Remember? You'd have a fight and I'd come over. The whole house would smell like floor cleaner and bleach." Kel smiled in response. What she said was true and looking around, Kel must have been upset a lot lately. There wasn't an item out of place or a speck of dust in sight.

Delly had noticed this as well. "If I may be so bold..." She was interrupted by Kelleigh's laugh. "Del, honey. Bold is your middle name."

"Yes, yes it is. So let's just go with that. You were going to pack Steve's things anyway. Do you want to do that still?" She let the sentence hang in the air. As quiet as Kelleigh was, Delly had no idea how she was going to respond.

Kelleigh thought about it, looking around her house. Yes, she thought, this is my house. It always has been. Kelleigh had painted it, decorated it, and paid for any repairs. There were few traces of Steve's existence, although they'd been married for five years. He just slept here, it seemed, not lived here. Kelleigh wished she'd noticed that sooner, made a change sooner. She sighed. The situation was sealed now, nothing to be done now.

"Kel?" Delly interrupted her thoughts, bringing her back to the present.

"Yeah, Delly, that's a good idea. Let's get it done now. I'm sure Steve's family will be here tomorrow, judging from the telephone conversation. We might as well be ready for them."

They went upstairs and into the bedroom. Like the rest of the house, it bore more of Kelleigh's touches than Steve's did. The only evidence of Steve living in this house was his clothing. Opening the closet, Delly turned toward Kelleigh. "Do you want me to do this? Would you rather do something else?"

"No, you take the clothes out. I'll fold them. There's boxes in the garage, I'll go get them."

Kelleigh went back downstairs, through the kitchen. She glanced at the counter, flashing back to just a few hours ago when Steve pushed her. Her heart tripped a little with fear. Then she remembered: he was gone, never to return.

Chapter Ten

Kelleigh picked up the telephone and dialed Steve's mother. As the telephone rang, she reached over and took the beer out of Delly's hands; she took a sip then handed it back. She made a face; she never cared much for the taste of beer.

As she swallowed, Steve's mother answered the telephone. "Steve, why are you calling so late? Are you fighting with Kelleigh again!?!"

His mother was a notorious busybody, had caller ID, and knew it was Steve calling. "No, this is Kelleigh. We're not fighting" She lied a little, it didn't matter now. "I have some bad news, is there someone there with you?"

"Well, Sid is here." Of course he is. Steve's brother was always there, mooching, Kelleigh thought in response. "What do you want?" His mother asked.

"Well, like I said, I have some bad news. The police were just here…" She was interrupted by Steve's mother yelling at Sid "Sid! The police are at Steve's house! They must be fighting again. Take me over there now!" Kelleigh cringed.

"No, that's not it at all. The police weren't here for a fight. In fact, they were never here for a fight." Kelleigh felt required to acknowledge her untruth. "Mrs. Lucky, it's bad. He was in an accident."

She screamed again. "SID! He's been in an accident! We have to go NOW!" Kelleigh took the receiver away from her ear. Delly just shook her head in response to the screaming.

Kelleigh tried again. "Mrs. Lucky. He had a car accident on the highway. He didn't survive his injuries. Steve died tonight." All she heard in response was a scream and the sound of the telephone being dropped.

Soon, she heard the pounding of footsteps and Sid's voice. Finally, he picked up the telephone. "What the hell happened? What did you say to her?"

Getting frustrated, Kelleigh sighed. "Sid, Steve was in a car accident on the high way. He didn't survive. Steve died."

"God dammit. What are you saying!?!" Sid shouted into the telephone, again forcing Kelleigh to take it away from her ear. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Delly cringe and then roll her eyes.

"Don't yell at me Sid. If you want to know, listen to me. He was in an accident on the highway. He was driving erratically, put the truck in the ditch, hit a pole and died on impact."

The line was quiet for a moment. "Sid? Are you still there?"

"Um, yeah." He paused. For the first time, Kelleigh felt a little twinge of sadness. For all the horrible things that had been done and said in Steve's family, she never doubted Sid's love for his brother. His silence was the first thing to make an impact on her since she'd been told of his death.

"Sid, he will be at the funeral home in the morning and we can make arrangements then. I'll meet you there at 9:00, okay?"

She heard the telephone shift, "No, we'll take care of it. Mom has Steve's life insurance policy. You don't need to come. We'll do it."
Kelleigh stood with the telephone in her hand, speechless. "Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said. You needn't worry your pretty little head over it. We don't need your help."

"He had a life insurance policy? What are you talking about?"

Sid snorted sarcastically. "Mom bought it for both of us. She's the executor so don't think you'll get any money."

Horrified, Kelleigh just hung up the telephone. She wasn't going to argue with Sid or his mother. A few seconds later, the telephone rang. Without thinking, Kelleigh reached over and disconnected it from the wall.

"What happened? What did they say?" Delly asked, putting the beer back into Kelleigh's hands.

Chapter Nine

Again the officer spoke, "Ma'am? Is there anything we can do to help you? Is there someone we can call? Take you somewhere?" Kelleigh just shook her head. "I should have known this would have happened someday…"



The sound of screeching tires caught their attention and everyone turned toward the noise. Delly's car came careening up to the sidewalk in front of her house. She only lived two blocks away. Delly jumped out, nearly before the car had come to a complete stop. "Oh my God, Kelleigh, what happened?!"



Something clicked in Kelleigh's head. "Delly, it's okay. Calm down. You're going to get arrested driving like that." She saw the officer’s head nod in agreement and had to bite back a smile. Delly always drove like that, emergency or not. But now, she realized, was not the time for humor.

"Thank you officers. As you see, my friend is here. I'll be fine." She felt strangely numb.



"If you need anything, just call the department. The bod…he…will be released to the funeral home in the morning. You can contact them then. I'm truly sorry ma'am." Kelleigh nodded. To her surprise and though it embarrassed her a little, she was fine. Surely, she was saddened that Steve had died. However, in light of the conversation that she and Delly were having not fifteen minutes ago, it just seemed to tidy things up a bit. Kelleigh recognized that it was cold-hearted but that's how it was. She hadn't cared about Steve for quite a while now. In fact, she was beginning to hate him. The fact that she needn't deal with him at all in the future was frankly a relief.



The officers returned to their car and pulled away. Delly stood next to her, staring after them. "I'm so sorry, Kel. What are you going to do?"



"I don't know." Her mind was reeling with possibilities. She had just decided to divorce him and then this happened. It was such a huge change; she didn't know exactly what to do, where to start, what to say.



"Do you want me to stay?" Delly offered.



Kelleigh replied before thinking about it "Weren't you going to pack his underwear drawer?" She wished she could retract it as soon as she finished speaking.



Delly's eyes widened in shock. "Kelleigh!" was all she could say.



"I'm sorry, Del, this is a shock. I guess I have to call people. Oh God, his family. His brother…" Kelleigh groaned. Like Steve, his family wasn’t likable people. In fact, by choice Kelleigh rarely saw them. They never spent time as a family, which had been a relief to her.




"I'll stay until after you call them." Del offered, taking Kelleigh by the arm and turning her toward the house.



They went inside. Delly went straight to the fridge and took out one of Steve's beers. For one moment, she allowed herself a wicked little smile as she tipped the beer in the air "Here's to you Steve" and she drank. Kelleigh had to bite back a smile. Again, she felt cold-hearted. Her husband had just died. Nevertheless, the situation wasn't changed by his death; either way he was going to be leaving this house tonight. The accident had just, ironically, saved her the trauma of another of his outbursts.

Chapter Eight

Delly answered breathless. "Kel, what's up? I'm getting ready to go out."

"Aren't you always?" She didn't give Delly a chance to respond. "Listen, I think it's over between Steve and I. He just stormed out because I knew an answer he didn't on his test. I just realized that it's not him I love but the cars."

Kelleigh heard Delly laugh. "Well, Duh."

Kelleigh was surprised silent then laughed. "Jeez, tell me how you really feel Del, don't hold back on my account."

"Well, Kel, it's not like this is big news. We all knew from the time you said 'I do' that it was going to be a disaster. What are you going to do now? Do you need help?"

"I don't want to interrupt your hot date, Delly."

"Ah no. It's just Johnny. He's just my back up. Whatcha need?"

"Well, as it's my house, I guess I'm going to need help packing his stuff." The house was left to Kelleigh by her grandma. It was the same house where she helped her grandpa fix cars. She loved the continuity for it - and his love of mechanics - being passed on to her.

"I'll be right there. It'll be a pleasure to help. I want to pack his underwear drawer."

"Delly! Jesus, Mary and Joseph. You're terrible. Hey, wait…someone just pulled in." Kelleigh put the telephone down and looked out the window into the driveway.

The light bar across the police car roof shined in the glare of the security lights on the garage.

"Oh, no. This can't be good." Kelleigh assumed that Steve must have gotten himself into trouble. He had left here pretty angry.

She opened the door and watched two officers get out of the car. She waited for one of them to turn and open the rear passenger door and let Steve out. But they just walked toward her. "Ma'am? Are you Kelleigh Lucky?" Kelleigh nodded and her stomach clutched.

"Ma'am, are you married to a Steve Lucky? He drives a blue Ford pickup?"

The room began to get a little fuzzy as Kelleigh realized why they were here.

"He's…gone, isn't he?"

The officer simply nodded. "I’m sorry ma'am. He was in a car accident about thirty minutes ago. Motorists reported him driving erratically on the highway right before the crash. His truck went into the ditch, striking a telephone pole. I'm sorry ma'am, he didn't survive the crash."

"OH MY GOD KELLEIGH!" She heard Delly scream through the telephone. Kelleigh picked up the telephone and spoke "Delly, you need to come help me" then hung up the telephone.