wanted her to go on without any interference from me.
“She was at the entrance to the bathroom.” Beth sucked a deep breath and went on. “Across the threshold. Her legs were on the tiles, and her . . . the upper part of her was on the carpet. She wasn’t wearing anything but her bra and panties . . . and socks . . . black socks. Like she had been in the bathroom, and . . . Well, Meg usually puts on her makeup at the bathroom sink before she gets all the way dressed. So it looked to me like someone had surprised her, like she heard something and came out of the bathroom to see, and . . .”
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “So sorry it happened, and so sorry it had to be you who found her.”
“I haven’t got my head around it yet.” She stood silent for another long minute, staring out toward the Duomo as if its womb-like bulk might offer her safe harbor. “Meg was my sister, but she was a hard woman to like.”
“I gathered as much, but Lettie told me you and Meg have shared a house for some time. You must have found a way to coexist peacefully.”
“Oh, well. I didn’t have much choice, did I? My husband—ex-husband—Harvey left me quite suddenly and unexpectedly two years ago. Same old story, another woman.”
“Did Lettie tell you my husband left me last year?” I asked. “Left me for another woman, so I know how you felt.”
Beth nodded and glanced toward me. “I knew absolutely nothing until one day he came home, walked in the house, dropped a note on the hall table, and walked out. I ran to the window in time to see his car pull out, loaded to the gills with all his stuff, and a woman in the passenger seat.”
Hugging herself as if a cold wind had swirled out of her past, she went on. “He had cleaned out our bank account, our 401k, and our savings account. He had cancelled the life insurance, taken the Mercedes, and left me with the Toyota—which, by the way, was uninsured because he cancelled that policy, too.”
“Oh dear. At least I was able to get a decent settlement. And I had my own bank account.”
“Right.” Beth looked down toward her feet.
I hoped she didn’t think I was implying that she was stupid not to have had her own account. I simply wanted to say that she’d had it tougher I had. “You probably didn’t even have enough to pay your household bills.”
Beth nodded. “I had no choice but to move in with Meg. I had to sell the house because I needed the equity. I had a job, with this lawyer, same one I work for now, but it was just part time, and I didn’t make much.” She leaned back and, holding onto the rail like a child, swayed left and right. “My boss is just wonderful. He doubled my salary and put me to work as his personal secretary. Before, I was a receptionist. So I’ve been struggling to get myself in shape financially . . .and now this.”
“From the little I’ve heard from Lettie, it seems you got along with Meg better than anybody else did.”
“I did the best I could, but sometimes . . . in fact, just today, when I went up to the room . . .” Beth stopped, as if she had started a sentence she couldn’t finish.
“You were angry, weren’t you? Was it because of those flowers you had?”
“The flowers. Oh!” She hesitated. “The narcissus? What happened was, I got a phone call from the front desk this afternoon. The woman, she had a really thick accent . . . hard to understand. But she said there was an urgent message for me in my mail slot at the front desk. So I rushed down, but it wasn’t urgent at all. It just said, in English, ‘There’s a gift for you at’ this certain florist shop—I forget the name. It said, ‘We tried to deliver it and couldn’t, so would you please pick it up ASAP?’”
“That’s odd. I wonder why they couldn’t deliver it?” As I said it, I remembered seeing a delivery boy with a vase of yellow roses in the lobby earlier today. What kind of gift is it, if you have to go pick it up yourself?
“I
“She was at the entrance to the bathroom.” Beth sucked a deep breath and went on. “Across the threshold. Her legs were on the tiles, and her . . . the upper part of her was on the carpet. She wasn’t wearing anything but her bra and panties . . . and socks . . . black socks. Like she had been in the bathroom, and . . . Well, Meg usually puts on her makeup at the bathroom sink before she gets all the way dressed. So it looked to me like someone had surprised her, like she heard something and came out of the bathroom to see, and . . .”
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “So sorry it happened, and so sorry it had to be you who found her.”
“I haven’t got my head around it yet.” She stood silent for another long minute, staring out toward the Duomo as if its womb-like bulk might offer her safe harbor. “Meg was my sister, but she was a hard woman to like.”
“I gathered as much, but Lettie told me you and Meg have shared a house for some time. You must have found a way to coexist peacefully.”
“Oh, well. I didn’t have much choice, did I? My husband—ex-husband—Harvey left me quite suddenly and unexpectedly two years ago. Same old story, another woman.”
“Did Lettie tell you my husband left me last year?” I asked. “Left me for another woman, so I know how you felt.”
Beth nodded and glanced toward me. “I knew absolutely nothing until one day he came home, walked in the house, dropped a note on the hall table, and walked out. I ran to the window in time to see his car pull out, loaded to the gills with all his stuff, and a woman in the passenger seat.”
Hugging herself as if a cold wind had swirled out of her past, she went on. “He had cleaned out our bank account, our 401k, and our savings account. He had cancelled the life insurance, taken the Mercedes, and left me with the Toyota—which, by the way, was uninsured because he cancelled that policy, too.”
“Oh dear. At least I was able to get a decent settlement. And I had my own bank account.”
“Right.” Beth looked down toward her feet.
I hoped she didn’t think I was implying that she was stupid not to have had her own account. I simply wanted to say that she’d had it tougher I had. “You probably didn’t even have enough to pay your household bills.”
Beth nodded. “I had no choice but to move in with Meg. I had to sell the house because I needed the equity. I had a job, with this lawyer, same one I work for now, but it was just part time, and I didn’t make much.” She leaned back and, holding onto the rail like a child, swayed left and right. “My boss is just wonderful. He doubled my salary and put me to work as his personal secretary. Before, I was a receptionist. So I’ve been struggling to get myself in shape financially . . .and now this.”
“From the little I’ve heard from Lettie, it seems you got along with Meg better than anybody else did.”
“I did the best I could, but sometimes . . . in fact, just today, when I went up to the room . . .” Beth stopped, as if she had started a sentence she couldn’t finish.
“You were angry, weren’t you? Was it because of those flowers you had?”
“The flowers. Oh!” She hesitated. “The narcissus? What happened was, I got a phone call from the front desk this afternoon. The woman, she had a really thick accent . . . hard to understand. But she said there was an urgent message for me in my mail slot at the front desk. So I rushed down, but it wasn’t urgent at all. It just said, in English, ‘There’s a gift for you at’ this certain florist shop—I forget the name. It said, ‘We tried to deliver it and couldn’t, so would you please pick it up ASAP?’”
“That’s odd. I wonder why they couldn’t deliver it?” As I said it, I remembered seeing a delivery boy with a vase of yellow roses in the lobby earlier today. What kind of gift is it, if you have to go pick it up yourself?
“I
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