Chapter Six
M AUDE
My gaze flicked to my watch again. Corny was late. Not just a few minutes late, but a half an hour. He’d probably fallen asleep on the couch watching those damned soap operas. He’d taken a liking to them when he retired.
He knew which family had an illegitimate child trying to steal the dead father’s fortune, which brother stole the other’s wife, and all those nonsense plotlines. If I had one of those cellular phones, I’d call him.
From the corner of my eye, I noticed Mr. Dancy leaving the building. He was always the last one out. Mainly because he liked to shut off all the air conditioning/heat before he left at night.
With a sigh, I hurried toward him, trying not to catch my heel in the crack of the sidewalk.
“Mr. Dancy!”
“Maude. What are you still doing here?” He glanced around the nearly empty lot, the late day sun reflecting off his head.
“I think Cornelius fell asleep or something. Would you mind letting me back in to call him?”
“Sure. If you need a ride, let me know.”
I followed him back into the building, trying to ignore the strong scent of his spicy cologne. Phew, the man must’ve bathed in it. We went to the main desk in the front lobby, and I dialed Nine to get an outside line. Our number rang and rang before the answering machine picked up.
“Corny, are you there? You forgot to pick me up. You better not be napping or getting into the ice cream, or so help me.”
I hung up, then waited a few minutes and tried again. But the answering machine picked up for the second time. Either he was on his way, or he really had fallen asleep. Should I wait here a little longer? Or take Mr. Dancy up on his offer?
I hesitated only a few more minutes, then turned back to my boss. “I suppose I’ll take you up on that offer to bring me home. It’ll serve Corny right if he has to drive all the way here and find me gone.”
Clutching my purse to my side, I followed Mr. Dancy back outside into the stifling heat and to his circa 1970s boat of a car, painted in a deep olive shade. Or what I like to call baby-poo-green. When he unlocked the doors, the stench of stale cigar smoke clung to the air. I waved my hand in front of my face.
“Sorry about that. Miriam doesn’t let me smoke them in the house, so I have to do it in the car on my way home from work.”
“I can see why, they stink to high heaven,” I said.
“You sound just like her.”
“Smart woman, then.” I smiled, sliding across the faux leather seats, which were hot against my legs. At this rate, it’d be warm enough to iron out the wrinkles in my skin.
After surviving the rush hour traffic, we pulled up to my house. I noticed the car was gone. I frowned. Had Corny went to get me? “Thanks for the ride. Do you want some gas money or something?”
“If you have a few dollars, I’d appreciate it. Gas is expensive these days.”
Of course, he’d want some. Mr. Frugal, indeed. I slipped my wallet from my purse and handed him a ten. Sweet Jesus, he’d probably charge me tax if he could.
“I’ll be driving back past the office, so if I see Cornelius out there, I’ll let him know you’re home safe.”
“That’d be appreciated.”
“Alright then, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I shut the door, and he backed out of my driveway, nearly taking down my mailbox in the process.
Groaning, I hurried up the sidewalk. I twisted the knob on the door to find it unlocked. First Corny didn’t pick me up, then he left the door unlocked for intruders to walk in. He and I were going to have a serious talk tonight. He’d be lucky if I made dinner at this rate.
I set my things on the counter, knocking over some of Corny’s medicine bottles in the process. Noticing the red message indicator blinking on the answering machine, I went over to check it. There were three messages. I hit Play. “Hi Maude, this is Peggy from Doctor Fleming’s office. I didn’t have your work phone, but there’s been an emergency and we’re trying to reach you. Cornelius was transported to the hospital this afternoon. I will try to contact you again in a little bit.”
The second message was from me, and the third was from Doctor Fleming’s office again. With a hiss of air and shaky hands, I picked up the cordless phone and dialed Peggy. I wondered if she was still there. It was after hours now. Panic clutched my airway.
The line went directly to voicemail, which gave the hours of operation. I considered calling the hospital, but instead I grabbed the spare car keys, threw them in my purse, and hurried to the door. They likely wouldn’t tell me anything over the phone, anyway, might as well just go to the hospital.
My stomach knotted. What was going on? Was it a true emergency? This wasn’t the first time I’d gotten a call like this. It was just like Corny to wait until something got bad enough and needed to go to the ER instead of taking care of it early on. The man was so damn stubborn.
Crossing my yard, I made my way over to Griff’s house, one of Corny’s close friends and our long-time neighbor. He’d been widowed for fifteen years now and liked to stop in and play a few hands of cards with my husband. But he was a sly one, that Griff was. He flirted like I was a retired Hugh Heffner Bunny.
When I got to his front door, which was painted an obnoxious shade of yellow, I knocked. The door swung open, and Griff stood eyeing me. His thinning hair was sticking up in unruly tufts, his white whiskers in need of a good shaving. “Maude, darling, to what do I owe this pleasure?”
I snorted. “Listen, this is a business visit. I wondered if you could take me down to the hospital.? Corny had the car today and they’ve sent him to the ER.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Anything serious?”
“No. I don’t know, perhaps. Can you give me a ride or not? Corny’s gonna have a lot to answer for when I get there.”
“Hmm...is there trouble in paradise?” He waggled his eyebrows at me.
“Griff, do you want me to take my shoe off and swat you one? Quit being a twit. Can you drive me or not?”
“Yeah, yeah. Just let me get my keys. Ungrateful woman,” he muttered under his breath.
When he came outside, he opened the door to his white Cadillac for me. Unlike Mr. Dancy’s car, his smelled like the pine air-freshener hanging from his mirror. At least he kept it clean.
It took us about twenty minutes to get through traffic. Soon, we parked in the lot for the emergency room.
“Thanks for the lift, Griff. I’ll make some cookies for you later this week as repayment.”
He waved it off. “The only sweets I need, darling, are your smiles.”
“Wait until I tell Corny you’re coming onto me. He’ll punch you good and hard in the mouth.”
Griff laughed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to stick around? You and Corny might need a ride home. Or if you’ve got spare keys, I can always have one of the boys head over with me and get your car dropped off at the hospital for you.”
“Well, if you’re offering, that’d be helpful.” I dug into my purse until I found thekeys, then handed them to Griff. “You can leave these in the glove box with the door unlocked once you get back here. Thanks again.”
“No problem. See you around, Maude.”
I slammed the door shut and gave a quick wave before heading inside. The sterile scent I always associated with hospitals hung heavy in the air. A small child cried while their mother rocked them back and forth in one of the waiting room chairs, making soothing noises.
Moving to the ER check-in window, a brown-haired man smiled at me from the other side of the glass.
“Hi, how can I help you tonight?”
“My husband Cornelius Gilchrist was brought in earlier,” I said into the small round hole, as I leaned on the counter. “I’m his wife, Maude Gilcrhist.”
His smile faltered. “Of course, why don’t you have a seat. Someone will be right out in a moment.”
My wrinkled fingers clutched my purse tight to my chest. I swallowed hard, trying not to let my imagination run wild. After all, Corny had been in the hospital numerous times over the years for trivial things.
After a while, the doors near the front window slung open slowly and a doctor in blue scrubs stepped out, along with our family practitioner, Dr. Fleming.
“Mrs. Gilchrist?” The one in scrubs called me over. “I’m Dr. Baxter. Could you come on back for a moment?”
Climbing from my seat, I gathered my things and joined them. “Sure, how’s Corny? Is everything okay?”
“We’ll explain everything when we get back in one of the rooms.”
After swiping his badge, Dr. Baxter ushered myself and Dr. Fleming through the automatic doors. My heels clicked against the polished floors while the sounds of machines whirring and beeping hummed around us.
We entered a small examination type room where Dr. Baxter motioned for me to sit.
“Tom...I mean, I mean Dr. Fleming?” I turned to our family physician first.
His eyes seemed glassy as he sat beside me, reached for my hand, and gave it a squeeze. Tom had known Corny and I for twenty-five years. He’d taken over his father, Simon’s, practice years ago.
“Mrs. Gilchrist, I’m sorry to have to deliver this news, but your husband had a ruptured aneurysm earlier today.”
My jaw dropped as I stared at him.
Tom cleared his throat, still holding my hand. “It was a significant brain bleed. He collapsed in our office. We immediately called EMS, and he was rushed to the hospital.”
“W-what are you saying?” I glanced between them, trembling. “He’s okay, right?”
Tom shook his head while Dr. Baxter continued. “Unfortunately, Cornelius passed away enroute to the ER. We attempted to resuscitate him, but it was too late. I’m truly sorry.”
“No, this can’t be. How did this happen? He was on medication...”
“Maude, I don’t know if he was actually taking it.” Tom released my fingers. “And even if he was, sometimes these things can still happen.”
Dr. Baxter went over to the counter and retrieved a plastic bag. He handed it to me. “These are your husband’s personal effects.”
My heart thundered against my chest like a train barreling at full speed. Peering inside, I found Corny’s watch, his wedding ring, wallet, and our car keys.
“H-he’s gone?” My mouth formed the question as if saying it out loud would somehow change things.
“Yes, Maude,” Tom whispered beside me.
“Cornelius already had a funeral home listed in some of his paperwork. Dilly & Sons. Is this where you still want his body to go?” Dr. Baxter asked.
Numb, I nodded. What more could I do?
Corny was gone. Gone.
Dr. Baxter said more words I didn’t hear, but I nodded as if I did. Pulling the keys from the bag, my fist tightened around them, cutting into my hand. “I-I think I’ve heard enough. I’m ready to go now.” I stood suddenly.
“Are you sure you’re okay to drive home?” Tom climbed to his feet, as well. “I can drop you off.”
“No, I’m fine. I’ll be fine.”
When I got to the parking lot, my car was there, just as Griff promised. Before climbing in, I leaned against the door, a sob escaping my lips. This wasn’t happening. There had to be a mistake.
Fifty years of marriage, and he just leaves me like this. No goodbye, no heads up. Just poof, gone?
Had Cornelius known something was wrong this morning? He’d been pushing me to drive. That son of beehive.
“When I see him again, I’m going to throttle him.” I shook my hand at the sky.
My legs trembled beneath me as anger rushed through. How could he do this to me? Was nothing sacred anymore?
I had to keep it together. I had to. No amount of crying would fix this.
At last, I slid into the car, and tears flooded my cheeks. I cried until nothing was left in me. Then, I pounded the steering wheel until I thought it might actually break off.
Long minutes passed before I finally put the keys in the ignition and drove home. I didn’t remember much about the drive. Trudging inside, I dropped mine and Corny’s belongings on the table, my eyes landing on the bottles of pills on the counter. The ones I’d knocked over earlier.
Taking a deep breath, I moved to pick them up. There were pills for his heart and cholesterol, as well as for his blood pressure. My eye caught the date on them. They were from eight months ago. Fingers shaking, I pried open several bottles to find them mostly full.
He hadn’t been taking them, just as Dr. Fleming assumed.
“You bastard, Cornelius Gilchrist. You lying, treacherous leech. The girls were right, men are shits. They’re complete and utter shits. You could’ve prevented this.”