A Simple Lie by Mary Bush
Author:Mary Bush
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloodhound Books
Published: 2019-11-26T16:00:00+00:00
19
Gwen was true to her word. She picked Val up at six the next night.
Avoiding an evening out with Gwen was something Val couldn’t do anymore. Gwen was friendly, personable and liked by many of her coworkers, something Val couldn’t claim. If Val outright blew her off one more time she’d look like a bitch, and then risk becoming labeled as a bitch in office gossip. Val tried to be as anonymous as possible in the medical examiner’s office. Having Gwen hate her, turning into an enemy, would be far worse and definitely much more dangerous than hanging out and socializing for a few hours. An enemy wouldn’t hesitate to get her fired—a friend maybe not.
Val concocted and stowed a plausible excuse for how she knew Oliver Solaris just in case. If she needed to resort to this, it was ready to go.
Luckily for Val, Gwen kept the conversation light and airy, venturing no further than run-of-the-mill chitchat as they drove to the restaurant. The conversation continued, minus Oliver thankfully, as the two were seated at Cole’s restaurant on Elmwood Avenue in the north section of the Elmwood Village. A collection of trendy restaurants and shops peppered each side of the street but this one was the only one with an outside patio.
With the weather being warm, Val and Gwen jumped at the opportunity to get the last open table. Once their glasses of wine had been delivered Gwen asked Val about her background and her family.
Val took a deep breath. She knew it would only be a matter of time before the conversation took a dangerous turn. She responded plainly. “I’m an only child. My parents died a long time ago. I was in my late teens when it happened. My father went first with a heart attack and my mother followed one year later in a car accident. When she died, my family was gone.”
Val often described her parents’ death candidly. It wasn’t that she was callous. It was a protective mechanism. It was the only way she could answer the question without falling apart, though it had been almost twenty years. She was a grown woman, yet at times she still felt like a lost child.
“You don’t beat around the bush at all now, do you?”
“It is what it is,” Val said. “So, what’s your story?”
“It’s kind of boring. Better order some coffee to keep you awake if you’re going to sit through my saga.”
“I’ll get a cup if I need it.”
“Just remember, you asked for it,” Gwen said. “I got married when I was seventeen. Dropped out of high school to do it. He was twenty-seven. God, was I stupid back then. My parents disowned me. They said if I was going to throw my life away, then they wanted nothing to do with me. I haven’t talked to them since that day.”
“I thought you said this story was going to be boring?” Val said.
“It is to me.”
Val took a sip of her wine. “What happened to your husband? It’s obvious that you don’t have one anymore.
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