Casket Case by Lee James

Author:Lee James
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lee James
Published: 2025-05-11T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Counting sheep had never worked for her. Kicking the covers off, Cynthia sat up, hugging her knees to her chest. What a horrible day.

When Nadine finally came back with the extra food, Cynthia made her leave it all in her car. Then she'd spent a good hour calling around to various shelters, hoping one of them would be able to pick up the massive spread that sat wilting on the tables in front of her. It took a while, but Hattie's Hand of Hope was willing to make the trip. Cynthia paid Nadine and sent the girl home. She tried not to cry while the men packed up the food. She tried not to cry when she signed the receipt and locked the kitchen door behind her. She didn't bother trying not to cry once she got to her car. In fact, by the time she turned onto Warren Drive, the tears fell so fast and so hard, they blurred the road and she pulled over into the empty parking lot of the Sunshine Day Care and just let the sobs loose.

She was still sitting there when she saw headlights coming toward her and realized too late it was the sheriff's car. Sinking down in her seat, she wiped her eyes, hard. He was the last person she'd wanted to run into. Fortunately, he hadn't noticed her.

At home, she sank onto the couch and let loose with another unsatisfying bout of crying. When she was able to mark wallowing in self-pity off her to-do list, she jumped into the shower, put on pajamas and crawled into bed. She lay there, praying for sleep to come and wipe away this day. Sleep ignored her.

Now she sat staring through the darkness at the opposite wall. She didn't have a TV in her bedroom. Never saw the need for one. She thought of her mother, lying in bed under her favorite quilt, clicking the remote with a bored determination. She understood it now. It wasn't just an unnecessary luxury; it was an escape.

Grabbing her pillow, she made her way to the living room and sank onto the couch. It took her a moment, but after feeling up the couch cushions, she found the remote under a pile of Cooking Light magazines. Her efforts were for naught. There was nothing of interest on. She was about to head back to the bedroom when her phone buzzed. It too was face down under the same pile of magazines and she picked it up and hit the green button without looking at it. No doubt it was Sam.

"Cynthia?" The voice was familiar but it wasn't Sam. "Did I wake you?"

"Lysa." She shook her head. "No. I was just..." she hesitated a moment, not wanting her sister to know she wasn't doing something spectacularly successful. No good story came to mind, however, and she caved. "I was just watching TV."

"Oh." It was all she said but it was enough. Lysa and her husband didn't watch TV. They considered it a waste of time.

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