The Wedding Caper by Janice Thompson

Author:Janice Thompson [Thompson, Janice]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, Mystery, Cozy, Religion & Spirituality, Fiction, Literature & Fiction, Religious & Inspirational Fiction, Contemporary
Amazon: B00N9IYQ2S
Publisher: Janice Thompson
Published: 2014-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

I remember, years ago, reading a sign that said Reality is a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there. I’ve thought about those words hundreds of times since, but never so much as in the week that followed Sheila’s infamous solo.

The trouble really started on Friday morning—the morning of the homecoming game—when the man from the electric company came to shut off our power.

For one thing, Sasha’s incessant barking set my nerves on edge right away. She carried on so loudly, in fact, that I could scarcely make out a word the poor guy was saying. I finally caught the gist of it.

“Sorry, ma’am,” he shouted for the umpteenth time, “but I have no choice. You didn’t pay your October bill.”

I reached down to pick up my little guard dog as I responded. “What do you mean? Of course we paid it.” Warren never forgot to pay bills. Ever.

He even went so far as to say they had mailed a disconnect notice. No way. Warren would’ve seen that, for sure.

The trembling in my hands must’ve convinced Sasha we were dealing with a perpetrator, because she attempted to leap from my arms in the young man’s direction, growling all the way.

“I’ll just find your meter.” He backed up and acted as if he might turn to leave, right there on the spot.

“No, please don’t go yet. I can give you the confirmation number. Hang on.”

“Mm-hmm.”

He stood at a safe distance, and Sasha and I scurried into the house to set things straight. Warren always got a confirmation number when he paid by phone with the credit card. I fished around the top of my desk but found nothing. Then I opened the drawer where he usually kept the bills and found the hard truth. Way down in the stack sat two unopened envelopes from the electric company. Horrified, I tore open the top one, the disconnect notice the man had mentioned. My husband had indeed forgotten to pay the Clark County Lighting and Power Company, just as he’d said.

I returned to the door and pleaded with the fellow to give me an hour or so, but he informed me that company policy must be strictly adhered to.

These guys from the electric company must take special courses in how to deal with hysterical menopausal women. He handled me with grace, charm, and finesse. Almost an art form on his part. How he did it, I’ll never know, but this tough guy managed to see past my tears and the check I quickly presented.

“Sorry, but you’ll have to take that to one of our payment centers,” he explained. “I’m not authorized to accept past-due payments at the door.” He handed me a notice with a list of local payment centers on it, our local grocery store making the top of the list. I looked over it as he disappeared around the side of the house.

And with that, our house went black.

Okay, a slight exaggeration, perhaps. Morning sunshine streamed

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.