Death and Peaches by Walsh Nova

Author:Walsh, Nova
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Two Worlds Press
Published: 2024-01-09T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

The front room was a combination sitting and dining area, an enormous space with floor to ceiling windows and a high ceiling. Wood floors were covered in very expensive and old looking rugs. Guests were everywhere, on the couches, at the table, standing against the walls. Brenda Weiss sat crying in the midst of it all, in the center of a very white couch, staring in anger at a couple near the drink cart in the corner. With a start, I realized it was Patty Larson and the man who’d been with her at her booth during the festival.

“How dare you two vultures come into my house on a day like today,” Brenda said to them, “and start talking about the property line? This is not the time or the place. My husband is barely in the ground!”

A broken cocktail glass lay at Brenda’s feet. I was itchy to go clean up the mess, but every eye in the room was on her, so I held my ground. As soon as the altercation was over, I’d clean up.

“I knew this funeral would be exciting! See, Ted, aren’t you glad we came?” an elderly woman whispered to a man near me.

The man with Patty straightened and slugged back the rest of whatever had been in his tallboy. “Brenda, you and I both know that you couldn’t give two hoots about your husband being in the ground.”

A collective gasp rippled through the room. Hoping to be as unobtrusive as possible, I headed back to the kitchen to grab a dustpan and hand broom. Might as well get ready to pick things up. But also, I wanted to position myself near Brenda in case things got ugly. One of the jobs of a caterer is very often diffusing tension borne of too much alcohol at parties. It wasn’t my favorite thing to do, but I could do it if I had to.

I came back in just as Brenda stood from the couch, her heels sinking into the plush carpet under her, the glass crunching with her steps. I winced. That wouldn’t be easy to clean up. “I want you two to get out of here right now. I don’t ever want to see your ugly faces again!”

“Can you believe the nerve of those two?” one woman asked as I passed her to pick up empty plates on a coffee table. I collected used napkins and dishes and placed them on the tray I’d placed in the corner for that very purpose, trying to stay out of the way while watching the altercation.

“Come on, Chad. We don’t want to be here anyway,” Patty Larson replied, tugging at her husband’s sleeve. “Please, don’t make a scene.” She seemed very uncomfortable, and I wondered what her role in everything was. Funny that she’d also been responsible for causing a scene at the festival.

The man shook her off and laughed. “I guess now that Weiss is gone, I’ll have no trouble getting that property line issue fixed.

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