The Fog Ladies: In the Soup by Susan McCormick

Author:Susan McCormick [McCormick, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mystery; cozy mystery; amateur sleuth; female protagonist; mystery with food; mystery with dog; romantic mystery; love; mystery with humorous comedy m
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Published: 2021-06-21T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 25

Sarah couldn’t sleep. Usually, given her general sleep deprivation, falling asleep and staying asleep were easy. In fact, staying awake was more the problem, staying awake during morning report and noon lecture and after dinner when she was trying to study.

Now she fell asleep without difficulty, but night after night, at three a.m. or four a.m., she found herself wide awake, lying in bed with her eyes open and her brain buzzing. What was going on with Andy? How had things gotten this way?

Mrs. Noonan had once mentioned to Sarah that she had trouble sleeping. Sarah had asked her about it that night at dinner. Sarah was eating more with Mrs. Noonan than she had in months. Typically, she’d be eating out with Andy, or eating in with Andy, or just plain being with Andy. But not now. That evening she’d once again sat with Mrs. Noonan at her kitchen table watching the pink sky deepen to orange over the San Francisco Bay.

“I’ve tried all the tricks,” Mrs. Noonan said. “Deep breath in, count to four, deep breath out, count to four. Relax every muscle in your body starting with your toes. Switch on the light and read a boring book. Get out of bed and move to a different room. None of these has helped me.”

“Not one?” Sarah had to get some sleep. She tried not to sound desperate.

“Things are definitely worse when I have something on my mind. Something that’s not right or some puzzle to work out. But it can also happen when my mind is still.”

“Nothing has helped? You just don’t sleep?” said Sarah.

“It is a far different thing for me to not sleep than for you,” said Mrs. Noonan. “My days are not filled with life and death decisions. I don’t need to be my sharpest.” She must have seen Sarah’s dismayed expression. “I do have one piece of advice.”

“Yes?” Sarah held her breath. Please, please be something that will work.

“My daily troubles with sleeping only came when I was old. When I was your age, only a serious situation would keep me up.” Mrs. Noonan paused and stared out the window. It was darker now, and their own faces reflected back at them. Mrs. Noonan was crying.

“What is it?” Sarah put her hand on Mrs. Noonan’s.

“The only time I had trouble sleeping was when Isabelle was sick.”

Sarah kicked herself. Isabelle was Mrs. Noonan’s daughter who had died young of a heart problem. Sarah was having problems sleeping because of a boyfriend issue, and here she had reminded Mrs. Noonan of the most serious of serious times of her life.

“In any case,” Mrs. Noonan continued, “if I was able to confront my worries when I was awake, go through them all with a rational mind and face the worst-case scenario, there was nothing left at night to think about. I could tell myself that as I went to bed, that I would face this problem in the daytime only. If you can figure out

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