I tried not to.
Valentina: Dinner tomorrow night? I’ll cook something for us.
Ford: Don’t go to any trouble. Dinner isn’t necessary. Maybe you could pencil me in to come over about eight to fuck you?
I deserve that.
Valentina: Eight sounds good. See you Sunday. I can’t wait.
Not surprisingly, my sentiment wasn’t returned.
Chapter 20
* * *
Ford
“Remember that dream I had about all the purple flowers at a funeral last week?”
Mrs. Peabody didn’t even say hello. She just started talking when I answered the phone.
“Hey, Mrs. P.” I tossed my pen on my desk and leaned back into my chair. “Yeah, of course I remember. You had a strong premonition during the day that someone was going to die, and then you dreamed of a funeral with tons of purple flowers.”
“I threw up twice that day. But that might’ve been because of the tuna casserole this hellhole serves for lunch on Tuesdays. I despise Tuesdays. Who the heck thought it was a good idea to put mayonnaise in the oven anyway?”
I laughed for the first time today. “So what about the funeral? Did someone actually die?”
“Yep. The woman in the room next to me. Didn’t wake up on Sunday. They drop like flies around here in the summer. They say more people die in the two weeks following Christmas than any other time, but not at this place. It’s summer, for sure.”
“Were there purple flowers at her funeral?”
“Nope. Didn’t have a funeral. Just went straight to the crematory. Kids didn’t want to waste any of their inheritance, I’m sure. I prepaid for mine so I wouldn’t get cheated. Anyway, just wanted to tell you I was right again.”
“Not for nothing, Mrs. P, but you live in an assisted living facility with senior citizens who have health problems. I’m not sure you can call this one a premonition.” I reached for the coffee on my desk.
“That may be true. I suppose someone probably dies every week in this place. But the woman who kicked the bucket? Her name was Violet.”
I was mid coffee swallow and coughed it down the wrong pipe. “The woman’s name was Violet?”
“Mmmm-hmmm. So quit your doubting me, boy.”
We talked for fifteen minutes. Mrs. P told me her daughter had called and was planning to come visit, though I’d heard that a few times, and she still hadn’t shown up in all the years I’d been talking to her. She also complained about the physical therapist and the dentist—both of whom she swore were bilking her insurance because there was nothing really wrong with her.
“So how are things with the future Mrs. Donovan?” she finally asked.
I frowned. “Not sure you got that one right. Things aren’t going like I thought they would.”
“Welp. I call ’em like I see ’em. I can’t control if you go and screw things up. You met the woman destined to be your wife. Lord knows it wouldn’t be the first time a man threw a wrench into his own future.”
“What makes you so sure it’s me who’s screwing things up?”
“Because you just said things aren’t going like I thought they would.”
“So?”
“You don’t sit around expecting things to happen the way you’d like. You make them happen, dumbass.”
***
My afternoon meeting had been uptown.
I could’ve hopped in a cab afterward or even jumped on the subway located right in front of the building. But instead I decided to walk the thirty-something blocks back to my apartment. It was a nice summer evening. Going a few blocks out of my way to walk along the park wasn’t that unusual.
The fact that I happened to pass a certain French bistro—that was total coincidence, too. I lingered out front for a minute before deciding to go in. Why not stop in and have a beer since I was in the neighborhood? I didn’t even know if Eve would be here. Sure, she’d said she worked six days a week, but today could have been her only day off.
An older man in a suit stood at the front host area.
“Can I help you? Do you have a reservation for this evening?”
“Umm. I don’t.”
He used a finger to scan down a pretty full list of names and times. “I’m sorry. I don’t have any tables available.”
I looked around the restaurant and didn’t see any sign of Eve. My shoulders slumped, but I nodded. “Thanks, anyway.”
Just as I turned to walk back out, I heard my name. “Ford?”
“Hey.”
Eve walked out from a door toward the rear of the restaurant. I assumed maybe it was the