Fatal Intent - Jamie Jeffries Page 0,4

husband last fall. Alex stopped to give her the news and then continued to Dylan’s house.

When no one answered the door, she walked in to find Dylan on the floor, curled into a tight ball around a throw pillow from the couch. His head in his hands and fingers laced through his black hair, he rocked back and forth. As soon as she realized he was crying, she fell on her knees next to him and wrapped her arms around him.

“Honey, I’m here.”

Alex hadn’t known Dylan’s mother, not really. Even though they’d lived in the same small town all of Alex’s life, and even though she and Dylan had been high-school sweethearts for a year before he left, she didn’t know Maria other than by name. She did know, from Dylan, that Maria had been an embarrassment to him; an alcoholic who, when he was not much older than Juan, shacked up with a transient and bore him the two little boys that were now Dylan’s to raise. She hadn’t expected this level of grief, but she understood it.

Alex swung around to sit next to Dylan and pulled his head into her shoulder. He responded by clutching her tightly and breathing raggedly, though his sobs faded away. Wanda found them in the same position an hour later when she dropped by with a casserole.

“Do you need me to pick up the boys from school?” she asked, with a look at Alex.

Dylan’s head was still buried in Alex’s neck and he didn’t seem to be ready to answer, so Alex answered for him. “That would be a big help, thank you. I’m not sure Dylan’s ready to face them. Dylan? Honey?”

He lifted his head and gave Wanda a watery smile. “Yes, please and thank you, but wait until school’s out. I don’t want to make a spectacle of them by pulling them out of class. I’ll call the school and let them know you’ll be there to pick them up.”

“I can take them home and feed them if you like.” Wanda was still holding the casserole, so Alex rose to take it from her and put it in the kitchen. It looked delicious. She heard Dylan’s answer as she walked away.

“No. Thanks, Wanda, but I’d better tell them right away. Thanks for bringing… whatever that was.”

“You’re welcome. If there’s anything else I can do… ” Wanda trailed off.

Dylan was standing when Alex returned, giving Wanda a hug. It was a good sign. He was returning to himself, though Alex was sure it wasn’t the end of his grief.

~~~

Alex stayed with Dylan until just before the boys came home, when he told her he didn’t want to put her through breaking the news to them.

“To be honest, I don’t think it will affect Davi much. Juan maybe. He remembers more about before she got sick. But you’ve done enough, Alex, I can handle this.”

She didn’t think he could, actually, but as he looked nervously at the door, Alex realized he was asking to be alone. She stuffed down a small hurt. Dylan wasn’t himself, and she shouldn’t take it personally. She nodded.

“Okay, honey, but call me if you need me, okay?”

With his assurance that he would echoing in her ears, she left and drove home, where she found her dad in the kitchen looking absently into the refrigerator.

“How long have you been standing there with the fridge door open?” she asked, and then laughed when he jumped and slammed the door shut.

“Don’t scare me like that.” He grinned at her.

“There isn’t any fish, if that’s what you were looking for.”

“Ha. That will be the day hell freezes over. How’s Dylan?” he asked. He opened the fridge door again and began pawing through items on the shelves.

“He’s sad. Dad, what are you doing?”

“Looking for something to eat.”

“Sit down. I’ll get you a snack, and then I’ll fix dinner.” Alex bumped her dad with her hip until he gave up and sat down at the table. “Dylan talked to the priest. I guess the services will be Monday. We won’t be able to run an announcement, but it will be in time to get the obituary in the paper for next Wednesday.”

Alex wondered when she’d started thinking about everything in life based on whether it was conveniently scheduled for her dad’s weekly newspaper. She wished she could take the last sentence back. She also wished her dad would give in and let her put an online version up. This kind of thing happened too