In Sickness and in Death Read Online Free PDF

considered life insurance, but maybe he should. He had responsibilities now. He, at least, had a responsibility to Adrienne. Hadn’t he persuaded her to come live with him? Didn’t that make her a part of his responsibility?
    “You think I should get some kind of life insurance?”
    “It’s the only smart thing to do. Then neither one of us would have to worry about anything.”
    “I don’t know anything about any of that stuff. I wouldn’t even have a clue as to how much I’d need.”
    She shrugged against him. “I’ve always heard that one should have at least five times his annual salary.”
    Brian paused and calculated in his mind. “That’d be nearly a million bucks!”
    Again she shrugged. “That’s what they recommend.”
    He sighed. How could he possibly make the premiums on a million-dollar insurance policy? But he didn’t need to tell Adrienne that little fact. “Okay, I’ll look into it.”
    Brian tossed and turned the hours away. Every time he dozed off he was startled awake by a nightmare of being pursued by an army of unpaid bills that were screaming for his life.
    The next evening, Brian came home earlier than usual. He was sitting at the dining table going over some contracts when Adrienne came in from work.
    “Oh, I’m glad you’re home,” she said.
    “Yeah, I thought I might as well review these papers in comfort.”
    She tossed a thick brochure on top of the stack of legal documents.
    “What’s this?” he asked.
    “Everything you need to know about life insurance.” She laughed. “And probably more than you ever wanted to know. I stopped by an insurance office today and asked some questions. There’s an application in there too. You want a cup of coffee?”
    “Might as well, I need something to keep me awake while I plow through all this.”
    She went into the kitchen and he began to peruse the booklet she had given him. When she returned and set a mug beside his arm, he mused aloud. “I wonder whether they’ll accept the results of my last physical.”
    “I don’t see why not since it’s been only a few months since you took it. The agent said that they use many of the same providers that most medical policies accept.”
    “Hope so. I’d hate to have to go through the fasting and all that crap again so soon.”
    “I’m sure they’ll take those results. You’ll just have to ask your doctor to release a copy of the paperwork to them.” She took a sip from her own cup. “So, are you going to fill out the application?”
    He shrugged. “Might as well, I guess, and get it over with.”
    For hours, long after Adrienne had gone to bed, Brian sat poring over the insurance brochures. He perused the various plans and compared the costs. There was no way that he could afford a permanent policy. It would be a stretch even to manage a ten-year term deal. That would, at least, give Adrienne some protection, if anything should happen to him, and surely he would have all of the debt paid down by the time the policy expired. He might be able to swing that kind of a deal, if he skipped buying lunch and cut all other expenditures that weren’t absolutely necessary.
    With a sigh, he pulled out the application form and shoved the brochure to one side. He filled in all the blanks including the required medical history and the provider of his last physical. He signed the consent form to release his medical information, stuffed the form into the envelope and shoved it into his briefcase. He’d mail it in the morning.

    Within a matter of days the insurance application had been accepted and Brian’s life was worth a small fortune.

Chapter 6

    The early autumn breezes turned crisp and the smell of burning leaves hung in the air. Brian continued to work long hours and frequently came home to find Adrienne entertaining some of her coworkers.
    When he came into the condo and heard the muted sounds of the stereo, he would go directly into the living room and find a small group of nurses