Out of Grief Read Online Free PDF Page A

time.”
     
    There would be time to text later, and after all, Kat had made a sizeable donation to be here tonight. The least I could do was try to look like I was having a good time.
     
    ***
     
    It was after midnight when Kat finally dropped me off at my apartment. I was in desperate need of a shower and some real food. Fortunately, my neighbor Marta had given me some leftover mac and cheese that I could heat up properly while I showered.
    I sat down on my couch with the bowl of mac and cheese, ready to watch an old movie, when I heard my phone chime with a text. I figured Kat was home safe and sound, but when I looked at the phone, I saw,
     
    —you still awake? —
     
    And I remembered I’d left Quinn hanging. I checked the phone and found an earlier text.
     
    — Okay, guess you must be off doing something with Kat now. Enjoy. —
     
    —Yes. Just got in a little while ago. —
     
    — Did you have a nice time? —
     
    — Got to see some old friends and catch up. All in all pretty nice evening. What did you do? —
     
    — Went to a movie with one of Steven’s friends. Not a good idea. —
     
    —Why not a good idea? —
     
    — He put the moves on me. —
     
    The thought made me want to find the son of a bitch and beat him senseless.

    — Are you okay? WTF? It’s barely been five months. —
     
    — I know. I told him basically just that, and I might have accidently on purpose kneed him in the crotch. —
     
    — Way to go, Dirty Harry. —
     
    — He turned purple. Took a cab home. —
     
    — I’m sorry you had to go through that. —
     
    — Not your fault. —
     
    — Still sorry. —
     
    —At least the movie was good. —
     
    —I’m surprised you went out so soon. —
     
    —Testing a theory. —
     
    —A theory? —
     
    —Yeah. A theory. —
     
    —Are you going to share? —
     
    —Not yet. Maybe after I get some more data. —
     
    —Be vague, why don’t you? —
     
    — You’ll be the first to know. Once I know. Sleep well .—
     
    — You too. —
     
    Sleep well? Who was she kidding? How could I sleep well wondering what I’d be the first to know?

Chapter Eleven
    My neighbor Marta was on the elevator when I got home the next evening. She was a stout older woman, with salt and pepper hair pulled back into a bun. As usual, her grocery bags were overflowing and she was trying to juggle them. Oddly enough, I had met Marta when I moved in to my building. Some boys were harassing her on her way home from the grocery store, and I made them stop. From that point on, she had become like a grandmother to me.
     
    “Nikki.” She smiled at me. “You are just in time to try the new recipe I have been working on.”
     
    “Why don’t you have them deliver?” I asked, snatching two of the bags out of her hand.
     
    “Why pay for delivery when I have two perfectly good feet?”
     
    “What if I pay for delivery for you? You feed me enough, it’s the least I could do.”
     
    “You keep your money, Nikki. I am happy to have the company.”
     
    Every time Marta opened the door to her home, it was a magical sight. I always thought it looked like a Victorian pop up book exploded in a press office. Colorful trinkets covered every available surface, with little space for anything else. Her walls were covered with signed headshots of actors, from her time working at Photoplay magazine in the 50s, all neatly done in simple black frames and butted up against one another.
     
    As always, her apartment smelled heavenly from all the herbs she used in her cooking. It was the smell of a spice shop; only today there was a hint of chocolate in the air as well.
     
    After I helped her put the groceries away, she said, “Run upstairs and change, and I will have dinner on the table when you get back.”
     
    “Are you sure you don’t want any help?”
     
    “You know the deal. I cook, you do the dishes. Now go.”
     
    ***
     
    Dinner was Osso Bucco over a bed of orzo, and a fresh garden