After Faun put down the phone, she had the sense that something was wrong as she looked up at Grant; there was slightly more of that troubled look within his intense deep forest eyes with the exception of bright moss in one of them,
“Are you all right?” she had started to move to the cash register to remove the till but he was leaning upon the counter in a brooding manner as he stared dully at the row of volumes of the Oxford English Dictionary, the complete volumes taking up most of the bookcase that was beside the pillar and desk.
“Erm….” he stared for a moment at the volumes thinking of all the words that must be …. and here he could not find one on how to begin …. finally he looked at her, “I don’t know….”
The register drawer had popped open with an alarming ring but neither of them seemed aware of it
“Something’s wrong….” Faun said as more a statement than a question
“Yes—well…. something rather…. quite disturbing and I’m not sure I should bother you with it,” he sighed
“Is it about the Bishops? —or the bookshop?”
“It’s about Uncle Arthur—well, Arthur I should say as he was not my real uncle as I said and —they married late in life….second marriages, them both ….” he consciously spoke slower now to make sure she caught his words but—he wasn’t sure what he should tell her. Then he shrugged, “damn, I’ll just tell you as this may turn into a—well….I got a call today from the coroner’s office ….”
for a moment those last words hung in the air
At first she wasn’t sure she heard right.
He watched her face. Such a pretty face too, he thought as he worried now about shocking it, so he raised his dark chestnut thick brooding brows as if to imply his words in case she missed it
It was slightly delayed. She said with s kind of gasp,
“coroners?—you said —did you say coroner’s office?” And her hand went to her throat as she accidentally leaned too hard on the till drawer and it swung back into the register with a loud cash register ring! It was also rather alarming and punctuated the moment
Grant reached around her and took her first by her slight, narrow shoulders and then outside each arm he placed his hands to move her away from the register,
“yes…. the coroner’s office ….you see, it appears the cause of death was carbon monoxide ….”
“Oh my God!” Faun exclaimed as she thought of the tragedy of Arthur Bishop’s untimely death…. “ I’m so sorry, Grant….” that was the first time she said his name, it just slipped out all on its own and she looked at him
“Well—it’s Aunt Fiona I’m more sorry for….” he said in a hushed tone of regret looking down
The following silence had Faun’s thoughts considering his words until what he didn’t say dawned,
“oh…. you have to tell her….”
He looked up at Faun now, relieved she connected the dots and then it was the dark, exotic pools of her eyes that lassoed him with their strange almond slant which were looking back at him and now caused him to momentarily forget what he meant to say.
They were both quiet with their own thoughts for a moment.
Finally Faun took a deep breath,
“I’ll come with you to tell her—were you going there now?”
Grant let out a sigh of relief,
“yes.”
Faun looked back at the register decisively,
“I’ll balance the till in the morning ….let’s go, we can take my car.”
In the car they were both quiet. It had turned dark and it started to rain as she drove, the wipers on the glass making their antiquated rhythmic sound that felt somehow very reassuring. What is it about old things that can be so comforting in times like this? Faun was thinking. She could have no idea that Grant’s thoughts had been quite similar as he watched the wipers move the rainwater across the windshield making irregular designs where the rubber was coming off the blade
“I should fix that,” he said absently
“What?” she asked
She had no idea what he actually said
But then they were pulling up to the house and suddenly the dreaded deed loomed more uncomfortably for further chat
“So—I left a message I was coming —so, I expect she knows ….” Grant opened the passenger door and got out.
she had grabbed an umbrella and opened it, raising it high enough over his head as she caught up to him.They walked up the sidewalk together
The front of the house had high hedges and this gate was flanked not by the usual lions that often decorated pretentious people’s homes but but by two four foot tall, marble, sculpted, chess bishops and for a quick instant Grant paused to caress the top of one,
“he was a good player, I’ll give him that,” he said and glanced back at her before opening the black, iron gate and letting her through before continuing up to the door
Faun followed behind him, then up the path to the door.
He knocked, and called through the door,
“Aunt Fiona—it’s me—I’m here with Faun….”
They waited outside in the dark.
“No porch light on….” Grant said wondering aloud
They both looked up to see if there were any lights on in the house that they could see from outside and to get a better view, they both walked back along the front walk to look up at the house to see if any lights were on upstairs.
“Oh—yes, there—“Faun pointed, “that must be the bedroom—I see a light up there.”
Grant looked up,
“Ok, let’s try again,” he said and went quickly back up the steps to the door.
He knocked. This time the door latch came open and the door swung open.
“Odd,” he said and went in
“I think you should go up alone, maybe she fell asleep and it would be alarming to see both of us in her bedroom,” she said, “I’ll wait a moment—maybe I’ll make tea….?—or ….?”
But she had been here before. And something felt a bit off….the dog!
“Where is King Leopold?”
Grant looked at her and even in the dark it seemed he went pale as a ghost
“Leopold….” he rushed up the stairs
Faun waited by the door as she watched ….
It seemed an eternity followed ….but was really only less than a minute before she heard him shout,
“Faun!”
She ran up the stairs and followed the light, she found the bedroom and there was Grant standing beside the bed next to…. what was clearly Fiona Bishop but…. she was not moving
Faun moved slowly to Grant’s side and when she was beside him he said in a barely audible tone,
“oh my god….” he stood frozen, Faun reached for his ice cold hand as he whispered, “I think she’s dead.”
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