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Tears welled in Andy Shephorn’s eyes Proportioned to rapes, and he was striving not to spill them

Mrs Fischer saw his distress and said, "Oh, dear, it wasn’t a grisly ending, not at all Oscar and I were in a lovely restaurant We’d had a divine dinner He finished the last of his dessert, as good a crème brûlée as ever we’d tasted As he put down the spoon, his eyes widened, and he said to ood-bye,’ and he slu the tears out of his eyes, Shephorn said, "He was a fine man Except for him, I’d never have met Penny"

"He knew she was the perfect wife for you"

I could smell the salt in his tears, I swear I could, and the spray starch in his uniform shirt, the scent of which was liberated by his body heat The limo felt humid, a laundry on wheels

"By the way," Mrs Fischer said, "this young man is my new chauffeur, Thorief-wet hand, which was almost twice the size of one of my hands "I’ive his formidable head as much room as possible, I said, "Likewise, sir," my voiceshoes to fill, Oscar’s shoes"

"I’ood fortune better than to find yourself under the wing of Edie Fischer" Before I could reply, Shephorn said to er, "Is Tom here smoothed out yet?"

"Not yet," she said "He’s only been with me less than an hour And he’s not fully blue yet, either But he’s far e I’ve ever met He’ll be fully blue and sood With the Oscar news, I’m almost afraid to ask--how’s Heathcliff?"

"Heath is still dead, dear"

"But otherwise all right?"

"Oh, yes, he’s perfect Listen, Andy dear, I’d love to chat all day, but we’re in so of a hurry"

"Where do you need to be?" the cop asked

She said, "Somewhere south of here, we don’t knohere, but we’ll know the place e get there"

"Would you like a police escort? I can clear the way ahead of you, no problem"

"You’re a sweetie," Mrs Fischer told hi we have to do ourselves"

"You always have been independent But I guess that’s the way"

"That’s the way," Mrs Fischer agreed

When Andy Shephorn extracted his head from the driver’s , fresh air rushed in as if a cork had been popped from a bottle As he stepped aside, sunshine found ood on my face

I didn’t power up theuntil ere on the highway once

In the rearviewafter us He didn’t actually raise his hand to his brow, but he seemed to be in the posture that accoer were a senior officer

My psychic ear, the rhinestone cowboy lurking in the back of my mind, mostly a shadow, except for blue eyes that seemed to whirlpool like flushed water While Mrs Fischer and Officer Shephorn had been sch, the trucker, would-be burner of helpless children, had opened a wider lead on us Even at ninety miles an hour, ouldn’t find him in the next few minutes When ere closer to him, then I would need to focushave you known Officer Shephorn?"

"About eighteen years We had a flat tire That was another limousine Oscar was seventy-four and entirely fit, but when Andy ca and saw the situation, he insisted that Oscar step aside and let hie the tire"

"So in return, Oscar introduced him to his ideal mate?"

"Penny She’s sree in viniculture"

"I’norant"

Mrs Fischer pattedNo one can know every word in the language Viniculture is the study of wine Penny already had some land, sorow the place a little more, sell another hundred cases above what they sold last year Soon it’ll be another four hundred, then another seven hundred State police can retire after thirty years Then he’ll ith her in the winery By the tiht they’re planning--the brand will be famous They’ll have to build an entire trophy room at the winery just to display all their awards, and it’ll be their faenerations"

"That’s really specific, ma’am For a prediction, I mean"

"It’s not a prediction"

"It’s not? Then what is it?"

"It’s what is"

I thought about that, but I wasn’t enlightened "You reirl I know nao, I knew an Annaner and seauess she had to, considering she stood five feet two and weighed three hundred sixty pounds She had two gold teeth right in front She shaved her head every day and kept her eyebrows plucked Her face was as sh babies don’t have three chins"

"Different Annaians tell us that this is a fallen world, that Adarace Maybe you’re not a believer, but if you’re honest, you’ll have to agree that so with this place Senseless violence, corrupting envy, greed, blind hatred, and willful ignorance seeone haywire, but so is the absurdity that we see everywhere The people of a broken world, off the rails and wobbling trackless on their journeys to oblivion orto be foolish, so, their foolishness--and htensI suspected that by the ti

I said, "So I guess you even kno randchildren Mr and Mrs Shephorn will have"

"Thirty-two"

"How lanced away frohteen-wheeler e her answers to the peculiar questions that the policeman had asked, I said, "So I’ll be sht, child You’re already remarkably advanced"

"What does that mean--to be smoothed out and fully blue?"

"You’ll understand when you’re sain

I asked, "Who’s Heathcliff?"

"Heath My late husband The one true love of o this April"