They woke Saturday morning and Sam looked at her and said. “My mouth feels like the bottom of a bird cage!”

Bobbie got her some water and Tylenol and in a few minutes they were talking about the funeral the next day. Sam said they had to go to the funeral home that evening for the visitation and then the service and internment on Sunday.

Bobbie got up and said. Well guys I have to get rolling. I’ll call my brother Jamie about selling this ring. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She got back to the motel and realized she avoided yet another night alone in her apartment at night. The incident in the bar the week before had spooked her. Would she ever be comfortable in her new home? She opened the door and the March afternoon light was shining in the window and the apartment looked inviting. She could see her phone blinking and figured her Mother had called, she still used the landline. Bobbie got some water and sat down to call her Mom.

“Where were you last night​? I tried to call.”

“I was at Georges’ he just lost a son and needed a friend. His ex wife was there. It was my old friend from Math camp, Samantha.”

“I remember her, her Dad had the flour company. I’m sorry they are dealing with the loss of their son. I was wondering if you’d like to join us for dinner, we are making lots.”

“That sounds nice Mom, maybe I’ll just stay the night.”

Sunday Bobbie picked up Effie and Drey and they went to the funeral. It was a sombre affair. Karl’s life was too short and troubled. Bobbie was thinking of leaving when George’s dad came over and introduced himself. “I’m Dean Nolan, you must be Bobbie Orlov and your mother is Florence Keeler.”

“It’s nice to meet you and I’m sorry for your loss. Keeler is My mother’s Maiden name, She is Florence McNally now and has been recently widowed.”

“Of course, please let her know I’m sorry for her loss. I used to buzz you mother years ago.” He smiled and walked away.

Effie walked up during the conversation.“What the heck is buzz?”

Bobbie knitted her brows.“I don’t know.”

Tuesday April 2

She finally felt good enough to sleep in her apartment, alone. Bobbie rolled over and eyed the clock. When it finally came into focus she realized she slept in. Had that alarm even gone off? She rarely relied on the alarm so she probably had not set it. She lay quiet for a moment. Then the tasks she had planned for the day started scrolling through her brain.

She had meetings with Mark, Lorne and Trixie and they probably would all understand if she bowed out and took today to catch her breath. She lay back and thought of what she would say to each of them.

The knocking on the side door startled her out of bed and she tried to compose herself. She made it to the door and there was Mark with two coffees. She groaned and opened the door. She stepped back and said. “I’m sorry Mark. I’m just not firing on all pistons today is it OK if we postpone our meeting until tomorrow?”

Mark placed both coffees on the island and went back to the door. “Sure Bobbie, I’ll let anyone who’s looking for you know that you are not to be disturbed.”

That was easy, thought Bobbie and grabbed the first coffee, it was nice that he left both. She padded over to the TV room and turned on the news. She sighed and loaded a video game instead. She drank her coffee and saved post apocalyptic world, virtually, she liked to role play as she went:

Our hero decided to join the minutemen and save the commonwealth, one settlement at a time. She killed a horrible beast and took her new friends to the neighborhood where she lived before the bombs fell. She made sure they had shelter, water and food and then set out again to help some more people. She wanted to speak to as many as possible to help her find her kidnapped son.

And by the time she’d finished it was noon.

Wow she thought, the morning flies by when you are wasting time. After her second coffee she felt a little better. She texted Lorne and suggested postpone their meeting and could he do a lunch the following day? Then went into the den. She should try and get something done. ComCan had sent Alex’s personal files from his office and she was finally feeling ready to go through them.

There was a box with outdated phones, chargers and blackberries and stuff. She pulled out SIM’s and wiped hard drives and put them in a bag for the recycle depot. There were old pictures from when the kids were small and some stress balls with logos and other stuff he’d collected over the years. She looked at the 2 boxes of hand written daily journals and decided to put those aside. Finally all that was left were his paper files. They were mostly old but some held important documents. There was a large folder with his parent’s name and there were receipts from funeral expenses, old bank information, and insurance information. She picked out an insurance document and an envelope fell out.

Bobbie wasn’t thinking beyond checking to see if the contents were for recycling or shredding so she almost missed the check. The letter attached said the check was payout for a whole life insurance plan started by Alex’s Dad started in the 1980’s. It paid out 130K. Bobbie was confused for a moment and then realized it was part of Alex’s inheritance and was probably just filed it away by mistake. Bobbie sat back on her feet and finished her coffee. She held the check in her fingers and thought.

She called Trixie and told her about the money and Trixie asked her what she wanted done with it. Bobbie answered “I want to finish off all the hotel rooms. We have the money to finish the restaurant and now we don’t have wait to do the rooms.”

Trixie said. “That sounds good Bobbie, that money comes at a good time. We really need to have a chat about your investments! I wanted to do that today but I have to cancel.”

“That’s funny Trixie, I was calling to cancel our meeting too. I went to George’s son Karl’s funeral and am a bit bummed. The thought of finishing up the hotel cheers me up though.”

“That sucks about Karl Dolan. He was a troubled young man for sure.”

“I know, I think he might have had something to do with the fire in the Fenway apartments.”

“Didn’t a guy die in that fire? Does that make Karl a murderer?”

“I know Trixie. I didn’t want to talk about it with George and Sam but I was wondering If I should go to the police.”

“I think the Dolan’s have suffered enough Bobbie. It wouldn’t help that dead guy much. I think you should keep your suspicions between us.”

“You’re right Trixie, I will see you soon.”

The check was made out to Alex but they still had a shared bank account and she wondered if there would be any trouble cashing it. She decided she had to take it to the bank the next day. Then she went back to her room to read and nap the rest of the evening.