Grace was awoken by her cell phone on Thursday morning at eight o’clock. “Hello,” she said.
“I’d like to speak to Grace Watts.”
“Speaking,” said Grace.
“This is Sergeant Sean Riley of the Connecticut State Police. There was an accident on Interstate 95 and your husband was involved.”
Grace frowned. “Is he…”
“I’m afraid he died.”
Grace released a dumbstruck sigh and stared ahead, no expression on her face, save a pair of hollow, shocked eyes.
“Would you mind coming to identify the body?” said Sgt. Riley.
“Yeah… sure.”
An unmarked car picked Grace up from Anthony’s apartment and took her to the morgue. They led her inside and opened the drawers in which David and Lana’s bodies lay. She looked at her husband in shock, barely believing what she saw. He had suffered a broken neck and brain damage from landing on his head. Both arms and legs had also been broken, and the impact of the crash had caused Lana to bite his penis off.
For a moment, Grace winced at the sight of the sutures on his erect member then sighed with relief for him, glad to see that for all his injuries, he appeared so peaceful. As for Lana, she had broken a few ribs, pierced both her lungs, causing them to fill with blood and David’s penis had lodged in her throat, causing her to suffocate.
Grace shook her head and blinked, unsure of whether or not to see any humor in the situation. She reached out and touched David’s hand, shuddering a little because it felt like cold marble. “Yeah, that’s him, all right,” she said, her tone of voice flat.
*****
Just before Grace returned to Anthony’s apartment, she called her mother.
“Well, you know, Mom,” said Grace as she walked in through the door. “He was a complete a**hole, but I can’t say I wanted him to die.”
“These things happen, Gracie Jane,” said Iris.
Anthony, who had been curled up on the futon with a comic book, looked over at Grace, frowning with concern.
“I really did love him,” she said, “and I never once thought that he would ever be worth more to me dead than alive.”
In his will, David had left his assets – in particular his house, his car, and all his money – to Grace, and had not taken time to amend it when they had separated. As a result, Grace would have no problem paying for graduate school.
“Count your blessings, Gracie Jane,” said Iris. “Divorces are expensive. Maybe he’ll finally be happy, too, you know?” Iris had always thought that her son-in-law, for all his conceit, was one of the most miserable people she had ever met.
“Yeah, I guess,” said Grace, smiling a little and lighting a cigarette.
“Just don’t worry,” said Iris. “Everything’s going to be all right now.”
“I know, Mom,” said Grace with a tiny smile.
“Anyway, I should get going,” said Iris. “I’ll talk to you later. Give my best to Anthony.”
“Thanks, Mom,” said Grace. “I will. I love you. Take care.”
“I love you too, Gracie Jane. Bye-bye.”
Grace hung up her phone and plopped down on the futon next to Anthony. “Mom says hi,” she said in a numb tone of voice, staring into space.
He put his arm around her. “What’s up?” he said.
“David was killed in an accident.”
“Hold on,” said Anthony. He went to the refrigerator and came back with two cans of ale. He gave one to Grace, and sat back down next to her, putting his arm back around her. “Tell me more,” he said.
“Thanks, by the way,” she said, opening her can and having a sip. Ramsey and Cody jumped upon her lap and began to purr. She scratched them both behind the ears. “I just came back from identifying the body.”
“How’d he look?” said Anthony.
“Banged up, but peaceful,” said Grace.
Anthony gave her a soothing stroke between the shoulders. “Are you all right?” he said.
“Mmm,” she said, shaking a little. “I guess you could say I wasn’t ready for this.”
“Well, you know, you’re gonna be O.K.,” said Anthony. “Everything’s gonna be fine. I promise.”
“Yeah,” said Grace, her voice breaking as her eyes welled up and her lips trembled. She threw her arms around Anthony and cried on his shoulder as he squeezed her against him. “I love you so much, Anthony,” she sobbed.
“Hey, I love you, too,” said Anthony. “I got you, Grace. You’re gonna be O.K.”
Grace took a deep breath and smiled, overjoyed to be safe in Anthony’s arms. As the tears stopped, she kissed him on the cheek.
