4LUELLA SAT AT THE BREAKFAST table, staring at the kitchen phone. She knew she ought to call the police. That’s what any responsible citizen would do.
She rose from her padded vinyl chair, leaving the dregs of her morning coffee to keep her toast crumbs company on the table. Her husband would have had a thing or two to say about that, but he wasn’t around to obsess over things like buttering toast directly on the counter, or eating it without the aid of a plate, and Luella couldn’t be bothered.
It was freeing to be a little messy, but she wondered if she did it simply to rebel against Gianni’s memory. At the end of the day, she still had to wipe up crumbs. It would probably be easier to wash a dish.
Perhaps her husband had been right all along.
No, it wasn’t a matter of right or
