When Doris"s phone rang early Sunday morning, she figured it was Margie calling to gossip about church business. She was pleasantly surprised to see Jimmy"s number flashing on the caller I.D. instead. She pressed the talk button. Before the phone was to her ear, Jimmy was talking.
“Harlan"s coming to breakfast tomorrow morning and Ted"s got the whole damned town coming out. Think you can come in a few minutes early? I"ll give you the afternoon off,” he said.
She reached for her alarm clock and dialed back the alarm to four-thirty. “See you at five?”
“You"re a doll. And don"t ever let anybody tell you different,” he said. “We"ll close up early tomorrow so you can have the afternoon off.”
The line went dead before she could reply, plunging her back into the merciless silence of her empty
