A grieving wife is bidding her final farewell to her young dead husband with a kiss when he surprises her by blinking. Nola, sword was having a mother-daughter weekend with her daughter Kelly while her husband Fred and his best friend were up at their log cabin fishing.
The two were busy making cookies when her phone rang. Nola wiped flour off her hands before she picked up her cell phone. Caller ID told her it was Fred, but when she answered the phone, it wasn’t his voice on the other side, and the words she heard destroyed her.
Nola recognized Jamie’s voice on the line. “It’s James. I’m so sorry, but something’s happened to Fred, Nola.” Gaston felt a giant hand clenched around her heart. “What’s happened? Is Fred hurt?” “No, honey,” said Fred’s best friend gently. “I’m sorry, Nola. Honey, you have to be brave. Fred’s dead.”
“No!” Nola screams. “Stop it, James. This is a bad joke. Stop!” But in her heart, Nola knew it wasn’t a joke, and big, burly James, who had been Fred’s best friend since the first grade, was crying like a baby. “Well, I’m so sorry. He was next to me, and then he was just gone.”
In a strange numb fog, Nola called her mother and asked her to come over and sit with Callie. Then Nola drove the two hours up to the mountains to meet James at the coroner’s office in the small town near which they had their cabin. With James’ arms around her shoulders, Nola stood like a statue as the coroner drew back the white sheet to expose Fred’s still face. Nola felt hot tears burn their way down her cheeks.
“From what I can ascertain, Mr. Sword had a massive heart attack and died instantly,” the coroner said. “However, I do recommend you have an autopsy performed by a pathologist.” “Never!” screamed Nola. “No one’s gonna cut up my Fred. Let him rest in peace.”
The coroner sighed. “Mrs. Steward, I do understand, but unless you have a death certificate, so you can proceed with a funeral…” Nola was trembling. “A funeral? Fred always said he wanted to…Read Full Story Here…,….
