A Place called Heritage — Part 3

Jeannie felt like a zombie the next morning. All that time I spend working with dead people must be rubbing off on me, she thought absently. The coffee maker had a fresh pot waiting on her. Dale came into the kitchen. “Hey good lookin’, you better get outta here before my wife gets home.” he said. Jeannie giggled and poured a cup of black coffee for him. She made sure to add plenty of sugar to her coffee.

They sat down on the couch together. She took a sip of her coffee and almost spat it out. “What is wrong with that coffee maker! This is terrible.” Dale took a careful sip from his mug. “Tastes fine to me.” She stared at him. Dale was trying hard not to laugh. “It’s that salt you put in it.” he said. “Salt? How could you stand there and let me do that?” “Baby, I thought it was one of your new diets from TikTok. I didn’t want to interfere.” Jeannie let out a snort-laugh. Dale lost it. A minute later, neither of them could catch their breath.

“This light bill ain’t gonna pay itself. I need to get going. I have a job lined up. I’ll have enough at the end of the week to pay the light bill.” Dale said. “That’s great, hon. Fingers crossed that the water company doesn’t cut us off anytime soon. I’m going to head over to Charlene’s salon. She might have a client for me.” “You know I love your cousin, just be careful. She’s trouble on a stick.”

Jeannie pulled into the Cedar Creek Estates mobile home park. Charlene’s place was easy to recognize. She had her entire trailer painted in a pink and black leopard pattern. There were two life-size leopard statues on either side of the metal steps at the entrance. As Jeannie walked in, she smelled the cigarette smoke and hairspray first. She still had her vintage TV Guide magazine collection. Charlene was convinced she can sell them on ebay. She planned to as soon as she got enough money for a computer. Jeannie turned a corner and overheard Charlene’s cackling laughter. “…there he was at two in the mornin’ in the middle of Baker Street holding a live rattlesnake by the tail…” “Hey girl! come on in.” “Are you telling that story again?” “Yeah it’s pretty romantic ain’t it? Bill caught that rattler to impress me. I knew he was the one. When I look at him, he still makes my heart skip a beat to this day.”

Charlene was dolled up in her usual style. Fashion, at least in Charlene’s mind, wasn’t tied to any particular decade. She wore a seventies shag haircut with acid-washed jeans from the eighties, a studded leather belt, bangles stacked halfway to her elbows, and neon fingernails that could probably be seen from space.

Thankfully, her makeup was tasteful. Jeannie had won that battle years ago. The wardrobe, however, remained a lost cause. Jeannie had spent years trying to introduce Charlene to solid colors. Charlene had spent the same number of years trying to convince Jeannie that every woman looked better in leopard print.

Jeannie looked over and saw the lady in Charlene’s salon chair. “Hi there, Mrs. Saunders. I haven’t seen you since Carl’s funeral. How are you doing, hon?” “Hey Jeannie, I am doing a little better. I miss Carl. We had a lot of happy years together. He always took good care of me. I miss him every day. Carl was always worried about taking care of me…even after he was gone. The insurance company called today…” “Carl was always good to you and very thoughtful.” Jeannie said. “Bill can barely remember to replace the paper in the bathroom.” Charlene said. Charlene and Mrs. Saunders giggled but Jeannie stayed quiet.

Dale and Jeannie are having dinner. “I love seeing your pretty face by candlelight, my love. Enjoy it while it lasts. This will be our last night.” “Why’s that?” “Between the job I did today and Hank floating me a few bucks I can pay the light bill off tomorrow.” Jeannie doesn’t answer. She looks at the candle. “You okay?” She nods slightly. “Can I ask you something?” “You just did.” “Remember what you said last night?” “About what?” “About being worth more dead than alive.” Dale’s grin faded. Silence. He leaned back. “Jeannie…” “What if we got the money but you didn’t have to die?”

A Place called Heritage Part 4 coming soon