Ed Lynskey - Isabel and Alma Trumbo 03 - The Ladybug Song by Ed Lynskey Read Free Book Online

the
sedan and scooted off down Main Street.

Chapter 8
     
    Phyllis Garner
and Ladybug Miles had last gotten together for an early lunch to beat the
hordes crowding Eddy’s Deli, a favorite local eatery with expansive windows letting
in lots of sunlight, perhaps a week earlier. The exact day was lost to memory
since Phyllis found it tedious to keep track of the days. She lived with no set
schedule, so why did she bother with keeping a calendar or watching a clock?
    She did recall
she had ordered Eddy’s BLT. It came with extra crispy bacon and mayonnaise on
toasted rye bread, the yummiest lunch menu item besides Eddy’s chili con carne with
grated cheddar cheese. The old-fashioned root beer was her beverage of choice. She’d
toned down her bag lady get up for the luncheon. After their meals came, the
ladies had some serious catching up to do, and the agitated Ladybug started out.
    “This economic
depression the news media goes on about has gotten me down in the dumps,” she
said.
    Phyllis tried
to reassure her friend. “Things have bottomed out and will turn around and get
better. You just wait and see if I’m not right about it.”
    “I have
never trusted the banks, and if they fail, our money will be gone forever, and
that pill is too bitter to swallow at my ripe old age.”
    “The
federal government insures our bank deposits. All the personal financial
experts advise us not to panic and to hang tough.”
    “I’d
like to believe it is true, but Uncle Sam isn’t doing so great financially.” Ladybug
also related her tragic news. “Did I tell you my ex died?”
    Phyllis looked
at Ladybug who reminded Phyllis of the Mona Lisa except with pin curls and a
thinner face. “Which ex was that?” asked Phyllis. “Was he Number One, Two, or
Three?”
    “Curt Miles
was Number Three. He was my last ex before I wised up and decided to give the
institution of matrimony the final boot.”
    “Good
for you. Did Curt and you remain friendly after your divorce?”
    “Curt and
I stayed on the best terms I kept with any of my exes. Refresh my memory. Did
you ever meet him?
    “I never
had the pleasure. He came during your Chicago period, and I sadly didn’t make
it out to the Windy City to visit you, my loss it would now seem.”
    “You
didn’t have much of a chance to visit us. Curt and I barely got past our one-year
anniversary before we broke up. You may have heard of the couples who get their
quickie Las Vegas divorces. Well, that’s how we handled ours, too.”
    “I
assume there wasn’t another lady in the picture if you both stayed in touch,”
said Phyllis, pondering why Ladybug would still have feelings for him. Didn’t a
couple getting a divorce mean severing their emotional ties?
      “To my
knowledge, he was a faithful partner until the end.”
    “What
happened to make your marriage end so quickly?”
    “Oh, I
don’t know. I suppose we grew bored with each other’s company. On the other
hand, maybe I was growing too homesick for Quiet Anchorage since Curt said he never
wanted to live anywhere but in his native Chicago. Are you wondering how Curt
died?”
    “I’m
curious but not enough to ask you it if it’s too painful to say.”
    “Curt was
a jumper.” Ladybug gave Phyllis a look as bleak as ten miles of bad road. “Isn’t
that a horrid way to choose to die?”
    Phyllis
nodded. “Did Curt jump off a skyscraper or a bridge?”
    “He
picked the latter, and he did it in grandiose style. He bought a one-way
airline ticket to San Francisco.”
    “Ah
right, now I’m with you. The iconic Golden Gate Bridge is like a suicide magnet
drawing the jumpers,” said Phyllis, shaking her head. “That’s very tragic to
hear. You have my sympathy, for what it’s worth.”
    Ladybug
nodded. “It means a lot to me. The authorities have put up free suicide phones
on the south and north approaches of the bridge.” She teared up and used her index
finger to swipe away the first drops welling up in her eye