High Anxiety by Charlotte Hughes Read Free Book Online Page A

you think he’s up to it?”
    “He seems to have healed nicely.” I had no intention of telling her about our argument.
    “I heard they were calling in additional firemen,” Aunt Trixie said. “Everybody is terrified that it’s going to be as bad as the one in 2007. They’re saying somebody’s camp-fire got out of hand and started it.”
    “I can’t believe you let Jay go,” my mother said.
    I looked at her. “Since when have I had any control over his decisions?”
    My aunt suddenly snapped her fingers. “Oh, goodness gracious, Dixie,” she said. “We haven’t told Kate our exciting news.” She looked at me. “We bought an old trunk at an estate sale last week,” she said. “And guess what? While we were cleaning it yesterday we found a secret compartment. Guess what was in it?”
    “Money?” I asked.
    “Love letters!” she said.
    “Written during World War Two,” my mother added. “The man, John Smith, was a young naval officer at the time, and the young lady was a schoolteacher. Her name was Lenore Brown. Their last names are so common that it would take forever to locate them in the Atlanta phone book, even if they’re still alive. Arnell is trying to find out what he can on his computer.”
    “If anybody can get information about them, Arnell can,” Aunt Trixie said. “You should see him on that computer. Why, there’s nothing he can’t do.”
    I nodded. Arnell, real name Arnie Decker, was a patient of mine with a gender identity disorder. He’d spent his entire life feeling trapped in a man’s body. When he had decided to pursue sexual reassignment surgery, his family had disowned him. My mother and aunt had taken him under their wings, and he’d moved in with them. They got along surprisingly well in the oversized apartment above the studio.
    “Finding those letters was like going back in time,” Aunt Trixie said. “It’s so romantic.”
    “You didn’t tell Kate why the letters were hidden in the trunk,” my mother said. She looked at me. “Miss Brown was engaged to a wealthy young man from a so-called good family, and her parents were outraged when she fell in love with an enlisted man and called off the wedding. They forbade her to correspond with Mr. Smith, so Miss Brown opened a post office box, and the two wrote in secret. She promised to wait for him.”
    “They would be quite elderly by now if they were still alive,” I said. “Maybe you should check out a few nursing homes.”
    My mother and aunt looked at each other. “Why didn’t we think of that?” Aunt Trixie said.
    My mother sniffed. “I would have thought of it eventually.”
    “Hey, who wants ice cream?” I said.
    Trixie’s hand shot up in the air.
    “That would be nice,” my mother said. “Do you have pistachio?”
    It was just like my mother to ask for pistachio. I didn’t know a person in the world who liked the stuff, certainly not me. “Sorry, but I only keep chocolate in the house.” I stood and led the way to my kitchen. I pulled out three separate pints of Ben & Jerry’s chocolate fudge. Some women spent money on shoes; I bought Ben & Jerry’s. I put the cartons on the table and went for spoons.
    “We’re supposed to eat out of the containers?” my mother asked.
    “Yep.” I grinned.
    She opened the lid. “This is a lot of ice cream. I can’t possibly eat all of this.”
    “I plan to eat every last drop of mine,” Trixie said, digging in with gusto. “If you can’t finish yours, Kate and I will take turns with it.”
    The doorbell rang. I headed for the living room and found Mike’s vet, Jeff Henry, standing on the other side. I threw open the door. “I don’t believe it!” I said. “My mother, my aunt, and I are having an ice cream party. You must be psychic.” I stepped back so he could come in.
    “Actually, I just stopped by to make sure you’re okay. I read about your ordeal in the newspaper. That was very brave of you, Kate. Thank God you weren’t injured!”
    I