Read Online All the Single Ladies by Dorothea Benton Frank - Free Book Online Page B

those years was of no interest to him. In fact, he seemed offended by me like I’m some kind of a Jezebel.”
    â€œGood grief. Didn’t your lawyer object?”
    â€œOf course! He went crazy! But it didn’t matter. Judges can do whatever they want.”
    â€œAren’t you going to file a countersuit?”
    â€œAnd get the same judge? And the same result? For what? And who’d take the case? A contingency lawyer? I’m sick of lawyers and courts and judges.”
    â€œSo, what are you going to do?”
    â€œWell, being that I’m practically a professional spouse, I guess I’ll start looking for another husband. I just joined About Time.”
    Suzanne reentered the room.
    â€œProfessional spouse? Ha! That’s rich! More like a black widow spider, if you ask me,” she said. “She gets them in her web, has her way with them, and then zaps them!”
    â€œOh, thanks!” Carrie said, and laughed. “Sadly, it’s true. I have been unlucky with husbands.”
    I didn’t want to ask how many there had been but I knew because of what Suzanne said that I would be correct to assume that however many there had been, they were all dead. And what was About Time? One of those online dating sites?
    â€œWhere’s Pickle?” I said, unsure of how to respond.
    â€œSitting on my grandmomma’s lap watching old reruns of Lassie. You may never see her again.”
    â€œOh Lord,” I said, and laughed. “She loves Lassie like no other.”
    We started opening boxes and, once again, decided to categorize the contents by what the nursing home could use, what could go to Goodwill, and what should get ditched.
    â€œMost of the clothes should go to Goodwill,” I said.
    â€œProbably,” Suzanne agreed.
    â€œYeah, now that I’m looking at her clothes again,” I said. “It’s all pretty beaten up.”
    Suzanne was going through a box of Kathy’s papers and came upon a pile of bank statements held together with rubber bands. She opened one and within a minute or two I could see the surprise on her face.
    â€œOh my!” she said.
    â€œWhat?” Carrie said.
    â€œShe didn’t even have five hundred dollars to her name!” Suzanne said.
    â€œReally?” Carrie said. “That’s worse than my situation!”
    â€œMaybe she had other accounts?” I said, thinking how does a woman get along in the world with only five hundred dollars to her name? Not that I had much more, that was for sure.
    â€œI’m digging,” Suzanne said. A few minutes later she added, “Well, if there are other accounts they’re not in this box. All I’ve got here are six years of statements from Wells Fargo. Thank goodness she had good medical insurance.”
    â€œWho can afford insurance these days?” Carrie said. “It’s so expensive.”
    â€œYou didn’t sign up for Obamacare?” Suzanne said.
    â€œAre you serious? Have you been to that crazy website? Forget that! Wait! Oh, gosh! I can’t believe I forgot to tell y’all!”
    â€œWhat?” Suzanne and I said together.
    â€œGuess who was standing on Savannah Highway with a big old sign protesting Krispy Kreme using palm oil that comes from cutting down rain forests?”
    Suzanne looked at me and arched an eyebrow as if to say, How should I know? I giggled because I didn’t know anyone who protested anything. Ever.
    â€œBoy, I have some dull life,” I said. “I don’t know anybody who would do that.”
    â€œMe either,” Suzanne said.
    â€œYes, y’all do! It was Paul! That guy Kathy used to date! The organist from the church!”
    â€œHoly Mother!” Suzanne said.
    â€œDid you talk to him?” I asked.
    â€œCome on, you know me. Do you think I could pass that up? I went over to him and said, So, Paul? What’s going on? He gets all worked up and says in this very