Chapter 2: Becky (the BFF)

I had been busy all day and was tired. I noticed that Sue did not call me that night but that was not so unusual for the last couple of months. She was having to work now and was probably just too tired to call. The next night I tried calling her and she did not answer. The following day I called the store where she worked. They told me she had missed work the last two days and had not called in. I panicked. I took off work and drove over to her apartment.

Her car was parked out front. I knocked, then beat on the door screaming her name. There was no answer. I called the police and asked if they would do a welfare check, then went and found the apartment manager who had a master key. We waited until the squad car arrived before we opened the door. The manager and I were instructed to wait outside as the policemen entered the apartment. One came back and was on his radio reporting a 10-56.

“What’s that?” asked the manager.

“Suicide,” I said as I began to cry.

The police asked if I could make the identification. I could and I walked into the bathroom to see my BFF sitting in a bloody tub of water. She had sliced both wrists. Outside I called her parents and told them what had occurred.

After the police released the body, she was taken to a funeral home. There was an open casket and Sue looked like she was peacefully sleeping. I sat and listened to people commenting on how happy Sue had been with Cody and talking trash about him leaving her. Her parents said he was the cause of all this. They believed he had a girlfriend and had run off with her!

I knew the truth, but I kept quiet. No use speaking ill of the dead. After an hour of listening to different theories of why Cody left and where he was living now, it began to get on my nerves. Sue was not the saint her family thought her to be nor Cody the devil he was being made out to be. I walked out on the front porch of the funeral home and watched four black kids playing basketball across the street in a parking lot.

About the time I was lighting up my second cigarette, a taxi pulled up on the other side of the street. A tall man got out. He had just paid the driver when a basketball bounced his way. He caught it with one hand.

“Big hands”, I thought.

One of the kids hollered for him to take a shot. Instead of shooting, he started dribbling the ball towards the basket, put a move on one kid in his way, jumped and dunked the ball to the cheers of the kids. After high fiving the boys he walked over to the funeral home.

As he walked up to where I was standing, I said, “You just proved the saying wrong. White men CAN jump!”

“Well, being 6’ 5” tall helps when I want to dunk a basketball. Is this where the services for Sue Taylor will be held?”

“Yes.”

“Is Cody inside, I would like to...”

“Cody disappeared almost a year ago.”

“Disappeared? What happened?”

“You look familiar. Where have I seen you before?”

“I was one of the groomsmen at their wedding. You were the maid of honor. Right?”

“Yes, I was. I’m surprised you remember me.”

“Hard to forget a tall, beautiful redhead.”

I felt myself beginning to blush as I thanked him for the compliment.

“I remember you also. You were by yourself, all the other groomsmen had their wives with them and you wore your Army uniform. You also did not stay for the reception.”

“You do remember me. I’m impressed. But I did go to the reception. I stayed maybe a half hour then I had to catch a flight back to Bragg, where I was stationed. My wife did not come with me. She had other things to do.”

“Are you still in the Army?” I asked as I snubbed out my cigarette.

“No, I got out about six months later, supposedly to save my marriage. I found out 3 months after getting out it was me she did not like, not the Army.” He laughed when he said that.

“So you’re divorce now?”

“Widower. The divorce was not final when she ran her car off the road and hit a tree. I did not have to pay the ridiculous amount of alimony the court had ordered so it worked out well for me. What’s this about Cody disappearing?”

I looked towards the door and thought better of taking him inside to hear all the lies and speculation.

“Let’s walk down to the coffee shop on the corner and I’ll tell you the truth about what happened. My name is Becky Sullivan, I was Sue’s best friend since grade school.”

“I’m Angus O’Shea. I only met her once, at the wedding. Cody and I served two tours in the sandbox together.”

“You want to go in and view the body before we leave?”

“I saw enough dead bodies in Iraq to last me a lifetime.”

He took my hand as we walked down the street. Over coffee, I told him the entire, true story of Sue, Cody and Leroy.

“So you knew she was cheating on Cody?”

“For about two weeks before he disappeared. I wanted her to break it off with Leroy, but she would not listen to me. I told her what would happen if he found out. Maybe that was a mistake. It seemed to embolden her. That girl was really messed up. She even invited me to go with her and be a part of a threesome with her and Leroy. Like I would ever do that!”

“So, you are not into kinky sex?”

I decided now was not the time to tell him about my past. Especially not the spring break trip I took my senior year in college. I drank too much and ended up dancing naked around a bonfire on the beach. That’s all I remember until I woke up the next morning in a room full of frat boys from some college up north. I could barely walk the remainer of the trip!

After graduating, my first job was working for one of the partners at a law firm. She was an older lady and a lesbian! Six months later, on an overnight trip to help a client, I woke up in bed next to her after a night of celebrating the signing of a big contract. That relationship soured soon after we returned home. She became very possessive of me and I decided I was not into girls. I quit and found another job.

“I’ve done my share of kinky stuff. But, I have my rules. One being I don’t fool around with married men. That never turns out good for either party. Being single and working in a law office, I get hit on a lot by married men. I have been offered trips to Las Vegas, the Bahamas and even one to London. An afternoon in a cheap motel with a married truck driver is not on my bucket list.”

“Good to know.”

“We better be getting back; the service starts at 2pm. You are staying for the service?”

“I planned on it.”

“What time do you have to leave for ... I know nothing about you, I’m sorry. All we have talked about is Sue and I...”

“How about we go to the service then meet up later for supper. I’ll get a hotel room and spend the night, then leave tomorrow.”

That was a great idea! I wanted to get to know Angus better, a lot better! I have decided that at 29 years old I am tired of living alone. I want to get married and start a family before I get too old to have kids. I am looking for someone who meets my requirements for a husband.

So far, he has met two of those requirements. First, he is not married and secondly, he is tall. I am 5’ 10” tall and I refuse to date a man shorter than me when I am wearing my high heels. I want to see if he passes my other requirements. One is that he has a good job and is a hard worker. I make a nice salary and I am not supporting any loafers. The other is, he must be faithful. I will not live with a cheater. The last one is that ... we’ll talk about that one later. It could be somewhat negotiable, maybe.