Chapter 4

Linda

I know I’m dead but I want to tell my side of the story. I think this is a good time.

I was born and raised in New York City, Brooklyn to be exact. That’s where I got my Yankee accent. My senior year in high school my dad, who worked for Federal Express got transferred to the main office in Memphis. Culture shook! Mom could not take it and moved back to the city. We did not know it at the time but she had breast cancer. She died about six months before I married Bobby. Dad was killed in a traffic accident a year before I died. Now a little about me.

I am stout, not fat. But at 5’ 4” and 145 lbs. I was never going to be a runway model. And for those of you that are wondering about it, no I am not a virgin. Hey it’s 1976 for God’s sake. How many 19 year old virgins are there? Dad would not let me lay around the apartment all day so I get a part-time job waitressing. That’s where I met Bobby.

He came in late one night on his way home and sat in my section. He ordered a cup of coffee and lit a cigarette. Smoking was permitted back then. He looked nervous so I took a break and sat with him. He got to talking and told me about his anger issues caused by the war. I held his hand and he seemed to calm down. He has the softest blue eyes! We talked until my manager demanded I get back to work or he was going to fire me. Bobby understood and I let go of my hand. He asked me out for the next night. I had to work, shit! But I was off two nights later and he picked me up in his truck. A redneck! I had never been in a pick-up truck in my life. This was new, fun and exciting! We had a whirlwind romance. The first time we made love was soooo good! The second time we were at his house for the week-end and I loved it! Again the first time I ever spent the night outside of a city. Country living! I love it! We were married 4 months after our first date.

Now it is two and a half years later. Country living, not so great for this city girl. Do you know there is no pizza delivery out here? And to get to a mall it is an hour drive!

It was Christmas time and we were invited to one of his Aunt’s for a party. Actually more of a family re-union. One of his cousins was home from the Navy. Bobby and this cousin, Roy, did not seem to be real friendly but I blow it off. It was something about Navy men and Marines, I think. Anyway I enjoyed talking to Roy. He had been all over the world and visited cities like Rome, Venice, Paris and London. I was enthralled just listening to him. He told me he was on recruiting duty in Memphis and if I could get away he would take me to lunch and we could ‘talk’ some more. I decided not to tell Bobby about this.

It was the first week of January and it was cold. Bobby and his crew were cleaning out one of the chicken houses and the smell of shit was in the air. I was restless and I decided to go to Memphis and so I called Roy. Maybe lunch and some talk would get me in a better mood, right?