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"Why did you do this? How can you be this

cruel? These children need a father. especially Noble.

What you couldn't provide, he could have provided.

You could have warned me. You could have. Arthur!" Arthur? She's talking to Daddy, I thought, and

hurried down the hallway.

I found her sitting on the chintz sofa, looking

out the window. She had her legs drawn up and under

her. Dressed only in her robe and slippers, she was

dabbing her eyes with her handkerchief. I quickly

looked about the room. but I didn't see Daddy's spirit

anywhere. Mommy turned slowly and looked at me.

She wasn't upset that I had gotten out of bed and come

down. She just stared at me and then shook her head

and looked out the window again. It was pitch-dark

outside. What was she looking at? I wondered and

drew closer.

"Why were you shouting. Mommy?" I asked. She sighed deeply and nodded her head. Then

she took a deep breath and turned to me.

"There has been a terrible, terrible accident,"

she said. "On his way home from here tonight. Mr.

Kotes was hit head-on by a pickup truck driven by

drunken teenage boys. Nothing much happened to

them. They were too drunk to even realize what they

did," she added.

"Mr. Kotes?" I said.

"Yes. He's dead. That was his sister who called.

She was hysterical. She blamed it on me because he

was here, because he was with me. She called me all

sorts of terrible names."

"He's dead?"