Page 113 of Too Old for This

Although he shouldn’t. He should stay far away from this mess.

But people never do what’s good for them. Not me. Not Plum or Cole or Norma. Not Archie. Not Kelsie. And definitely not Burke.

Burke:I’m coming down there.

Norma:How soon?

Burke:I’ll be there tomorrow.

Of course he will be. Burke and I are too much alike. Neither of us knows when to stop.

CHAPTER 61

Skin makes a popping sound. They don’t show that in the movies or on TV, but it’s true. When you first break the skin—when you stab someone—it pops.

Everything about using a knife is bad. That damn sound, the heat from the body when it’s opened up, the mess of the blood. Most of the time, it’s not worth the work.

I only used a knife once. Archie was in high school and didn’t need me around all the time, so I decided to take a little vacation alone. I rented a small cabin in the mountains. Three days to myself, no work, no bills or car problems or laundry. No one to talk to or deal with.

Then, Monica. The backpacker.

She came to my door in need of help. And while I am not against helping someone, I do think it’s important that they help themselves. Put in a little effort. Monica, on the other hand, was just soneedy.

She showed up at my door, lost and sweaty and in need of directions.

“Please help. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know where I am.”

It was all so dramatic, especially since my car was parked near the house. The dirt road wasright there. If she had stopped to think for two seconds, Monica would’ve realized it must lead to some other kind of road. She just didn’t want to walk the four miles out.

I did make her ask. I wasn’t about to offer her a place to stay unless she had the nerve to ask. It took her an hour, during which she rambled incessantly, recounting every minute of the time she spent being lost.

“Would it be all right if I slept here tonight?” she asked.

“Of course you can. Now let’s get some food in you.”

We made dinner together. I sliced up fresh tomatoes for a salad while Monica washed lettuce in the sink. She still would not shut up. She told me, yet again, about how she got lost.

“…and there was this rock. I didn’t realize I passed by it twice. I don’t know how that happened, but you know, I was really trying to concentrate on the nature. That’s why I came out here, to disconnect from all the tech and reconnect with the natural world. So I passed right by that rock twice. The fourth time, though. That’s when I realized I was walking in circles…”

“You told me this already,” I said.

“Did I?”

“Yes.”

“I guess I’m just venting because this day has been so traumatic and I’m trying to deal with it.”

I lost my patience and stopped slicing tomatoes.

“What else would you like me to do for you?” I asked.

She recoiled. Her mouth twisted up like she had sucked on a lemon. “I thought you would listen.”

“I have. Several times.”

“When you first offered to help, you reminded me of someone.”

“Who?”