5 Years Later
Della opened the door to the front porch, basking for a moment in the early morning California sunshine, before beginning her search in the bushes for the newspaper. The paperboy never seemed to be able to manage to aim the paper at the porch itself, and so Della, after many conversations beseeching him to try just a bit harder, resigned herself to playing a bit of hide and seek each day.
"Ahh, there you are!" She extricated the paper from the bushes, and made her way back inside.
Perry was waiting for her in the kitchen, piling eggs and toast onto a plate for her, and pouring her some hot coffee.
"Where was it this time?"
"In the bushes," came the reply. "Second time this week. If he keeps this up, his version of accuracy is going to ruin my fun."
"Anything interesting in the paper today?" Perry seated himself across from her, and laid his napkin on his lap.
"You could look for yourself, you know."
"I could, but you know how much I love it when you read to me. Besides, my glasses are somewhere in the bedroom. God knows where you threw them last night. After breakfast, we'll go find them, and if you're lucky, I'll give you the opportunity to throw them again."
"Enough of that," Della laughed. "We have things to do today, so your glasses - and everything else - can wait for a while. Let's see now…." She laid her fork aside, and perused the paper carefully. "The captain of the Exxon Valdez has been cleared -"
"I told you that would happen."
"So you did. Good call, Counselor - another one you got right. Now let's see what else we have here….oh, you'll find this interesting. Manuel Noriega has been sentenced to 40 years on drug charges."
"No interest at all. How about something closer to home?"
Della put aside the main section of the paper, and picked up the local news. "It's probably going to be nothing but local politics, but….oh my." It was right there, on the front page. "Perry it's….it's…."
"What, Della?"
"Laura."
"Don't tell me she's running for the Senate again?"
"No, Perry….she's….it seems she had a heart attack at her home and….oh Perry. She's gone."
"I see." The look on his face was inscrutable, and he said nothing more, as he took a bite of his unbuttered toast.