At Witt's End

27

Nan knocked softly on the cabin door, waiting for one of the sisters to acknowledge her arrival.

"You don't need to knock. You're always welcome here,” Jane said.

A weak smile crossed Nan 's lips. She greeted each sister with a hug. She patted Mr. Bakke's shoulder as she joined the elderly trio at the kitchen table.

"What do you think of my new hair color?” Sadie asked. “The magazines say it's all the rage."

"Wow,” Nan said, evaluating the new color as Sadie turned a complete circle. “Is it supposed to be mustard color?"

"Not really. Big Leon said I should wash it a couple times until the color fades.” Gazing in the mirror above the sideboard, Sadie said, “Actually, I kind of like it. It goes nice with these shorts.” She ran a hand over the leather fabric and looked up to see if Nan agreed.

"Big Leon told me to sprinkle this in my hair. It's supposed to give it that extra punch.” Sadie held up a bag of silver glitter. “I think it might be a bit too much. What do you think?"

Before Nan could answer, Jane said, “You already look like a damn fool. If you added glitter, people would mistake you for a Fourth-of-July sparkler and light your head on fire."

"Coming from someone whose life revolves around the vibrant color of beige, I'll take that as a compliment."

"I don't see anything wrong with looking respectable,” Jane said. “What's wrong with white and beige?” Seeking reinforcement, Jane said, “Mr. Bakke agrees with me.” Getting no response, she batted his hand and growled through clenched teeth, “Don't you."

"Yes, dear."

"I see you're wearing the same depressing colors Jane's wearing. What happened to your plaid shorts?” Sadie said.

"Jane surprised me with a new outfit.” Mr. Bakke looked down and sighed.

"If you want my advice, stick to what you usually wear. You look much better in plaid shorts and Hawaiian shirts than in those washed out colors. You and Jane look like twin cadavers."

"No, he doesn't,” Jane said, dismissing the comment with a wave of her hand. “Quit telling him stuff like that. I don't want him looking stupid like you."

"Before Nan knocked on the door, you said you were in the mood for rhubarb crisp,” Jane said. “Why don't you dish some up?"

"Why don't you? Just because you've got a crack in your ass doesn't mean your legs are broken,” Sadie said. She crossed to the cupboard and selected four forks and placed them on the counter.

Belly pawed at her leg as she jabbed one of the utensils into the dessert pan. She offered a forkful of rhubarb crisp to the impatient dog. Belly lapped at the fork before snorting and backing away. He expelled a slobbery sneeze that sent crisp flying in all directions.

"You know you don't like rhubarb,” Sadie said, swiping at a glob that had landed in her hair. “I don't know why you insist on tasting everything we eat."

Sadie pushed a plate toward her guest. Nan said, “None for me, thank you. It's one of my favorites, but I don't have much of an appetite."

"You've been awfully quiet,” Jane said. “Is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure.” Nan pulled a folded envelope from her pocket and placed it on the table. “I've got something to discuss with you. Actually two things."

Sadie placed forks in front of Jane and Mr. Bakke before setting their desserts on the table.

"I've told you before I've been dating Paul Brinks and that the frequency has intensified,” Nan began.

Mr. Bakke shot a glance at Sadie before looking back down at his plate and grabbing his fork.

"You also know that with Carl's lawsuit pending, I might lose the land lease for the mortuary."

The elderly trio nodded their understanding.

"I'm afraid I find myself making a decision based on the love of my profession, rather than on what I should base it on.” Seeing their concerned expressions, Nan said, “Unfortunately, because of Carl Swanson, I'm leaning toward a decision I might regret later."

"I don't understand what you're trying to tell us,” Jane said. “What does Carl have to do with this?"

"Because of Carl, we're looking at an uncertain future.” Nan 's face tensed. “That was until last night when Paul asked me to marry him. We'd talked about marriage in the past, but I wasn't ready. This time his offer was so lucrative, I didn't think I'd be able to turn it down. But then I found this. Now I don't know what to think.” She pointed at the envelope.

"Oh, my dear…,” Jane began, but Sadie held her hand up to interrupt her sister.

"We have something to talk to you about, too,” Sadie said.

"Maybe you didn't understand. Paul officially proposed last night.” Noticing the serious expressions on their faces, Nan 's concern deepened.

"We understood,” Sadie said. She pointed at the envelope. “What's that got to do with Paul's proposal?"

"Do you remember when some of my clients were shocked to learn their life insurance polices weren't worth what they thought they were?” Nan pulled her chair closer to the table. “They were positive they had purchased policies with larger death benefits."

"I vaguely remember,” Sadie said, hoping Nan would validate what she and Theo had discovered.

"It's happened twice recently. Both of the policies were with a company named Gessal Life Insurance. This Gessal Life envelope was in Paul's car. I picked it up by mistake."

Mr. Bakke shifted nervously in his chair.

Sadie nodded in understanding. Nan asked, “You're familiar with that company?"

"I am. And I'm afraid we've got bad news for you."