Taking Good Care

The tea was infused with a lavender tint as the boiling water seeped into the purple flowers at the bottom of the cup.

Gary called Tom’s cell he knew would be off and left the message, “I’ll be out for awhile but you've got to be at my house precisely at noon!”

Gary added sugar, finished his tea, rinsed and put away the cup.

Just before 10 a.m., he glanced at the pictures atop of the piano as he stretched out on the living room floor wearing the smile of a contentment he hadn’t known.

The door was ajar when Tom found Gary’s stiffening body curled up with Janice’s framed picture curled into the crook of his elbow.

The digitalis was so effective that there was never an autopsy, and Janice’s claim on Gary’s new insurance policy was paid without regard to the suicide clause.