Murder on the Ballot, Myrtle Clover #17

Chapter Nineteen

Miles and Myrtle walked out to his car. Myrtle sighed. "I feel like Wanda needs to be in town, don't you? It's been good to have her stay with me for a while. She just seems so isolated when she's out there with that crazy brother of hers. Plus, here in town she eats better and can visit with people and is near medical care if she needs it."

Miles was quiet for a few moments and then said, "That's all true. But I wonder if it's how Wanda feels about it."

"You think she misses home?" Myrtle, although she prided herself on her imagination, couldn't seem to picture it—missing the dark, cluttered house in the middle of nowhere. "Misses Crazy Dan?"

Miles shrugged. "It's hard for me to imagine it too, but it's all she's known. Plus, you know how people are when they see her in town. It's like a celebrity appearance. They all huddle around her. It's very tiring."

Myrtle made a face. "Well, that's true. If there's one thing I've learned over my many years, it's that people are often thoughtless and annoying. I'll have to find out what Wanda thinks about all this. I'd been wondering if maybe I could help find her a small duplex or something that she could afford in town. Maybe she wouldn't like that, though."

"I think it's something she should be asked about," said Miles.

Myrtle thought about this on the short ride to the barbeque restaurant. The parking lot for the old building was usually packed, but they'd timed their trip there well and there were only a few cars out front. The restaurant had been there for as long as Myrtle could remember, which was a very long time. It was the kind of local hole-in-the-wall place that didn't exactly exude "fine dining," but offered the best barbeque in the county.

They walked in and waited a moment for their eyes to adjust from the bright sunshine outside to the dim interior. When they did, Miles and Myrtle saw Scotty at the front register, grinning at them.

"Look who's here," he said. "How are things going?"

"Oh, pretty good," said Myrtle. "I spoke with your mother recently and she said that you're doing great. She mentioned you were working here now and that your new apartment was really working out."

Scotty nodded. "Sure is. Hey, let's get you both seated and then I'll have a second to talk. It's quiet in here right now."

They followed him to a booth and Scotty handed them both laminated menus. They placed their order (Miles carefully choosing various vegetables) and Scotty gave it to the kitchen before coming back to the table.

"Are you waiting tables, too?" asked Myrtle.

Scotty said with a smile, "Oh, this time of day I do a little bit of everything but usually, I'm just stationed on the cash register."

Myrtle said, "You seem really cheerful, though, working here in any capacity. Do you like the people you work with?"

Scotty's smile widened. "I just like working, period! Don't get me wrong—I miss my dad. What happened to him was awful and it wasn't his time to go. Plus, his death has really wrecked my mom. But there were a few things that ended up working out well for me. Dad had his pride and he thought it would be beneath him to have a son who worked retail. Ridiculous, right? He was pushing for me to go back to college and get a business major. No matter what I said, he stood totally firm on it."

Myrtle nodded. "Now you're able to be out of the house and making some money of your own. You have your independence and freedom. I completely understand that. My independence is one of the greatest things I treasure."

"I'm so much happier now and feel so much more satisfied with my life. When I was living with my parents and stuck at home, I was frustrated all the time. I mean—I went to several different universities. My grades were totally mediocre and the whole time I was there, I felt lost and kind of directionless. It made it worse that everyone around me seemed to know what they wanted to do and were focused on taking classes and studying to get a step closer every time. I felt like I was the only one on campus who didn't have any kind of plan."