Bubbles Always Pop, pg. 8.
Near the end of June, I called Ed to see if he was going to join us for the 4th of July festivities at the city lake. He said he wasn't sure if he was going to be able to this year because he might be spending the day with the friends who had sold him the property. I called again a day or two before to see if he had finalized his plans. He said he was going to spend the day with his two other friends. Speaking to him a day or two after the 4th, he told me they had taken their boat out on the lake for the day. He said one of the highlights of the day was seeing a woman in another boat topless. I suppose that would have made it a memorable occasion.
The morning of July 17th, Bear and I took a detour from our usual morning walk to the convenience store instead because I was about out of cigarettes. Having to walk Bear anyway, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and alleviate the need to make an additional stop before going to work. When Bear and I walked into sight of the convenience store, I noticed Ed standing in the back of his truck filling his plastic containers with water from the store's outside faucet.
I said good morning and waved hello as I passed in front of his truck on my way to the front door of the store. I think it caught him a bit off guard noticing as I approached his face had a look of disgruntlement while his gaze was directed towards the store. I didn't think much of it at the time, thinking he was just tired from working the night before and perhaps wanting to complete his chore and go home.
After leaving the store, having made my intended purchase, I walked over to him. He was still in the process of filling, but he had turned his attention to watching the water level of the container being filled. I asked how he was getting along. He answered with a tired "Oh, alright." I told him I needed to get Bear back to the house and left him with a farewell.
Friday, I had just gotten off work and came home in my usual ho-hum mood only thankful it was the weekend, and I would have the next two days off. SJ was sitting in one of the two high back chairs so I flopped down in the other.
"Michael," SJ said as soon as I had seated myself, "I have some bad news."
"Oh, and what is that," I replied.
"Ed was found dead today at his home."
"Are you sure?" I asked, thinking some rumor was making its way around town and by the time SJ had heard, it was something far beyond the truth.
"That is what I heard from Jed at work today. He told me a friend had found him lying in his lounger, dead. He also heard Ed died by a gunshot wound to the head."
I couldn't believe it. No, I wouldn't believe it. I immediately called Ed's home, but got no answer. Then I called the motel where he had gone back to work. The manager told me Ed was on longer working there. I inquired further and learned Ed was in fact no longer among the living. I asked the manager if he knew exactly what had happened (I had thought Ed had actually been shot by another party), but he said the only thing he could say at the time was the sheriff's office was handling the investigation. He did tell me Ed's family had been contacted, and they were expected to be there that weekend.
I was shocked. I had known this person for over four years, had him in our home on numerous occasions and couldn't even imagine why someone would want to hurt Ed. I had thought it might be drug related. |
