A few things

R has been staying with us while some critical plumbing work is being done on his apartment. It’s been nice having him hang out and chatting with us in the evenings. He has cooked some meals and done dishes and acted, um, grown up. I left home mid morning to go to the desert to visit my sister-in-law. I wanted to visit again before starting back to work. I stopped at my old newspaper on the way, in part to pick up copies of my brother’s obituary but also to see if my old boss was there. She was still there, she said I could have a job any time I wanted to come back. She seemed genuinely happy to see me and told me about many of the changes in the town since we left 13 years ago! It made me feel good to know I could come back to the desert and have a job.

My sister-in-law seems to be adjusting. She has been having time alone in the house and is planning major organizing and cleaning tasks. The house does look much neater. My brother’s sons  have been carting off papers to determine the financial wranglings that need addressing. It has been disheartening for them that my brother was not so organized, there seems to be a fair amount of missing information. They filed his life insurance claim but because he purchased it less than two years ago, an investigation is automatically triggered. They are worried the claim will be denied which would be catastrophic, financially speaking. But that is putting the cart before the horse…in six months it will be settled.

I am sitting at their kitchen table now, she has gone to sleep and I am listening to the fridge run, a dripping faucet and the low moan the wind makes through the slightly opened window. Their cat, Iris, is observing me from some hidden place, I can just feel those cat eyes on me. I will turn out the lights soon and get to sleep too. Leaving at 0-dark-thirty to get home in time to meet a repairman for my mother-in-law and get clothes washed for my work week next week.