The Last Handful of Clover - Book 1: The Hereafter

1.42 Big Bird

June 6, 3:15 pm

Michelle checked her watch. It was after three pm, but there was still plenty of time to get Keith and get to the funeral home. As long as Pil didn't linger with the Hotline volunteers.

For the past two years, Pil had been the Volunteer Coordinator at the Utah Youth Crisis Line, and he had an office in their call center up in Sugarhouse. As she waited at a stoplight on Foothill Drive, Michelle remembered that he had only landed the job because of Richard Pratt. As out of character as she thought it was for Keith's husband, Richard had once volunteered at the Crisis Line many years ago, and it was Richard that suggested Pil would make a good fit for the program.

Pil had started as a volunteer, and although he had done great work as a counselor, Michelle knew he needed to be with someone physically in order to empathize and help them. Just talking on the phone could be frustrating, but working with the volunteers was another matter. So when the half-time Volunteer Coordinator position became available, Pil jumped at it.

The volunteers were young, earnest, and desperate to be of use in the world. In his new role, Pil supervised their training, and provided the listening ear they needed as they worked through the trauma of their first calls. The drug overdoses and the suicide attempts often took their toll on a new volunteer, and so Pil's phone was likely to light up, day or night. And he was far more likely to drive to the office to talk down a counselor after a tough call, than to just work them through it on the phone. But that also often meant that getting out of the office when he promised could be a challenge.

The big man surprised her this time. As she pulled up their yellow Chevy Tahoe in front of the office, he was looking out the window, waiting for her.

"Hey, Meowi..." she said, as her husband lumbered through the door of the low office building. The door was good and wide, but Michelle saw he still turned his shoulders and ducked his head as he walked through. She had noticed years ago that he had just made it a habit to perform that little dance move when going through a door, even when it wasn't necessary. It had probably saved him many a nasty crack on the head.

As usual, the people on the sidewalk scattered as he appeared. A man Pil's size just suddenly lumbering onto the sidewalk was enough to startle anyone, and she could see them turn their heads to follow him with their eyes as he rushed over to the car.

As he always did, Pil came around to her side of the vehicle first, gave her a big kiss through the window and then hustled around to his side. They had bought a Subaru Forester when they first got married, but getting Pil in and out of a regular sized car was both painful and hilarious. So despite the ecological footprint, they'd switched to this big yellow Chevy Tahoe (which Keith promptly christened "Big Bird"). Richard and Keith had taken the old Subaru off their hands, and it was now parked in their garage.

The Tahoe was a ridiculously large vehicle, and Michelle felt like a ten-year-old when she was driving it. But it was at least a vehicle that Pil could get in and out of without spraining something or damaging the vehicle.

"How did it go today?" Pil asked, squeezing himself into the passenger seat.

"Everything is fine, I guess," Michelle said with a sigh. "I have the groceries in the back. Not much, but enough to keep Keith afloat for a few days, if he really insists on being back in that house." She was sure her disapproval of that possibility was clear in her voice.

Pil put a big paw on her shoulder, and gave it a light squeeze, as she maneuvered the big boat out of the parking lot. He often said it amazed him that a little lady like her could pilot their behemoth with such skill.

"Do you have the papers for the funeral home?" Pil asked.

"No, I left them with Keith. He went over them last night and said he'd bring them when we pick him up."