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“Quite a long time. Alfred’s a young man compared to me.”
I really didn’t want to hear about his stamina in bed, but I did need to know the timeframe.
“I’d say ten minutes,” she added.
I didn’t comment on the fact that ten minutes from start to finish was not anything to crow about.
“I heard other vehicles arriving, car doors closing,”she said. Blinking slowly, she stared forward, remembering that evening. “Anyway. We finished and went inside. I made a beeline for the punch, as I always do. As I said, we’d hiked, and I was very thirsty.”
“With kidney disease, I’d think you’d carry water with you everywhere.” By mentioning it this way, I wasn’t bringing in what Hazel said.
“I usually do, but the hike was spontaneous. Alfred was quite insistent, and I really don’t want to disappoint my new husband. My kidney is fine. The hospital ran all sorts of tests and told me I was doing great when Alfred wasn’t in the room. I asked them not to share my medical condition with my boyfriend. That’s what the community thinks he is, and we agreed to call him that while he was there.”
“Why?”
“Because we’re still planning our reception. We don’t want anyone to know until the announcements go out.”
I guessed that made sense. “Where was Rose when you went back inside?”
“Still in the bathroom.”
“Were you concerned that she was taking that long?” Ten minutes was a long time even for someone using a walker.
“Not really. She said she had to,” Sue coughed and lowered her voice, “poop. I wasn’t going to get involved with that. By then, I was more worried about everyone crowding around the punchbowl, scooping it out. It goes fast.”
“Who else was in the function hall by then?” We were missing something. I just couldn’t determine what.
“Bob. Hazel. And Carla.”
“Did you happen to see Ginny there?”
“No, but Bob was all set up in this chair, so I assume she was out in the van like usual.”
“Did you notice if the van was there when you were out front?”
“It was.” She took a sip of her coffee before placing the mug back on the counter. “It’s big. Silver. They park in the handicap spot right out front, and you can’t miss it.”
“Was she in it?”
“I didn’t look.”
That didn’t mean she wasn’t there. “Did Bob drink any punch?”
“I don’t think so. He usually sticks to ginger ale. He drove his scooter over to the buffet table while I was sipping my first cup. He loves Carla’s barbecued mini weenies, and they go almost as fast as Rose’s punch.”
“What does he do after dishing up a plate?”
“He always places it on his lap and steers his scooter over to the table. We leave a spot without a chair and his scooter fits nicely beneath the table. I finished my second glass of punch and poured my third. Feeling bad for Bob because it was nearly gone, I got a cup for him and brought it to the table in case he wanted some.”
“Did he drink any?”
“I don’t know. I just grabbed my third cup. It had been hot all day, and I was thirsty. Between the four of us, we were close to emptying the punch bowl. I started vomiting soon after, and honestly, I don’t recall much of what happened after that. I was too focused on makingsure my vomit reached the inside of the trash barrel and didn’t splatter on the floor.”
Since I couldn’t think of anything else to ask, I stood. “Thank you very much for speaking with me.”
“You’re most welcome.”
“I hope you’re able to straighten things out with Alfred.”
