Je te Plumerai

Exordium

Arthur Caverly went outside to get the morning mail. When he came inside, his sister, Cadence, was standing in the kitchen making a pot of tea.

"Anything interesting?" she asked, turning to look at him. "Or just the same old bills?"

"It looks like just the ordinary, bills, more bills, and the occasional charity asking for donations," replied Arthur, sifting through the stack of envelopes. "Oh, this looks interesting. Something from out of the country. Malaise, it looks like. Do we know anyone who lives there?"

"Malaise, Malaise," muttered Cadence, drumming her fingers against the table. "It sounds so familiar. We must know someone there... Oh, I know! Aveline Garnier! I went to school with her, then she got married and moved to France with that French bloke. Pilot, wasn't he? Anyway, it's been too long. We should invite her out on the next holiday weekend. You remember Aveline, don't you Arthur?"

"Yes, of course," answered Arthur absentmindedly, marveling at his sister's memory, still sharp despite the fact that she was getting on in years. He didn't really remember Aveline Garnier, but he knew his sister would continue to prattle on for ages no matter what he said. The name did ring a bell. She was a pretty girl, he thought, and bright too, but I don't remember anything else about her. I can't even picture her face! Oh well, if I know Cadence, we'll be seeing her again soon.

"... and then we went to Bournemouth together during college. What fun we had! We really do need to get together again soon. I never did like that husband of hers though. Seemed shady if you ask me. He just wanted to get in on her money, but it's not my place to say who she can and can't marry. Aveline's smart. She can take care of herself. Arthur. Arthur! Can I see that letter? Let's see what old Aveline has to say."

"What? Oh, yes, of course. Here you are," Arthur said before turning back to his tea, distraitly swirling it around in his cup.

"Why that's horrible! Arthur, look at this! Aveline's been killed! How terrible," exclaimed Cadence, shaking the paper in her brother's face. "Surely we can attend the funeral, can't we? I feel horrible for not going to visit more often, it's the least we can do. The services are in three days. Do you think we can get a train to Malaise in that time? I certainly hope we can. It would be a shame to miss it. I'd like to give my condolences to her family, even her husband. I still don't like him, but it must be hard on him. They did seem quite happy together. Aveline was positively infatuated with him."

Arthur, shocked by the news that the flamboyant, animate young girl he had met all those years ago would never see the light of day again, sat up, stirred from his inattentiveness by the sudden announcement. "Of course we will be attending the funeral. It would be rude to do otherwise."

"Great! Let's go to town to get tickets right away!"

"Wait! Cadence! We should have breakfast first!" Arthur shouted, but Cadence was already out the door and clearly would not pay any mind to what Arthur was saying. Sighing, Arthur gave up on his plans for a peaceful morning spent at home and took one last sip of tea before setting it down and following Cadence out the door.

By the time Arthur caught up with her, Cadence was already halfway to town. When she set her mind on something, she would get it done, no matter how simple or random the task may be. Because of her constantly full schedule, she always walked quickly in order to make the best use of her time. It was her personal motto that "when one has much to do, it is not in one's best interest to waste time on transportation." So, when Arthur ran up behind her and asked what the rush was, that was what she replied with.

"Honestly Arthur, you should get out more. You're out of breath from just that little walk?"

"I would call that more of a run than a walk. You need to learn to slow down every now and then."