Killing Me Softly (#Wattys2016)

TWENTY

TWENTY

Cicely Anderson was having a shitty day. First, she'd overslept and only woken up when her six year-old tapped her on the shoulder to remind her it was her day to take him to school. And then she overcooked the oatmeal. And she was late dropping him off. And on her way to take the car in for the oil change that was two months overdue, she spilled her lukewarm coffee all over her red suit, which she had just gotten out of the cleaners. The oil never got changed, but she did by running back home, which made her late for the luncheon where she was speaking. Now as she sat in the newsroom going over the rundown for the six, every single story in the first block was a rape, shooting, hit and run or child abandonment.

Some days she thought she wanted to get out of the news business altogether and go live on a farm in Wisconsin and sell cheese. Then she would remember she hated the country, was the number one anchorwoman in Chicago and that she was a news junky who thrived on the fast pace of local news and if she had to be stuck on a farm in Wisconsin with just her husband, her six-year-old and wheels of cheese, she'd run screaming for the hills. Cicely shook her head at the thought and continued going over the rundown. Her phone rang.

"Cicely Anderson," she said in her best breathy, disarming anchorwoman voice.

There was slight hesitation before an answer. "Uh, Cicely, hi, this is Sondra Ellis? Tracy's sister?"

"Oh, my God, Sondra, hi," Cicely said, her tone now soft and welcoming. "How are you?"

"I'm okay. Is this a good time?"

"Oh, yeah this is fine. Can't wait to see the new film when it comes out."

"Oh, yeah, thanks. Should be out this fall."

Cicely was silent for a moment. "So what's up?"

Sondra paused. "Um, well, I was wondering... I'm going to be in Chicago day after tomorrow and I was hoping we could have coffee or something while I was there. I wanted to talk to you about Tracy."

Cicely closed her eyes at the mention of her friend's name. Tracy had been an ace producer and the two women had started at the station at the same time. Cicely had come over to Four after ten years at Channel Three and Tracy was fresh from the Philadelphia affiliate. The two became fast friends and had worked on the regular newscasts together. In addition, as a team, they had produced several award-winning specials for the station. It was Cicely who had hosted Tracy's wedding at her Winnetka home.

"Was there something in particular you wanted to talk about?"

Sondra was silent. "I don't really want to get into it over the phone. It's kind of complicated."

"Oh. Are you sure everything's okay?"

"Well that depends on how you define okay."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"If you could spare twenty minutes or so for me within the next couple of days, that would be more than enough."

"What time are you coming in?"

"Flight gets into O'Hare at noon and I'm staying at the Omni."

"Tell you what. I'm on at six and I usually grab dinner about seven. Why don't I meet you in the lobby around that time and we can eat at the hotel."

"Sounds good."

Cicely leaned back in her chair and crossed her legs. "Great. I'll see you then."

"Tomorrow night, seven."

"Have a safe flight."

"I will. And thanks again. Bye."

The phone went dead in Cicely's ear and she replaced the receiver, wondering what Sondra could possibly want to talk to her about. Cicely knew the Ellis sisters had been exceptionally close and how difficult it had to be for Sondra to come to terms with what happened to Tracy. Three years later, the wound was still fresh in the newsroom. Cicely looked over at the framed photo she kept on her desk from a vacation she and Tracy had taken the summer before she met Phillip. They'd gone to Cozumel and spent more time swimming in jumbo margaritas than in the ocean. The photo showed the two women toasting each other with frosty strawberry concoctions, broad, drunken smiles spread across their faces. Cicely smiled ruefully as she looked at Tracy. Shaking herself back to the present, Cicely turned her attention back to her bloody newscast.