Page 55 of A Spell of Midlife Mayhem
Yes, I got tired easily, but I was still recovering from the major surgery I’d had. The surgeon had told me it might be months before I was back to my old self.
Yes, I hadn’t been assertive or confident in the past, but I’d been living with a bully who took me for granted.
Now that was all in the past. I’d chosen to change my life. I had a second chance now to create a new me. And I could craft that me to be whoever I chose.
While I hadn’t been assertive in the past, that could change. I could stand on my own feet, take care of myself, accomplish whatever I set out to do. I’d always been capable. I’d taught a high school history class, dammit!
I would not be passive any more. I’d prove to everyone my worth by setting out to solve the murder and recover the witch’s spell book. Finding the murderer would bring justice for Ronald. But the real prize was the spell book. There would surely be something in there to help cure Aunt Ruth.
Damn right. I might even get myself fit too.
Chapter 20
I DROVE HOME, A PECULIAR mixture of melancholy and self-confidence in my heart.
Ronald Morris hadn’t deserved to die. Someone in the house had done it. Presumably, someone I’d seen that morning. But who?
I parked in the driveway and went inside. Would Raven be there? What would he say to explain his sudden disappearance last night?
He had gone out or, perhaps, hadn’t returned from last night. So, I couldn’t confront him and demand an explanation. But the silver lining was that I could ask Aunt Ruth what was going on with him. Assuming she knew, of course.
She was in the living room, reading a book on wheelchair yoga.
‘If you do that, you’ll soon be fitter than I am,’ I said with a grin.
She looked sideways at me without raising her head. ‘That wouldn’t take much, Heather.’
Ouch. That barb hurt because it was so close to the truth.
No. It is the truth.
‘I’ve been for a walk,’ I said. ‘I have to start somewhere, but my recovery is taking longer than I hoped. How about I take you for walks in Richmond Park? Maybe every couple of days? That’ll give you some fresh air, and I’ll get fitter.’
Aunt Ruth smiled. ‘I was only joking, dear. We all do the best we can. We’re not spring chickens, you know. We’re old birds now.’
‘I’m only a middle-aged bird, and I’ll have you know that forty-odd is the new thirty-odd, so I’m not really middle-aged either. I’m still young in heart and mind.’
