Free Slice and Dice by Ellen Hart Page A

figured it had something to do with the war. WW II. He spent most of his tour in France. It changed him, he always said that. I remember him telling me once that he’d gone into the army an innocent young boy and come out a corrupt old man. Between you and me, I don’t think Wayne Buckridge liked himself very much after the war. But as far as I know, he never tried to hurt himself again. He’d been drinking that day. And he’d lost his job the week before. A man can only take so much.
     
    M:
When did he meet his wife?
     
    Boland:
You mean hisfirst wife, Pepper? I’d known her since I was a kid. Her real name is Leona, but no one ever called her that. Pepper justfit her personality better. Her parents had a beautiful summer home just down the road. By the time I introduced her to Wayne, he and I had become great pals. I don’t know why. We were total strangers before the accident happened, but for some reason it sort ofdrew us together. Life can be strange like that. Hell, the guy didn’t have many friends, and he needed someone to talk to. You know — about life, the crap that happens, how to deal with stuff. Wayne’s family was all gone, except for an unmarried aunt he rarely saw. I had a big family. We alljust sort of adopted him — well, mainly me, I guess, but my mom and dad were happy to have him around. He was a swell guy. Husky. Good-looking. Athletic. Great personality. But he had this dark side to him. Id seen it, though I doubt very many other people had. Back in the early days, he was always the life of the party. You d never know he had a care in the world. But I knew. He hated what had happened in France, all the men he d had to kill. He thought of it as murder, kids murdering kids. I suppose that’s why he drank too much sometimes. I even saw him cry once. Funny, it way the night before he married Pepper.
     
    M:
What was he crying about?
     
    Boland:
Beats the hell out of me. He should have been on top of the world. I know he loved her, so that wasn’t it. I think though, deep down inside, he thought she was too good for him. I mean, he really got lucky when he met Pepper Skeffington. Not only did he get himself a rich young wife but his future career as well. His father-in-law thought the sun rose and set on him. As soon as the happy couple got back from their honeymoon, Skeffington started grooming Wayne to take over the company — when he was gone, of course. Which was many years later.
     
    M:
What sort of company
was
it?
     
    Boland:
You’ve never heard of Skeffington Construction? Jesus, lady, they built half the homes in this town. After the war, the economy boomed. Alan Skeffington was a multimillionaire by the time his only daughter was seventeen years old. She even dated my older brother a few times, but you know how it is. No sparks. But when she met Wayne at one of our summer lake parties, it was love — or at least lust — at first sight. They were married ten months later.
     
    M:
Was she pregnant?
     
    Boland:
Nah. It wasn’t like that.
     
    M:
Was the marriage a happy one?
     
    Boland:
Sure. As happy as marriages go. Pepper wanted kids badly, but they didn’t have much luck for a while. Finally, when she was around thirty, they had Paul.
     
    M:
So Paul isn’t Constance Buckridge’s natural son.
     
    Boland:
No. I believe Connie formally adopted him, though. Anyway, after he was born, I sensed that Wayne had pulled away from Pepper, or maybe it was the other way around. Whatever the case, Wayne started working longer hours and Pepper spent all her time with her kid. She didn’t seem all that unhappy, though from what I observed, Wayne did. I was good friends with both of them, you understand, but I was closer to Wayne. By then Id gotten married myself. Had a good job at an insurance company. We all got together at least once every week or two for drinks and cards. Pepper was a real bridge player. She even organized a bridge club. Wayne was always at work, so she needed the