Eddie had to ask around plenty to find a busy attorney who wouldn’t have much time for him and this guy fit the bill perfectly.  The office had one other lawyer even though the name on the door said, Johnson and Associates; the receptionist’s desk was piled with files, and the guy behind the desk wasn’t dressed like he was very well paid.  The phone rang constantly and his answer was almost always the same, “Yes, we will get that out to you as soon as we can.”

Eddie waited and read a People magazine from months ago and tried to look tired and defeated as much as he could.  It was hard to look sad for Candy given the weight off his shoulders.  He figured he might need some help but this was really just an exercise in doing what he thought a man who just lost his wife might do.  The receptionist cleared his throat to get Eddie’s attention and waved him back towards the lawyer’s office.  Eddie’s shoes clumped in an odd tribute to Candy as he headed back toward the corner office.  The building used to be someone’s home.  The desks felt oddly forced into place and the office door was as worn as the face of the attorney who was just standing up behind the old desk.  

The lawyer extended his hand and said, “Thanks for waiting, things are a bit swamped here today.”

Eddie pasted on a weary smile, “I really appreciate you checking these things for me.  I didn’t really know what to do.”  He was waved into a worn chair and sat down in what he hoped looked like a mourning husband way.

The attorney replied, “It’s ok, I handle lots of these types of things.  I just have a few questions to clear up and I can get everything managed.  Most people don’t know to come to an attorney when there is a death in the family.”
    
Eddie let his expression fall even further and looked uncomfortable.  The lawyer sat back down and made busy with the file.  Inside his mind, Eddie was gleeful, the eyes of this attorney said that he just didn’t have time for some basket case widower.  Eddie didn’t intend to take one more minute than necessary.  He pasted grief on like a perfect facemask until he figured he had played the part enough and pressed the meeting forward.  “I thought, you know, with the crime shows you see on TV and all that I might need help.”   The obviously attorney wasn’t following this line of thought and just stared at Eddie.  Eddie paused, tried looking confused and continued, “You know, the cops always think that the husband did it.  I explained to the police, I don’t know, I may not have made much sense and all.  Am I going to end up one of those guys who didn’t do it but somehow ends up in prison or something?”

The attorney finally caught on, “No, you did right.  Tell them everything and especially with something so obviously an accident, it will be ok.”

Eddie let himself fall apart just enough and gave a hitching sob, “Candy was everything to me.  Everyone keeps asking me funeral questions and stuff, I’m just an LPN — a lot of good that did Candy.”  Eddie lowered his head, but and kept a nervous eye on the attorney.

“An investigation is normal.  The autopsy was clear that it was an accident.”  The attorney again shuffled papers and this time looked at his watch, “Did you contact the insurance company?”

Eddie hadn’t expected that and peered up warily, “What insurance?”

The attorney lifted a thick sheet of small print, “Your wife had a policy through work and the payment is doubled due to the accidental nature of her passing.”

Eddie needed a moment to think; Daddy had always said that threats and opportunities were kissing cousins.  Eddie didn’t know who he might be kissing and didn’t want to get caught with his pants around his ankles, so he stalled, “This is just so hard.”

The attorney waited by way of flipping pages and let Eddie get a grip while he checked his watch and made a point of reviewing his open date book on his desk.  The book looked full and the attorney asked, “Do you have family helping you?  Maybe we should schedule a time when you can bring someone in with you during this painful time.”

Eddie needed information but he didn’t need another meeting, “Candy and me were pretty much alone as far as family goes.”  Eddie was worried that whatever insurance would somehow end up going to Candy’s mother and he needed whatever pittance to get his financial feet under him or he would be back nursing by the end of the week.

The attorney spoke slowly and a little more loudly, almost like he assumed that stupid and deaf always went together, “The death has been ruled an accidental choking.  That impacts your insurance payment.”

Looking stupid came easy to Eddie, and he stuck with it, “I don’t know how I can pay her insurance.  She had the good job.  I’m just a temp nurse.”

The lawyer took a deep breath and then another, “You don’t pay the insurance.  They pay you.”  He paused to allow that to sink in and then he continued,   “All the costs of the funeral and keeping you on your feet are covered under her work policy.”

Eddie’s eyes gleamed then he forced them back to grief, “I don’t understand.”

The attorney said, “Your wife had a substantial insurance policy through her company.  She was a very prepared woman. She was insured for two hundred, fifty thousand dollars.”

Some times, more than enough is too much and Eddie found himself at a loss.  He sputtered for a second and got his mind under control, “At least that will help me give her a good funeral,” he said.

The lawyer rambled ahead, “It will be something more than that.  Since this was an accidental death from choking, it will be a double indemnity payment on her life insurance.  That means you will be getting a check for funeral expenses and five hundred thousand.  Also, your house will be paid for by the policy you had to take out when you bought it.  It will be the same with her car payment.  I know it won’t fix things but at least you won’t have financial worries for a while.  That will give you lots of time to get your feet under you.

Hell, Eddie thought, that will get my feet under me for the rest of my life and in new fucking shoes to boot.  He almost smiled, but didn’t.

As Eddie exited the office the attorney closed the file and considered that maybe he should up his wife’s insurance and send her some soda and chips; stupid lucky bastard.