When Never Comes

by Barbara Davis

without her. The time had come to take her head out of the sand and face what needed facing. The insurance would have to be sorted out, the bank accounts and other financial assets seen to, the house in Clear Harbor closed up and sold. The thought startled her, but she suddenly knew she wouldn’t be going back. There was nothing there for her. No family to comfort her. No friends to miss. Nothing but empty memories. It was time to wrap things up and move on. But before she could do any of that, she was going to need Stephen’s death certificate. It took a moment to power up her laptop and connect to the inn’s Wi-Fi. The connection was agonizingly sluggish, but eventually she was able to type Maine death certificate into her browser’s search bar. The page blinked briefly, and a list of options appeared. She clicked on a site for the Maine Division of Public Health and followed the prompts. It all seemed remarkably simple until the RECORD NOT FOUND message popped up in bold red letters. She stared at it a moment, then tried again, only to receive the same message. Frustrated, she reached for her cell and dialed the Clear Harbor Police Station. She was put on hold while they connected her to the medical examiner’s office, but eventually a man picked up, his voice brusque as he droned through a list of questions. And then she was back on hold again. After a few moments, he came back on the line. “I’m sorry, but that certificate hasn’t been filed yet.” “I don’t understand. It’s b...