A Dreadful Splendor

by B.R. Myers

“Dying is the easy part,” Maman used to say, her French accent smoothing the edges of the English words. “It is those left behind that suffer.”

Happy people were never interested in their fortune; they already had what they wanted. Grief meant profit. Grief put meat in the stew and coal on the fire.

Mr. Pemberton was proving to be as enjoyable as a pebble in my shoe . . . on a long walk . . . in the rain . . . on a cold day.