Grim Reaper 01 - Embrace the Grim Reaper

a wedge under the door with her shoe. “We’ve got lots of pizzas for you today. A new kid came on board and can’t for the life of him remember what to put on a Veggie Special.”
    “Well, thanks for hiring him,” Eric said, grinning. “Oh, this is Casey. She’s been helping out at Home Sweet Home.”
    The woman put out her hand, looked at it, and brushed it against her pants, leaving a floury smear. Casey took it when she held it back out. “Good to meet you.”
    “Likewise. So, come on in.” She led them to a large refrigerator, shelved with vegetables, meats, yeast, and what looked like an entire twenty pound wheel of cheese. In the back corner was a freezer section, and when the manager opened that door, they saw three stacks of large and medium-sized pizzas, waiting for a purpose.
    Eric whistled. “Wow, you aren’t kidding. Your new kid must’ve been screwing up bigtime.”
    “Enough for two meals for your people, maybe.”
    “At least. We might have to throw a block party.” He held out his hands. “Load me up.”
    The manager placed the first stack on his arms, almost up to his chin. “You got it?”
    Eric mumbled something and did a three-point turn to exit the refrigerator.
    Casey stepped up for the second load.
    “You’re not the same woman he came with the other week, are you?”
    Casey blinked. “No.”
    “Didn’t think so.” She placed a few boxes on Casey’s arms. “She told me she didn’t think they’d be taking our pizzas for much longer. That I’d have to find a new charity. You know anything about that?”
    Ellen . “No. I don’t know anything.”
    “Seemed pretty sure of herself. Stopped talking when Eric came back in, and winked at me. Guess she didn’t tell him.” She gave Casey the rest of the stack.
    Casey took out the load, lowering it gently to the trunk of Eric’s car, on top of a clean tarp. Eric returned with the final boxes. They eyed their treasures.
    “The folks always enjoy our pizza suppers,” Eric said. “This week they might have it two days in a row.”
    Casey wasn’t sure those people were in a position to actually enjoy anything, but she didn’t say it.
    With a wave the manager closed the back door, and Eric eased the trunk shut. “Mission accomplished. Shall we take it home?”
    Home Sweet Home.
    They got back into the car and Casey strapped herself in. I’m almost getting used to this again. Riding in a car.
    “Smells good, even frozen,” Eric said. “Make you hungry?”
    She shook her head. “No.”
    “Yeah. Me, neither. I haven’t been…it’s been hard to eat this last week.”
    Casey remembered those days. No appetite. Ricky and her mother begging her to eat. Dwindling down to skin and bones. When she finally realized Death wasn’t about to take her, she began to force it down. No taste, no appeal. Just sustenance.
    “You do what you have to do,” she said.
    Eric cast her a curious glance, but didn’t pry.
    “You brought Ellen here,” she said. “To get pizzas.”
    “Yes. Why?”
    She told him what the manager had said.
    Eric frowned. “So she really did think… Why didn’t she tell me the details? What was she waiting for?”
    “Maybe she only thought she had things figured out, and was waiting for confirmation.”
    “But what could it have been?” His voice was strained.
    “Something with HomeMaker. It had to be.”
    Eric clenched his jaw. “If something was going on, there’s at least one person who should know.”
    “But will he tell you?”
    He gripped the wheel, his knuckles white. “I’m not going to give him a choice.”
    “Okay. Good. When are you going to ask him?”
    He glanced at the clock on the dashboard. “If we get these pizzas in the refrigerator fast, we’ll have about an hour before dinner set up.”
    “I can stay and get things started. That way you won’t have to hurry back.”
    He gave her a startled look.
    “What?”
    “You won’t come with me?”
    “To talk to your father? Why?”
    He shuddered. “He just…if I go by myself he’ll shut me out. Or say he’s too busy. Or something.”
    “But if I’m there he won’t talk. He doesn’t know me. He certainly wouldn’t remember seeing me in the drugstore.”
    “You saw him?”
    “Briefly.”
    They traveled in silence for several minutes, and soon they were in town, parking behind Home Sweet Home.
    “Please?” Eric said.
    Casey closed her eyes and pushed her hair back from her face, holding her head in her hands. She