I Is for Innocent

an illegal U-turn. There was a drugstore a block up and I pulled into the tiny lot, ducking in just long enough to buy three packages of three-by-five index cards – one white, one green, and one a pale orange. After that, I went home. I still had a batch of files from Morley's Colgate office in my car. I found a parking spot across the street from the apartment. I unloaded the backseat and proceeded through the gate, weighted down like a pack mule. I eased around to the backyard and fumbled with my keys.
    In the glass-enclosed breezeway that links Henry's place with mine, I caught sight of the luncheon in progress. The December sun was weak, but with so many windows the space functioned like a greenhouse. William and Rosie had their heads bent together in earnest conversation. The subject was probably pericarditis, colitis, or the perils of lactose intolerance. Henry's face was dark and I could have sworn he was sulking, a behavior utterly unlike the Henry I knew. I anchored the stack of files against the doorframe with my hip while I unlocked my apartment and let myself in. I dumped everything on the counter. I turned around to find Henry coming in behind me with a plate piled with food – lemon chicken, ratatouille, green salad, and homemade rolls.
    "Hi, how are you? Is that for me? It looks great. How's it going?" I asked.
    He put the plate down on the counter. "You won't believe it," he said.
    "What's the matter? Hasn't Rosie found a way to whip William into shape?"
    Henry squinted his eyes and tapped his temple with his index finger. "It's funny you should mention that. The penny finally dropped. Do you know what she's doing? She's flirting with him!"
    "Rosie always flirts."
    "But William's flirting back." He opened a kitchen drawer and pulled out a knife and fork, which he handed me with a paper napkin.
    "Well, there's no harm in that," I said, and then saw his look. "Is there?"
    "You eat while I talk. Suppose the two of them get serious? What do you think's going to happen?"
    "Oh, come on. They've known each other one day." I tried a bite of roll first, tender and buttery.
    "He's going to be here two weeks. I hate to think what the next thirteen days are going to bring at this rate," he said.
    "You're jealous."
    "I'm not jealous. I'm terrified. He was fine this morning. Obsessed with his bowels. He took his blood pressure twice. He had several mysterious symptoms that occupied him for an hour. Then we went off to the funeral and he still seemed okay. We get home and he had to go and rest for a while. Same old William. No sweat, I can handle it. I put lunch together and then Rosie shows up wearing rouge on her cheeks. Next thing I know, the two of them are in there with their heads together, laughing and nudging like a couple of kids!"
    "I think it's sweet. I like Rosie." I had moved on to the chicken, tucking into lunch in earnest. I hadn't realized I was hungry until I started chowing down.
    "I like her, too. Rosie's fine. She's great. But as a sister-in-law?"
    "It won't come to that."
    "Oh, it won't? You ought to go in and listen to 'em talk. It would make your stomach turn."
    "Come on, Henry. You're overreacting. William's eighty-five years old. She's probably sixty-five, if she'd ever admit to it."
    "My point exactly. She's too young for him."
    I started laughing. "I can't believe you're serious."
    "I can't believe you're not! What if they get 'involved' in some flaming affair? Can you imagine the two of them in my back bedroom?"
    "Is that your objection, that William might have a sex life? Henry, you astonish me. That's not like you."
    "I think it's tacky behavior," he said.
    "He hasn't done anything yet! Besides, I thought you wanted him to quit harping on his health. What better way? Now he can harp on something else."
    Henry stared at me, his expression suddenly tinged with uncertainty. "You don't think it's vulgar? Romance at his age?"
    "I think it's great. You had a romance of your own not that long ago."
    "And look how that turned out."
    "You survived it."
    "But will he? I keep picturing Rosie flying back to Michigan for Christmas. I hate to sound snobbish, but the woman has no class. She picks her teeth with a bobby pin!"
    "Oh, quit worrying."
    His mouth formed a grudging line as he reconsidered his position. "I don't suppose it would do any good to protest. They'd just act as if they didn't know what I was talking about."
    I kept my mouth shut, concentrating on the food instead. "This is