Practice to Deceive

tacking away from one another.
    And, of course, when Peggy married Kelvin four years after the Mahoneys’ wedding, Jim was far away in Florida, wed to his second wife, Jean.
    If they had never met, it might have—probably would have—been better for everyone.
    Sue and Neil Mahoney were to have only five years together. Two weeks after their fifth wedding anniversary, Neil wasn’t at his job with an electric company, but he agreed to do a favor for his boss. He rode his bike to pick up his employer’s van, and then delivered it to a garage for a regular maintenance check. Neil retrieved his bike from the van and headed for home in Edmonds.
    A car struck him, leaving him in critical condition with multiple injuries. Sue had to make a decision that no loving wife should ever have to make. Neil was in a coma and showed no brain activity. She finally agreed to have him taken off the breathing machine and he died. He was only forty-nine.
    Jim Huden was anguished when he got the news and he headed for Neil’s memorial service and wake as quickly as he could. On June 8, 2002, after gathering a band from among some of their old friends, Jim played and sang at both the Edgewood Baptist Church service and the Irish wake afterward.
    Peggy Sue was there, of course. Sue, the widow, was her half sister. Everyone had loved Neil Mahoney and the enormity of his tragic death drew so many friends and relatives that the memorial service and wake were crowded wall-to-wall.
    Although they had always moved on the periphery of each other’s lives, Jim Huden and Peggy Sue Thomas were so far apart in age in their younger years. He was a man when she was still a child. Now they were drawn to one another on this sad day in June. The spark lit then, even in the midst of mourning, was impossible not to notice. They were both married to other people, but that didn’t seem to matter.
    The air between them fairly crackled with electricity and mutual attraction.
    Even so, both of them stayed married to other people for a time, but they were together every chance they got.
    When Peggy found out that her husband, Kelvin, was also having an affair, she was shocked. He was dating a woman older than she was! That stung. It may have been the first time a man ever walked away from her. For all intents and purposes, their marriage was over and they divorced.
    It was a friendly divorce and both of them continued to put their daughters, Taylor and Mariah, first, sharing custody and parenting decisions.
    No matter that Peggy and Kelvin went their separate ways with new partners, Kelvin always had Peggy Sue’s back.

C HAPTER T WENTY-FOUR
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    P EGGY SUE STILL SMARTED over the fact that Kelvin had chosen another woman over her. She needed to validate her own attractiveness. And she needed a female “wing woman” to help her achieve something big that would restore her confidence.
    For a while in 2002, Peggy Sue and Cindy Francisco were best buddies. They always attended shows at the China City comedy night. It didn’t take long for the crowd to notice them. Peggy Sue often heckled the comic onstage. They sat in front and got up frequently and left to order drinks, making themselves the center of attention.
    Finally, one comedian decided to put a stop to all the interruptions during his routine. While the two women were out of the room, he asked the crowd to laugh at them when they came back.
    “You don’t need a reason,” he directed. “But I need a break; just laugh out loud when they come back in.”
    The crowd obeyed, and Peggy Sue and Cindy couldn’t figure out what was so funny. The third time this happened they didn’t enjoy all the attention and their prancing in and out slowed down.
    The restaurant was very popular in Freeland, and the building that housed it was large and impressive. It attracted many locals. It still does.
    Cathy Hatt and her husband, Dean, lived next door to Dick Deposit’s second house, and they watched over it when Deposit was away on one of his frequent trips. They handed out the key if Deposit told them whom to expect.
    The Hatts were also frequent diners at China City and Dean often sang along on Karaoke Night. They watched as Peggy Sue flirted with men sitting at the bar.
    “I saw her move in on one of my friend’s boyfriends one night,” Cathy recalls. “My friend was in the ladies’ room and Peggy was all over her boyfriend when she came back. I actually thought there was going to be a fight.” When