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my life, and swallowed some of them down just to be polite, but I wasn’t sure I could manage it with this one.
    Matty put his cup down at the same time as I did. We sat for a moment, each staring at our cups.
    “We can just throw it out if you want,” he said.
    I couldn’t stop the laugh from bursting through my lips. Clearly Matty thought the coffee was just as bad as I did. “That might be a good idea,” I said.
    Matty took my mug and his cup over to the sink. He poured them both out then grabbed the pot from the coffeemaker and poured that coffee down the drain as well. He rinsed them all out and left them in the sink. “Sorry about that.”
    “I don’t think anything you did caused that,” I replied, the bitter taste lingering in my mouth.
    He smiled slightly as he stared out the kitchen window. After a few minutes, he took a deep breath, exhaled sharply, and turned to look at me. “I guess it’s time to go home then.”
    “I guess so. Is there anything else I can do for you? Anything you need?”
    “I don’t know. I don’t think so. Not now.”
    “Okay then,” I said, getting up. I walked over to him and gave him a quick hug. “If you think of anything, let me know. You know where to find me.”
    “Thanks,” he said.
    “Seriously, Matty, I know I didn’t want to ask anybody for anything those first few days, but I needed the help. There’s a lot to take care of. Just ask.”
    He smiled sadly. “You know, you’re the only person who still calls me Matty.”
    “You’re the only person who still calls me Franny.”
    “What do people call you now, Franny?” he asked.
    “Fran, Francesca.” I shrugged. “Mostly Francesca in New York, mostly Fran here. Just depends on who’s doing the calling.”
    “I see,” he said.
    “Everyone calls you Matt now, huh?”
    “Yup… but you can still call me Matty if you want.”
    I smiled. “We’ll see. We’re not five years old anymore. But you’re welcome to keep calling me Franny.”
    “Will do, Franny ,” he replied.
    I chuckled softly. “I guess I’d better get going then.”
    “All right. I’ll see you.”
    “See you.”
    Matty walked me to the door. I headed off to my house and my bed, which I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep in because of thoughts of my mother and Mr. Cardosi.

Chapter 5
    I tried to help Matty as much as I could over the next few days. He took some time off work to deal with his dad’s estate and funeral arrangements, and I cut back on my hours at the café. I still went in every day, just not for the full fourteen hours it was open. Since I’d just been through everything Matty was dealing with, I was able to suggest some things (go ahead and file for the life insurance so you can use the money for the funeral), warn him about others (the funeral home will charge you for those “refreshments” they so casually offer), and help him with the rest (how about the café provides the refreshments—my coffee will be better than the funeral home’s any day).
    It helped that Matty and I had been friends for most of our lives. I was able to pick out meaningful pictures of Mr. Cardosi to display at the funeral home, particularly ones with Matty and the late Mrs. Cardosi or ones from special times they’d shared. I helped Matty go through some of his dad’s things, even pulling out some mementos of Matty’s mom that he’d never known existed.
    As much as I wanted to help my friend in his time of need, part of the reason I felt so strongly that I needed to help Matty was because I’d been the one who found his dad’s body. Sure, he had repeatedly expressed his gratitude to me for finding his dad and all, but that didn’t make me feel much better about it. I felt somehow responsible for what had happened, so I wanted to do as much as I could to help out. I wouldn’t say that I didn’t enjoy spending so much time with Matty again though.
    It took several days for the autopsy to be completed, and we obviously