Friday morning arrived, and the sun was peeking above the horizon again.
As with her regular routine, Martha got up before everyone else did in the Osborne household.
The sound of Martha in the kitchen woke Michael up.
While she started cooking breakfast, Michael took his shower and got ready for work.
Abby got up and was ready for work.
Harry got up and was ready for work.
Abby in her dress and high heels helped Martha place plates of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast on the dining room table.
Then came the four glasses of orange juice along with four coffee cups and a pot of coffee.
"Breakfast is ready," Martha called out.
Martha and Abby sat down at the dining room table.
Harry walked into the dining room in his work coveralls and sat down.
Michael entered in his suit and sat down.
Martha grabbed the pot of coffee and started pouring coffee into all the cups.
"So Abby, how was your evening with Kenneth?"
Martha looked hopeful while she poured coffee.
"We went to a lounge."
"Shumaker's Lounge?" Harry asked.
"Yes. I had a drink, and Kenneth had about four. Then we slow danced to one song."
"What song?" Martha pried.
"Angel Baby."
"That's Jennifer's favorite," Michael said then took a bite of his piece of bacon.
"Mine too," Abby replied, then ate some scrambled eggs.
"That's a coincidence," Harry added then he took a drink of coffee.
Abby took a sip of coffee and looked bothered. "Then he tried to kiss me when he parked his car in Jennifer's house."
"That's sweet," Martha said then she ate some scrambled eggs.
Harry ate his eggs and was not bothered by Abby's comment.
Michael looked a little jealous and could not explain why. "Poor Kenneth wants a girlfriend so bad."
"I still believe he liked Jennifer. But she fell in love with Michael," Martha said then winked at Michael.
"We're looking forward to bringing her into our family," Harry said.
Martha looked over at Abby. "I would love to include you as part of our family. And that means that if you move somewhere else in town, you're always welcomed here."
Harry nodded in agreement with a mouth full of scrambled eggs.
Martha remembered something. "Now, I don't want you drinking too much tonight at your bachelor's party," she said in her motherly tone of voice. "Not like someone else I know that had a bad hangover during his wedding," she added while she looked at Harry.
"Guilty as charged!" Harry said, then chuckled.
Abby looked at Michael and started to feel sorry for him.
Michael looked at his watch. "We better go. I have a physics class first thing this morning."
Michael got up from the table.
He walked over and gave Martha a kiss on her cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow at the church."
Michael headed to the doorway of the dining room.
"Don't forget the keys to the cabin," Harry called out.
"I won't," Michael called out while he walked down the hallway.
Abby got up from the table. "I need to get to work also," she said then smiled at Martha and Harry.
Abby walked out of the dining room.
Harry leaned over and gave Martha a kiss on her cheek then got up from the table. "I got some new cars to inspect," he said then he headed to the kitchen where his lunch box waited on the counter.
Martha got up and started gathering the dishes off the table.
Michael walked out of the front door with a small suitcase in hand. Martha packed it last night while Abby was out with Kenneth.
Abby followed behind Michael and closed the front door behind her.
While Michael and Abby got inside his Bel-Air, Jennifer walked out her front door and walked over to her Corvair.
Kenneth's Bel-Air was already gone, as he headed off to the police department early.
Michael and Abby got in his Bel-Air.
"You can catch a ride home with Jennifer after work. I'm heading straight to the cabin," Michael said while he started up his car.
Abby nodded in agreement.
"With Jennifer's bachelorette party tonight, you can meet some of her friends. I know they'll love you," he said while he backed down the driveway.
"That sound nice," Abby said and was looking forward to an evening with the ladies.
Jennifer tooted her horn while she drove past Michael's driveway.
Michael backed his car out onto Dorothy Avenue.
He followed Jennifer's Corvair down the street.
At the employee parking lot of the college, Jennifer waited for Michael and Abby by her Corvair.
"Good morning," Michael said the second he walked up to Jennifer. He gave her a kiss.
Michael held Jennifer's hand, and they walked to the campus buildings.
Abby tagged along behind them.
They walked through the sidewalks and stopped at the Science Department building.
Michael and Jennifer gazed into each other's eyes for a second.
"Well, I guess the next time I'll see you is at our wedding," he said and looked excited.
Jennifer gave him a warm smile. "Yep."
Michael and Jennifer kissed.
Abby looked away, sad yet determined. "I'll let you two alone," she said then headed to the front entrance doors.
Jennifer pulled away from Michael' lips. "I'll come by for lunch at noon," she called out to Abby.
"Sounds good," Abby replied, then went inside the Science Department building.
Jennifer and Michael returned to kissing.
She peeked out the door window and glanced at Jennifer and Michael kissing.
She moved away from the window and disappeared in the hallway.
In the detective's room at the police station,
Kenneth sat at his desk in deep thought while he sipped on his fourth cup of coffee.
He placed his cup down then picked up his phone and dialed a number.
"Orlando police department. How may I help you?" a police officer answered the call.
"This is Detective Kenneth Mueller from the Barbourville, Pennsylvania police department, I need to speak with one of the officers. Bruce Kayne."
There were a few seconds of silence. "I'm sorry, Detective Mueller, but Officer Kayne is out on a call. I can have him call you when he gets back to the station."
"Please do. My number is five, five, five, eight zero eight."
"I'll give him the message," the officer replied.
Kenneth hung up his phone and looked suspicious.
He grabbed his coffee cup, got up, and walked away.
Kenneth headed to the coffee pot at the other end of the room.
While Kenneth poured some coffee, his desk phone rang.
Kenneth rushed across the room splashing coffee out of his cup. Coffee splashed on his hand. He cringed in pain.
He reached his desk, placed his cup on his desk, wiped his hand on his pants, then picked up his phone.
"Detective Mueller."
"Detective Mueller, Orlando Officer Bruce Kayne. How may I help you?"
"Yes, officer. About Abby Austin that claims to be from Orlando," Kenneth answered while he sat down in his chair.
"I remember," Officer Kayne replied.
"She claims that she worked as a secretary at a Doctor Phillips hospital. "
There were a few seconds of pause from the phone. "I'm sorry, but we don't have a Doctor Phillips Hospital down here in Orlando. Sounds like she's running some type of scam."
Kenneth thought for a few seconds. "Yeah, a scam. Thank you, Officer Kayne."
"You're welcome," Officer Kayne replied from the phone.
Kenneth hung up his phone and looked even more suspicious while he picked up his coffee cup and took a sip.
The phone on his desk rang.
"Detective Mueller," he answered while he placed his cup on the desk.
"Detective, Wally Burgress here. I'm the manager down here at Montgomery Wards. I have a situation down here. Apparently, someone passed two counterfeit twenty-dollar bills in my store."
"I'll be right down," Kenneth said then hung up the phone.
He got up from his desk and walked out of the detective's room.
A little while later that morning, Kenneth had his Bel-Air parked along the curb by the front entrance of the Montgomery Wards store.
He walked through the front doors and turned to the left and headed upstairs to the store offices.
Kenneth walked down a hallway and came upon Wally Burgress' office. He opened the doors and went inside.
Kenneth walked to a desk where a secretary worked. "I'm here to see Mister Burgress. I'm Detective Mueller," Kenneth told her.
"Yes sir," she said, then got up from behind her desk.
She walked over to an opened office door. She poked her head inside. "Detective Mueller is here," she said.
"Send him in," Wally replied from his office.
The secretary motioned for Kenneth to come over.
He walked over and went inside Wally's office.
When Kenneth entered his office, Wally stood up from behind his desk that was cluttered with invoices and other paperwork.
"Detective Mueller," Wally said and motioned for him to sit down in the chair in front of his desk.
"These were passed to one of my clerks in the woman's department on Tuesday night," Wally said then picked up the two twenty-dollar bills and handed them to Kenneth across his desk.
Kenneth looked them over. "They appear to be genuine," he said while he looked them over.
"I thought so at first, but look at the date," Wally replied.
Kenneth looked at the date of the two bills and saw that one had a "2008" date and one had a "2009" date. "That's not correct."
"I know. And I cannot figure out how a counterfeiter can be so good at making these bills then fuck up with the dates," Wally replied.
"Beats me," Kenneth said while he studied the two bills a little closer.
"Did the cashier remember the person that passed these bills?" Kenneth said while she shoved the bills in his suit pocket then reached inside his suit and removed his small pad and pen.
Wally glanced down at a piece of paper where he jotted down notes from talking with his cashier. "She was in her twenties, brown eyes, blonde hair to her shoulders and had a mole on her upper lip. And the girl didn't wear any makeup. She had a natural beauty about her and didn't look like a criminal," he read off to Kenneth.
"They sometimes don't," Kenneth said while he jotted down the description on his pad. Then it took a few seconds to dawn on him. "Did you say blonde hair, brown eyes and a mole on her upper lip?"
Wally glanced back down at his notes. "That's what the cashier said. The girl bought woman dresses, high heel shoes, pajamas, panties, and bras," he added.
Kenneth recalled when he saw Abby's belonging in Michael's closet and remembered that Montgomery Wards shopping bag. "Thanks, Mister Burgress," he said while he shoved his note pad and pen back in the inside of his suit.
"Would you want me to call the cashier into work early so you can talk with her?"
"Not right now. I'll get back with you if I need any more information," Kenneth said while he stood up.
Wally got up from behind his desk and walked around to Kenneth.
"I'll need a copy of the police report for my accountant," Wally said.
"Come on down to the station around three, and I'll take care of that," Kenneth said while he walked to the door with a smirk.
Wally walked around and sat down behind his desk.
A little while later, Kenneth drove out of the Montgomery Wards parking lot and drove away down Broadmoor Avenue. He had a smirk on his face while he thought about Abby.
A little while later, Kenneth turned left into the parking lot of the police station located at the other end of Broadmoor.