He was going to a familiar resort with his wife.
She had things to do there. The car broke down

in the parking lot and the clerk at the front desk,
a retired army colonel who had been a parishioner

of his but went into the ministry and stole parish-
ioners from him, especially dowagers with a dowry,

called and told him to move the car. He winced when
he heard the voice and said the mechanics were on

the way. He and his wife left their resort room and
were riding in the tow truck presumably to the repair

shop. Next up they were in a strange, large room in
another place and he asked his wife why they were

there when they had a room back at the resort, a
familiar room with several friends in adjoining

rooms who would join them for happy hour, dinner
and attend whatever it was that his wife had going

there. That was vague but he believed it had some-
thing to do with her art. He wanted to know how

much the new, not very nice room (It had cheap
plywood cabinets in the kitchenette and a big

bed with a flimsy, cheap mattress, bedspread and
dusty floors.) cost when they were already paying a

significant amount for the resort room. He asked
several times and his wife now wearing a pink chiffon

gown went to the window, looked out longingly and
said she just needed to get away. She started to

cry hard and crawled under the bed. He helped her
out from under the bed and she sat sobbing inconsol-

ably on the bed. He put his arms around her to
comfort her and when he felt her back, along her

spine he realized in the touch it was his long
dead wife right there and he was hugging her.