I could tell from the sour looks on their faces that neither Helen nor Lucille appreciated the fact that Shirley's was bigger. So much for the myth that size doesn't matter.

"How come you don't eat with the people you're traveling with?" Helen asked Shirley in a frosty tone.

"I know all those people. When I travel, I like to meet new people. Half the fun of traveling isn't what you see, but who you meet."

"The rest of your group must think you're a pretty odd duck," said Dick Rassmuson. "I don't see none of them trying to follow your example. They all stick together like staves on a picket fence."

"That's because they're from New England. New Englanders never mingle."

"So what's your excuse?" he asked.

"I was born in Canada. Canadians are very friendly."

"Coffee!" yelled Dick Teig, brandishing his cup in the air. "More coffee! I need something to wash these pills down."

As if on cue, everyone flipped open the lids of their daily pill reminders. From Shirley's jumbo model came the strains of "Hickory Dickory Dock, The Mouse Ran up the Clock."

"What Broadway musical is that from?" I asked.

"This one might be off-Broadway."

While the waiter poured another round of coffee for everyone, I saw the perfect opportunity do some investigative work. I knew Helen would never open up to me about her niece in front of everyone, but this seemed a good time to gauge people's reaction to the most recent Andy Simon news. "Wally told me yesterday that Louise won't be flying over here to accompany Andy's body back to Windsor City because she's on an Alaskan cruise with another man."

"Old news," said Dick Teig. "Bernice told us last night."

Bernice? How had Bernice found out?

Dick Rassmuson held up a small, round, blue pill in a show-and-tell gesture. "Esidrex," he said. "Take it for my heart condition."

No appetite suppressants for him.

Helen looked at Dick's pill, then held up a yellow one of her own. "Vasotec. Two-point-five milligrams. For my hypertension."

"Mine's prettier," said Lucille, holding up a capsule that was marine blue on one side and sea-green on the other. "Minizide. Five milligrams. My hypertension is worse than yours." She left out the, "Na, na, na-na, na."

"Louise Simon was cheating on her husband?" choked out Jane Hanson. "Uff da! She probably won't appreciate the sympathy card I mailed her. And I had such a hard time finding one in English."

"Hell, they cheated on each other the whole time they were married," Dick Teig announced. "It was no big secret. Everyone knew. But he cheated a lot more than she did, and he wasn't so discreet about it."

"Louise and I had coffee together sometimes," Jane said, continuing to look shocked. "She was always trying to convince the pharmacy to donate prizes for her charity raffles. I had no idea she had this other life." I understood her reaction. It was upsetting to learn you didn't know a person as well as you thought you did. I'd been that route with my former husband, so I could sympathize.