Death And Taxes

(My grandfather, the tax collector in our small town, passes away very unexpectedly in early October. It’s only been six months since my grandmother died, so my mother (their daughter) is very understandably overwhelmed. His tax office was in his house, so rather than advertise the fact that the house is unoccupied, we place a note on the door telling anyone who shows up to pay their taxes that he’s ‘out’ and they should call my mother. About three weeks after his death, she gets a call:)

Mom: “Hello?”

Woman: *very briskly* “Hello, this is [Name] and I am standing on your father’s porch. I took time off from work today to come and pay my taxes and he’s not here!”

Mom: “No, he—”

Woman: “This is very inconvenient, I’ll have you know! I took the time to come and pay my taxes and he doesn’t even have the decency to be here!”

Mom: “He—”

Woman: “Should I wait? I can’t stay here all day. Is he going to be gone long, or should I wait for him to come back?”

Mom: *fed up* “Well, you can wait if you want to, but seeing as how he DIED on October second, I don’t think he’s coming back anytime soon!”

Woman: “Oh… I feel just awful.”