Fleur was a well-practiced widow. She had grieved for four husbands over the years, and she looked magnificent in black.
Jeremiah was her first husband. He was relatively ugly, but rich. The marriage was brief. He was killed tragically while walking down the street. He was run over by a rampant road roller.
Next came Douglas. He was pretty old for a young widow such as Fleur, but he ran a successful women's clothing business. In fact, Fleur wore to his funeral a beautiful black skirt and jacket with purple accessories straight from one of his shops. He had died when a shelf in the shop fell on top of him.
Then there was Bertie. Bertie was a "pretty-boy". Everyone was amazed that Fleur would fall for someone so effeminate. But he had his good points: he owned several race horses, and was a dab hand at betting on the nags. It was such a tragedy when he was kicked to death by his favourite filly.
Finally, there was Lloyd. Fleur discovered after the marriage that Lloyd was already married to Freda. He was a two-timing so-and-so. He was murdered by Freda in an outburst of rage. Freda rots in prison to this day.
Fleur’s resilience was admired. To be a widow once is a great sadness. To be widowed four times takes on the façade of an epic, a saga, a Euripidean tragedy. How do you do it, Fleur?
“I don’t,” said Fleur. “I always pay someone else to do it.”