Goldilocks at Graveside by Irwin Shaw. Short summary

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The main character is Victoria Simmons. One day she became a widow. At the funeral ceremony of her husband, William, their old acquaintance, whose name was Borden, was present. The woman was surprised by his arrival.

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Victoria Simmons, a member of the fair sex, once had a spouse, William Bryant, who passed away. The couple had no children. A report about her husband’s death, along with brief biographical information about him, appeared in the Women’s Pages, where the aforementioned lady served as editor.

At the time of the funeral there was practically no one in the church, for Mr. Bryant had had almost no friends since moving with Mrs. Simmons to Los Angeles. Nevertheless, a small group of people who worked at the newspaper came to offer condolences to a colleague and to support her in her hour of need.

Victoria was very surprised to see a longtime comrade of hers and her husband, Borden, at the cemetery. The protagonist and William referred to Borden as «the golden buttercup.» At the end of the event, the man offered to escort the woman home. She agreed.