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JANICE SAT ON THE PORCH AS SHE DID EVERY DAY of her life since her husband Ben had lapsed into a vegetative state following a nasty fall down the ice covered front steps. Janice liked to watch the sun go down while she sipped coffee and smoked her Camel cigarettes. She often daydreamed because she had little else to do. Aside from making quilts and listening to the radio, her only companionship came in the evening when her sister June would sit with her on the front porch swing and share the latest gossip that usually spread through their small town like wildfire.
At about ten O’ clock, Janice could hear the rumbling of June’s Mustang as it flew down the valley echoing deep into the night. Janice had expected June earlier, but she knew that her sister lived to sit and gossip with the other women in her small community. As June walked toward the porch, it was glaringly obvious that she was intoxicated. As a rule, June never smoked until she was drunk, so Janice knew that her sister was going to be in a sour mood. June stood on the walk leading to the front steps taking deep drags off of her cigarette until the filter burned her lips. Janice began to speak softly, “is everything okay?” June quickly lit another cigarette and took a deep drag off of it. While exhaling, she mumbled out the word no. “’Would you like to sit and talk about it?” asked Janice.
“It’s Jim, he’s cheating on me with a teacher from Harner’s Valley...I just know it!”
“Well, what makes you think that?,” asked Janice.
“He left me after we got into a fight about him not paying me any attention. I just know that there is another woman...I just got a bad feeling that he’s grown tired of me. He bad mouths me every chance that he gets, and he’s always on to me about losing weight.”
Janice laughed under her breath and attempted to speak, but she knew how sensitive that her sister was, so she chose her words carefully before she started to talk. “Honey, you’ve been unfaithful to that poor man for as long as I can remember...what makes his infidelity any worse than what you’ve been doing for decades?”
June looked at her sister with fire in her eyes. “I never thought that anyone would be fool enough to sleep with Jim...look at him, he’s not exactly a prized catch. The teacher is only twenty-three...how can I compete with her?”
“Good Lord, I don’t believe that Jim is cheating on you...and I most certainly don’t believe that a young, attractive teacher would give that old codger a second glance. Who the hell filled your head with that nonsense?”
June stomped out another butt, then quickly lit another, took a deep drag and exhaled. “It’s not nonsense. Two of the ladies down at the Beauty Shop told me that they saw Jim fondle the woman outside of the Family Dollar Store after he shared his umbrella with her.”
Janice headed into the house and into the kitchen to make her sister a cup of instant coffee.
She had almost forgotten that she and June were supposed to turn Ben over so that he didn’t get bed sores. Janice could hear Ben moaning and groaning as she headed outside to help her sister sober up. Janice handed June two aspirin and a strong cup of coffee. June sat on the swing and her body went numb as she slipped into unconsciousness. Janice shook her head thinking about her husband’s infidelity, and what a pathetic life she led.
After standing over June for several moments, something happened in Janice’s mind. Something came over her, and in an instant, she was standing over Ben gazing into his listless eyes. Janice took a pillow from under Ben’s head and shoved it in his face. Janice, having a moment of clarity, asked herself what she was doing. “I never wanted to marry you...you son-of-a-bitch! Mommy made me marry you after you forced yourself on me in the barn. I never really loved you...I got stuck with you.”
Unbeknownst to Janice, June had risen to her feet and had been standing in the doorway watching with morbid delight. Janice turned after moments of senseless babble to see her sister smiling.
“I was just getting Ben ready to be turned over...I didn’t think that you’d wake up for a while. I was going to put you to bed as soon as I finished here,” said Janice.
At about ten O’ clock, Janice could hear the rumbling of June’s Mustang as it flew down the valley echoing deep into the night. Janice had expected June earlier, but she knew that her sister lived to sit and gossip with the other women in her small community. As June walked toward the porch, it was glaringly obvious that she was intoxicated. As a rule, June never smoked until she was drunk, so Janice knew that her sister was going to be in a sour mood. June stood on the walk leading to the front steps taking deep drags off of her cigarette until the filter burned her lips. Janice began to speak softly, “is everything okay?” June quickly lit another cigarette and took a deep drag off of it. While exhaling, she mumbled out the word no. “’Would you like to sit and talk about it?” asked Janice.
Janice sat on the porch as she did every day of her life since her husband Ben had lapsed into a vegetative state following a nasty fall down the ice covered front steps.
“It’s Jim, he’s cheating on me with a teacher from Harner’s Valley...I just know it!”
“Well, what makes you think that?,” asked Janice.
“He left me after we got into a fight about him not paying me any attention. I just know that there is another woman...I just got a bad feeling that he’s grown tired of me. He bad mouths me every chance that he gets, and he’s always on to me about losing weight.”
Janice laughed under her breath and attempted to speak, but she knew how sensitive that her sister was, so she chose her words carefully before she started to talk. “Honey, you’ve been unfaithful to that poor man for as long as I can remember...what makes his infidelity any worse than what you’ve been doing for decades?”
June looked at her sister with fire in her eyes. “I never thought that anyone would be fool enough to sleep with Jim...look at him, he’s not exactly a prized catch. The teacher is only twenty-three...how can I compete with her?”
“Good Lord, I don’t believe that Jim is cheating on you...and I most certainly don’t believe that a young, attractive teacher would give that old codger a second glance. Who the hell filled your head with that nonsense?”
June stomped out another butt, then quickly lit another, took a deep drag and exhaled. “It’s not nonsense. Two of the ladies down at the Beauty Shop told me that they saw Jim fondle the woman outside of the Family Dollar Store after he shared his umbrella with her.”
Something came over her, and in an instant, she was standing over Ben gazing into his listless eyes. Janice took a pillow from under Ben’s head and shoved it in his face.
“I think that you need a good cup of coffee,” said Janice.Janice headed into the house and into the kitchen to make her sister a cup of instant coffee.
She had almost forgotten that she and June were supposed to turn Ben over so that he didn’t get bed sores. Janice could hear Ben moaning and groaning as she headed outside to help her sister sober up. Janice handed June two aspirin and a strong cup of coffee. June sat on the swing and her body went numb as she slipped into unconsciousness. Janice shook her head thinking about her husband’s infidelity, and what a pathetic life she led.
After standing over June for several moments, something happened in Janice’s mind. Something came over her, and in an instant, she was standing over Ben gazing into his listless eyes. Janice took a pillow from under Ben’s head and shoved it in his face. Janice, having a moment of clarity, asked herself what she was doing. “I never wanted to marry you...you son-of-a-bitch! Mommy made me marry you after you forced yourself on me in the barn. I never really loved you...I got stuck with you.”
Unbeknownst to Janice, June had risen to her feet and had been standing in the doorway watching with morbid delight. Janice turned after moments of senseless babble to see her sister smiling.
“I was just getting Ben ready to be turned over...I didn’t think that you’d wake up for a while. I was going to put you to bed as soon as I finished here,” said Janice.
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About Clifford K. Watkins
(RoTuN)Clifford K. Watkins, Jr., is a thirty-two-year old writer/poet/ rapper/lyricist/spoken-word artist originally from High Point, North Carolina. He currently li... <read more>
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