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Lloyd Miller stepped out onto his front porch in his night robe and scanned his yard for the morning newspaper. A scowl spread across his face as he didn’t see it. The paper delivery was late again. He had complained about the sloppy service on numerous occasions to no avail. The newspaper said there was no set time for delivery and that their obligation was filled so long as he received the paper in the mornings. It was almost enough to make him cancel his subscription for home delivery, but his wife enjoyed the coupons that came with the paper, so he continued to put up with their incompetence.
As he stood there with his hands on his hips the car came around the corner and the driver tossed the paper which landed squarely in the driveway. When he looked his way, Lloyd dramatically pointed to his wrist to make the point that the delivery was not on time. The driver simply waved back, and this made him even more ill about the matter.
So, he was not in the best of moods when he bent over to pick up the paper. He was a large man and had to spread his legs in order to bend far enough down to reach the paper. Pushing himself back up he glanced at his neighbor’s yard to see his neighbor, Thelma Adamson, looking his way after gathering her own paper. Lloyd didn’t like her. He didn’t like her at all. When she saw him look toward her she quickly turned and marched into her house. He couldn’t remember the last time they had cordially spoken to each other, but whenever it was, it was too soon as far as he was concerned. Even though she had denied it at the time, he knew she was responsible for the death of his pet cat, Muffin. He had accused her directly to her face, but she insisted she had nothing to do with it. They had not spoken to each other since.
He took a moment to look at the headlines before heading back into his house. His stomach growled and he felt indigestion swelling which gave him a burning sensation up into his chest. He decided he’d better take some medicine at breakfast and went inside to sit in his recliner and read the paper.
His wife, Gertie, was busy in the kitchen when he settled into his chair. She had heard him come back in and shouted, “Do you want your eggs scrambled?” Sometimes she irritated him. She knew that was the only way he liked eggs, and yet, she still had to bother him and ask. His stomach was still rumbling, so he replied, “No, skip the eggs today.”
“Are you sure?” she asked from the kitchen.
“Are you getting hard of hearing or just being stupid?” he yelled back at her. Now, she had made him mad. He loved her but she could drive him nuts with her ineptitude. They just celebrated thirty years of marriage and she wasn’t much different now than she was when they first married. He thought she would have changed some over the years, especially as he had labored to correct her and help her see when she was wrong. Of course, the times he felt she was wrong were the times when she disagreed with his point of view.
“Before I forget,” she yelled again from the kitchen. “Eric and Tina are coming over for dinner.”
“My, God!! Why tonight?” he shouted back in disgust.
“They haven’t been over in two weeks,” she replied. “It’ll be good to see them.”
“Well, they’d better not stay too late,” he declared. “I’m going to bed early.”
Their son, Eric, was destined to take over the family business when Lloyd took early retirement in a couple of years. This was the heating and air conditioning business he had started from scratch when Eric was only two years old. It had grown and provided a living for them, though the business had really taken off when Eric starting handling more of it. Lloyd always did good work as he was a perfectionist, but his customer service skills were sorely lacking. There were many clients who used his service once and only once. Lloyd felt his jobs were done right, he was right, and if anyone tried to tell him different, then they were just trying to rip him off.
He was just as hard on any employees who worked for him. The turnover rate was tremendous until Eric started directing the work. Lloyd had rode Eric hard over the years to not only mold him into a man but to show him the best way to do things, Lloyd’s way. As he grew into manhood, they had more than one shouting match, many times in front of the workers as Eric felt he knew a better way to do things. Lloyd never believed his son could do as good a job as he had done, even when increased business proved otherwise. But, as he got older and developed health problems, he acquiesced and let Eric pretty much run the show. Now, they had a loyal crew that had been with them for a number of years. One of the best things Eric did was to hire Glen Cooper a few years back and promote him to foreman. Glen knew how to treat workers and he knew how to get the most work out of them. Everyone liked Glen except Lloyd. He didn’t trust him as he thought he was sneaky.
Eric had met Tina six years ago. Despite Lloyd’s objections they were married a little over four years ago. He didn’t like Tina and he let her and everyone else know. To him she was a gold-digger. He knew she was just hanging around until he was out of the picture so she could get her hands on his money. But, as far as he could see, Eric was blinded by love. Lloyd did his best to get his son to draw up a prenuptial agreement but he refused. He knew he would live to regret it. His only comfort was that he wouldn’t be around to see her take his son to the cleaners, but even in that, he was somewhat disappointed as he wouldn’t have the opportunity to tell Eric “I told you so.”
He had almost finished reading the paper when his stomach started rumbling again. This time it wasn’t so much the burning feeling as it was the nausea making him gag. He thought this weird as he hadn’t eaten anything yet today. Just when he felt he had it under control a sharp powerful pain stabbed him in the chest. It felt as if a sledgehammer had slammed into him and he grabbed his chest as the pain left him struggling to breathe. With all the effort he could muster he cried out “Gertie” and then collapsed into unconsciousness.
In the kitchen Gertie thought she had heard Lloyd say something, but it was muffled. So, she asked, “What, dear?”
When he didn’t answer she went into the living room to find out what he wanted and found him staring off into space, barely breathing, and a string of drool running down the side of his mouth. She yelled his name and shook him, but he didn’t respond. In desperation she grabbed the phone and called for help.
It seemed forever before the paramedics arrived though it was only five minutes. While waiting on them she called Eric and got his voice mail. She quickly left a message and then turned her attention back to Lloyd as she did her best to perform CPR on him. Her efforts were almost useless as she had never been trained and was only mimicking what she’d seen on TV.
The paramedics quickly determined Lloyd was in cardiac arrest. One of them started CPR while another set up an AED. The third paramedic asked Gertie about his medical history and reassured her they were doing all they could to help. She was clear enough of mind to list off all the medications he was taking and to tell them how he was allergic to penicillin.
After what seemed like forever, they placed him on a stretcher and moved him to the ambulance. Gertie gathered her pocketbook and followed them. She rode up front with the driver as the two other paramedics continued working in the back on Lloyd. They roared into the hospital’s emergency area and quickly unloaded him as the doctors and nurses had been forewarned and were ready as soon as they arrived. Gertie was ushered to a waiting room and comforted by the hospital’s Patient Advocate.
It was almost a dream to her. Just like most people, she had known of other families who had an immediate family member become violently ill, but she wasn’t expecting this to happen to them, at least, not at this time. Lloyd was only fifty-two, much too young for anything like this. Yes, she knew it was true, he hadn’t taken the best care of himself over the years, being overweight and prone to angry outbursts, but still, she wasn’t expecting this at all. She held herself together as she was too afraid and too worried to cry, that is, until Eric and Tina came into the room.
Eric gathered his mother into his arms as she sobbed and did her best, between gasps, to fill him in on what had happened. Tina gently rubbed her arm as they all wept together. A young nurse came in and quietly asked questions about Lloyd’s medical history. Gertie assured her that their doctor was very familiar with Lloyd and the whole family. The nurse quickly finished updating the records and told them their doctor was already with Lloyd.
It was another half hour before Dr. Thad Conover came in to see them. The doctor was in his early seventies but had continued his practice beyond the normal retirement age. He had been their family doctor for years. In fact, he had delivered Eric as a baby. The good doctor was one of the few people that Lloyd had never crossed. Gertie had always believed he was afraid to make the one person mad who could hold his life in his hands. With a somber look on his face the doctor sat down beside Gertie as Eric and Tina gathered around them.
“Well, we have his condition stabilized at the moment,” the doctor revealed.
“How bad is it?” Eric asked.
“It’s very serious,” the doctor replied. “He’s had an acute myocardial infarction and we got to him in just the nick of time.”
“Is he going to make it?” Gertie asked as she bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling.
“I don’t know,” the doctor answered. “I’ve seen many people pull through something this severe, and unfortunately, we had some who haven’t. We’ll have to take it day-by-day. That’s all we can do.”
“Can I see him?” Gertie asked.
“Sure,” Dr. Conover replied. “I want to get him moved up to ICU before you do, though. Then, if you don’t mind, I’d like to keep it just one person at a time. He’s unconscious at this time so it won’t matter to him, but we’re going to be monitoring him closely and I want the nurses to be able to get to him as quick as possible. Also, we’ll be prepping him for a coronary angiogram, so we’re going to be pretty busy around him the rest of the evening.”
“That’s fine,” Eric offered. “We’ll take turns sitting with him.”
“Good,” the doctor said. “There’s a waiting room near the ICU where you can relax between visits.”
“Thank you Thad,” Gertie quietly offered.
“Gertie.”
“Yes?”
“We’re going to do the best we can,” the doctor asserted. “I’ve known you and this family for a long time and together we can make it through this.”
Over the next two days Gertie stayed by Lloyd’s side. He had a tube feeding him oxygen to help him breathe and was heavily medicated to give his heart a chance to heal. From time-to-time Eric would come in and relieve her but she was diligent in not wanting to leave him for very long.
On the evening of the second day his condition took a turn for the worse. Dr. Conover gathered the three in a conference room and broke the bad news to them. “I’m afraid he’s in early stages of heart failure,” he revealed. “Short of a miracle, I doubt he’ll make it through the night.”
Gertie tried her best to keep from crying, but her emotions overtook her. She had braced herself for this eventuality, but the realty was harder than she had imagined. Eric comforted her as much as he could, but he was dealing with the distinct possibility of losing his father and his emotions were frayed, too. The doctor assured them they would continue to do whatever was necessary to keep him alive, but there could come the time when they would have to decide if further efforts were worth it, or would it be best to just let him go.
After Dr. Conover left them, Eric suggested he and his mother review what she wanted to do if Lloyd didn’t recover.
Tina sat with them a while and then offered, “If you two don’t mind, I think I’ll go sit with Lloyd while you two work these things out.” She hugged Gertie and her husband before walking down the hall to Lloyd’s room.
When she entered the room, a nurse had just finished changing the IV and was checking the monitors.
“I’m going to sit with him a while, if that’s okay?” she declared.
“Sure,” the nurse replied. “Just let me know if you need anything.”
“Thanks.”
After the nurse left, she pulled a chair near his bed and sat to watch him breathe. His eyes were closed but there was a small slit in the eyelids to almost make it look like he could see what was happening. She watched the bars on the EKG graph bounce up and down and then studied his face. His peaceful look was not one she was used to. Usually he was mad at her or simply antagonistic. She felt she had reached out to him, especially when she first starting dating Eric, but he had quickly let it be known that she was not worthy of his son. He had gone so far in one rampage to assert she didn’t love his son and accused her of only wanting to get her hands on Eric’s inheritance.
She leaned forward in the chair and whispered, “Lloyd. Can you hear me, Lloyd?” There was no response from him as he continued to breathe with the help of the oxygen tube. She pursed her lips together and then said, “I know you’ve never cared for me, but if you can hear me, there’s something I think you ought to know before you leave this world.” He didn’t move. She continued, “I don’t know why I want to tell you this, but maybe you’ll see that you’re wrong about me. I don’t necessarily need your acceptance. I pretty much got over you not liking me a long time ago, but you shouldn’t go to your grave without knowing the truth.”
She paused for a moment as she carefully chose her words. “I guess you’re right that I’m after money. That’s because that’s the only thing I get out of my marriage. You see, Eric is gay. He realized it when he was a teenager. Gertie knows, in fact, just about everybody knows but you.” She gave a little laugh and continued, “You’ve always been too busy with your business and being mad at everyone to even notice. He knows if you ever found out you’d disown him. So, he’s pretended to love me to hide his true feelings from you. Why, we don’t even sleep in the same bed. We make it look that way whenever you come around, but it’s a lie.”
She leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath. “At first, he just wanted me to be his date so that he could present me to you. I did it as a favor at first, but it worked so well he wanted to keep pretending and started paying me. I felt bad about taking his money, but once I got to know you I didn’t feel so bad anymore. I could easily see what a homophobic you are. You’ve never noticed the way Eric flinches when you throw out all those gay slurs, have you? It hurts him, but he’s too afraid to say anything to you.”
She moved to the edge of the chair to stare Lloyd in the face. “Then after two years you started questioning him about why we hadn’t got married. You didn’t like me but you still thought Eric should do the right thing and marry me. So, he offered me an arrangement. I’d marry him and he’d give me a large settlement once you passed on. I didn’t want to, but he begged and begged me, so, I said I would. Oh, there were times I wanted to walk out. It wasn’t anything Eric did, but it was you and your holier-than-thou attitude. You made it almost not worth it, but now I’m glad I stuck it out. Now, with you out of the picture, I get my money and Eric can live the life he wants.” She leaned forward, almost touching his face, smiled and asserted, “And there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it.”
She stood and looked down on him. “By the way, Eric’s true love is Kyle Meloney. You know him, don’t you?” she asked sarcastically. “He used to come over and play at your house with Eric when they were kids? They got pretty close and eventually fell in love with one another. I think it’s hilarious that it’s all been happening right under your nose and you haven’t had a clue. You’ve just been a blind pathetic fool, that’s all you’ve ever been and that’s all you’ll ever be.”
She turned to leave and turned back. “By the way, if you’re interested, I have my own man. We plan on marrying just as soon as Eric and I divorce and I get my money. You thought you knew your son, didn’t you? Well, you never did. You missed out on knowing a really great guy. It’s sad, but that’s what you have to take with you to wherever you’re going.”
With that she wheeled around and left the room. The bar graph on the EKG spiked and then settled back to its regular rhythm. Lloyd let out a moan and then softly mouthed “Eric.”
Tina joined Eric and Gertie in the waiting room. Eric had brought her a cup of coffee and she sat down beside Gertie and took a sip.
“Any change?” Eric asked.
“No, he’s still the same,” she replied. “I tried to talk to him for a while but he didn’t respond.”
“I don’t think he’s going to make it,” Gertie declared. She sniffed and wiped her nose with a tissue. “You live your life knowing this is going to happen one day, but I wasn’t expecting it to happen today.”
“None of us were,” Eric offered. “I figured he had another thirty years or so.”
“I think I’d better go sit with him a while,” Gertie said. Through trembling lips she blubbered, “I won’t be able to much longer.”
Eric held his mother as she broke down again. Tina rubbed her arm in an attempt to comfort her. Leaving her son and daughter-in-law in the waiting room, she fought off her apprehension and made her way to her husband’s room.
He looked no different from the last time she saw him. She sat in the chair beside the bed and took his hand into hers.
He was the man who had charmed her, gave her some of the happiest times of her life, and yet, had been the one who had caused her the biggest heartaches. For a moment she was distracted by the soft hissing sound of the oxygen as it rushed its way through the small tube as it made its way to his nostrils. His breathing was deep with long pauses between. She concentrated on them for a while to make sure he kept breathing. As much as he had emotionally scarred her, she was still scared of losing him. He was almost all she had known for most of her life. Now, for the briefest moment, she let herself envision a life without him. It brought her feelings to the surface, and she laid her head on his arm and burst out crying.
When her outburst finally turned to sniffles, she raised her head and wiped her eyes. She was convinced this was to be the last moments they would have together, and she couldn’t allow it to end without baring her soul to him. Even if he couldn’t hear or respond to her, she felt the overpowering need to confess her secret to him. In fact, she was sure it was better he wouldn’t be able to respond as she knew his temper was swift and volcanic.
“Lloyd, there’s something I need to tell you,” she said barely above a whisper. “I know you probably can’t hear me, but I think you have a right to know before...you know...before...well, just before.”
She fought the urge to run out of the room and continued, “I know this will upset you, but you should know.” After another pause to gather her thoughts she explained, “I’m not perfect. You know that better than anyone and you’ve always been quick to let me know when I’ve failed your expectations.” She closed her eyes in an effort to muster enough courage to continue. “Do you know how much that hurts? I don’t think you do, because I’d like to think, that if you did, you wouldn’t have been so critical of me over the years. All I ever wanted was to make you happy and make you love me. That’s all I ever wanted...” The tears started flowing again.
It seemed an eternity before she could continue, but she did. “After a while I came to realize that there was nothing I could do that would ever be good enough for you. It seemed you were the happiest when you could be running me down over something. I had to die a little bit every day so you could be happy. It left me miserable. There were many days when I just wanted to end it all. I didn’t want to die, but it was the only way I knew I could find relief.”
She adjusted herself in the chair to a more comfortable position. “We did have some good times, though. The best was when we had Eric. You were so proud to be a father. I think that was our happiest time together. He was your pride and joy until he got older. Then he couldn’t please you any better than I could. You did your best to push both of us away. Why? Why, Lloyd? Why did you act like that? It would’ve been so much easier to love us for who we are instead of always being disappointed that we weren’t what you wanted us to be.”
She dabbed her eyes with a tissue before continuing. “You don’t know this, but about three years ago I decided to leave you. I had taken all I could take. It was right after the time you got so mad at Eric for promoting Glen to foreman that you slapped him in front of all his coworkers. How could you humiliate your own son like that? You cursed and ranted and raved like a mad man. There was no need for it. Everybody said it was just you being you, but there was no need. I was surprised when Eric tried to talk me out of leaving. He was afraid of what it would do to the business. I told him I couldn’t take anymore. He was one of the few people who could really understand what a beast you could be. Lord knows you’ve been just as hard on him as me. That was the day I stopped trying to please you. I still love you, because of Eric and the good things we’ve done together, but I don’t love you like it should be.”
With newfound energy she sat straight up in the chair and folded her hands in her lap. “Eric didn’t talk me out of leaving, but Glen did. He’s such a kind and gentle man. I wasn’t sure they still existed until I got to know him. He’s so different from you. I was so used to the way you treated me that I was suspicious of his easygoing ways. But I found out he’s that way all the time. I mean, he’s not perfect, but he knows how to treat people.”
She took a long deep breath before continuing. “I didn’t mean for it to happen, but it did. We fell in love. I know I love him and he tells me he loves me. I really believe he does. At least, I feel loved. He can’t be after the company because he knows you left it to Eric. I’ve always thought we’d be together if you weren’t around. He’s hinted at it, but we really don’t talk about it.”
She pursed her lips together and then declared, “I’m not ashamed of loving Glen, even if it has been behind your back. I’m sorry if that hurts you but it’s the truth. I’ve been afraid to tell you until now. As mean as you are, you’ve never physically harmed me, but, I’m not sure you’d be able to hold yourself back if you found out about us. Besides, you see, I do love you. I just don’t like the way you treat me. You don’t treat a person you love the way you’ve treated me. You probably think it’s love, but it’s not. It’s just meanness.”
Touching his hand again she said, “Glen is right. I owe you enough to stay with you, and anyway, there’s no way you would last long without me. You know it’s true. We’ve been together a long time and I’m constantly having to do things for you. It’s got worse the older we’ve got. Besides, Glen said he’s willing to wait on me. I hate to say it, but deep in my heart I figured I’d outlive you and then I could have a life with him. I just never imagined it would be this soon.”
She tightened her grip on his hand as she fought off the tears welling up inside her again. “I’m sorry but I couldn’t take the chance of telling you all of this if I thought you were going to make it. But, Thad thinks this is the end. I hope you’re at peace. I hope you can see through your anger at me and realize that I’ll be taken care of after you’re gone. You would at least want that, wouldn’t you?”
She buried her face in his arm again and cried until she was out of tears. Slowly rising from her chair she bent over and kissed him on the lips. As she turned to leave she looked back and said, “I’m not trying to be mean, but I wished I could’ve shown you some of the things Glen taught me in bed. He’s wonderful. He does things that make me feel like a teenager again. I wanted to show them to you, but I knew if I tried, then you’d want to know where I learned them. So, I wouldn’t dare share them with you. I couldn’t take a chance on you finding out about Glen and me.”
With that she abruptly turned and left the room. The oxygen continued hissing as Lloyd raised his arm and muttered “Gertie” before letting it drop down on the bed beside him.
When she returned to the waiting area, Eric and Tina had been joined by her and Lloyd’s next-door neighbor, Thelma Adamson. She was Gertie’s closest friend even though Lloyd couldn’t stand her. There had been more than one argument over why she insisted on associating with someone who he despised. But she was intent on ignoring his wishes as she and Thelma had been good friends for years, even before Thelma’s husband passed away.
They hugged each other as Thelma asked, “How are you holding up?” Patting her eyes with a tissue Gertie replied, “It’s been rough, but, thankfully, I’ve got Tina and Eric.”
“Have you heard from Glen?”
“Yes, he’s called several times a day,” Gertie answered. “He wanted to come up here and be with me but I told him not to. I think I owe Lloyd that much.”
“Hmmph,” Thelma sneered. “If the tables were turned he wouldn’t show you that much courtesy.”
“Now, Thelma,” Eric interjected. “This might be a good time to bury the hatchet. If for no other reason, do it for Mom.”
She quickly realized she was being insensitive and apologized. “I’m sorry, Gertie. It’s just, that...well, you how it is between Lloyd and me.”
“There’s no need to apologize,” Gertie said as she gave a weak smile. “He’s a tough man to be around.”
“That’s for sure,” Tina chimed in before she thought about what she was saying. She quickly added, “I’m sorry.”
Gertie took a deep breath and then declared, “Look everybody, don’t try to hide your feelings, good or bad. This is not the time for it. I mean, I don’t want everyone to bash Lloyd, but we all know how he is. The truth is the truth and we can never get away from it. So, please, just be yourself and don’t worry about hurting my feelings or trying to avoid saying something that you think will upset me.”
They all hugged each other again before Thelma spoke. “Gertie, do you think it’d be all right if I went in and said goodbye to him?”
“Why, sure,” she replied with a shocked look. “I must admit that I’m surprised you would want to.”
“I know,” Thelma agreed. “I’m a little surprised myself, but it’s like Eric said, I guess this is not the time to kick a guy when he’s down.”
Tina nodded her head in agreement and added, “Even if he is as mean as a hornet.”
Gertie touched her best friend’s arm and said, “Go spend some time with him. Maybe something good will come of it.”
Thelma paused about halfway down the hall to Lloyd’s room. Her determination had wilted some and she wasn’t sure this was such a good idea anymore. But she didn’t want to go back and face her friends without at least making the attempt to see Lloyd. So, she sauntered on until she came to his room. Gently pushing the door open she peered in to see him lying on his back with all types of tubes and machines hooked to him. She walked in and sat in the chair beside his bed.
In front of her, only a couple feet away, was the man she had come to despise over the years. She thought when he and Gertie first moved into the neighborhood they were the perfect couple to add to their quaint little spot in the world. It wasn’t long before the monster was loose and terrorizing everyone in sight. At first, everyone went out of their way to make amends with him and keep the peace. But, there was no pleasing him. Even if you readily agreed with him, which many times was hard to do, he would still find something to become irritated about. And almost everyone would melt away at his full force fury when he got going. But, she and her late husband, Roger, decided they would not cater to a mad man. So, they took a stand and became bitter enemies living next door to each other. It was such that when Roger passed away, Lloyd avoided her altogether and never said a word to her. Thelma was convinced he was happy at her loss and couldn’t wait for her to join her husband. But fate had turned the tables, and it was Lloyd who was leaving and not her.
Gertie was another matter though. She loved her as a sister. The only problem she ever had with Gertie was her husband. Thelma would never understand how she could live with a man like Lloyd. Gertie had tried to explain it several times, but it was beyond Thelma’s comprehension. But she supported her and was there for her when the going got too rough and she needed a shoulder to lean on. The truth of the matter was that they both had helped each other through tough times. That’s what friends are for, and it bonded them even more.
Thelma knew all of Gertie’s secrets and Gertie knew hers. Of course, the biggest was about Glen. The only thing she wished Gertie had done different was to pack her bags, kick Lloyd in the groin, and go make a life with Glen before they got too old. But, as far as she was concerned, things were now going to work out okay. Lloyd was doing the leaving and it still left Gertie and Glen many years to be happy together.
She leaned forward in her chair to get a closer look at his face. It made her nauseous so she sat back. A sly grin worked its way across her lips as she sneered, “It’s hard to find a man who’s as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside. They oughta give you an award before you go.”
Feeling more relaxed; she bent slightly forward and offered, “Do you know how many people are not going to miss you after you’re gone? I mean, if it was up to me, we’d have a national holiday. I bet I could get about everyone that’s ever known you to join in. It’d be a party for the ages.”
She was startled when Lloyd moved his arm ever so slightly. He was supposed to be dying, and she didn’t want to do anything to interfere with it. She sat as quiet as she could for a while until she was convinced he was still comatose. Eventually, her courage returned, and she said, “I’m going to tell you one more time that I didn’t kill your precious cat, Muffin. I’ve told you and told you this, but you’ve never believed me. Well, it’s the truth! Why would I lie to you at a time like this?”
She stretched and glanced at the ceiling before continuing, “But I must confess, I’ve never told you the whole story.” Leaning closer she asked, “Would you like to know what really happened?”
After chewing on her lower lip for a moment she revealed, “Muffin’s a good cat. She deserved better than having an owner like you. Do you remember the day you forgot to put her out before you and Gertie went to see Eric and Tina? The poor cat was stranded in the house all day. But you didn’t see that when you got home...you didn’t want to see it. All you saw was the small puddle she made on the living room floor because she had nowhere else to go. Do you remember how you acted? I could hear you yelling all the way over to my house.”
She gripped the arms of the chair before continuing. “Did you notice I said that Muffin is a good cat? Yeah, that’s right, she’s not dead. After you left for work the next day I went over to see Gertie and to find out what all the shouting was about. She told me you were so mad you had locked Muffin in a closet all night with no food and no water. That made me so mad!! To think you would treat a poor animal like that when it was your fault in the first place!
Well, I was ready to call the humane society, the police, the FBI, whoever, and have them come and lock you up. Gertie begged and pleaded with me not to do it. But, my mind was made up. If Roger had still been alive and in good health, I know he would’ve come over and knocked you on your sorry butt. Shucks! I would’ve done it myself if you had been standing there in front of me.
But Gertie kept begging me not to call them, so I didn’t. We agreed for me take Muffin and find a good home for her. She deserved it after living with you. So, I took her all the way across the county to a family I know. They have two small daughters and they all love Muffin more than anything. They look after that cat and pamper her so much I think she’s forgotten all the things you did to mistreat her. I just know she’s far better off with them than she ever was with you.”
After slumping back into the chair she said, “Naturally, Gertie was afraid to tell you about this, so we didn’t. We let you think she had run away. You were the one that got the crazy idea that I had killed her. Hmmph, I was the one who saved her! I saved her from the likes of you.”
She sat in silence for a few minutes with a satisfied look on her face. With every second the one person she despised was moving closer to his ultimate end. Not only that, but she had been able to tell him what an awful person he was and how she had taken his pet cat away from him. Whether he could hear and understand or not didn’t matter much to her. She felt better just getting it all off her chest.
Figuring it was time to leave, she was about to stand up when Lloyd’s breathing became labored. He coughed and flung his right arm up in the air. His eyes bounced open and it scared her. She bounded from the chair and backed toward the door. He coughed again and through the hissing of the oxygen clearly mumbled, “Get outta here!!”
Thelma bolted from the room and went running down the hall screaming for the nurse. It wasn’t long before a team of them were in the room working on Lloyd. A call went out for Dr. Conover, and he soon joined them.
Thelma was shaking as she explained to Gertie how Lloyd had talked to her. Gertie listened intently as so did Tina. Neither one of them could hide the anxious look on their faces. The ramifications of Lloyd pulling through and not dying weighed heavily on each one of them. Gertie felt a knot growing in her stomach. Tina felt a cold sweat break out on her brow. Thelma’s voice kept rising in pitch as fear swept over her as she described what had happened.
Eric hugged all the women and kissed his mother. Then they sat together, and he held her hand. They all sat in silence, lost in their own thoughts, as they waited for word from Dr. Conover.
It was only about twenty minutes, even though it seemed forever, when the doctor came and sat down beside Gertie. She tried to read his face to get an indication of what to expect, but the good doctor had perfected his professional look years before and had it firmly in place as he spoke to her.
“Well, I’ve seen miracles before,” he said. “But I think this is one for the record books!”
“What are you saying, Doc?” Eric asked as he scooted to the end of his chair.
“What I’m saying is I think we have a miracle on our hands,” he declared. “I don’t know why and I don’t know how but there’s a very good chance that Lloyd is going to pull through this!!”
Eric shouted “Hallelujah!” and clapped his hands. He was the only one.
Gertie shook her head ever so slightly and said, “But I thought you said he was going to die.”
“I did, and I meant every word of it,” the doctor explained. “I don’t know what has happened, but something has stimulated his system and he’s fighting with all his might to live. It wasn’t that way before.”
“I see,” Gertie muttered.
“You said something stimulated him?” Tina asked as she struggled to control the sickness building in the pit of her stomach.
“Yeah, that’s the only thing I can figure,” the doctor replied. “We all know Lloyd’s a very emotional person. After all the years I’ve known him, I’ve come to the conclusion he thrives on conflict and confrontation. So, I don’t know what did it, but something has given him a reason to fight like the dickens.”
Gertie just stared off into space as she fought to control her emotions. Her husband was going to live and she was convinced it was her revelations to him that was giving him the energy to live. Of course, Tina and Thelma were thinking exactly the same thing about what they had done.
Finally, she realized Dr. Conover was asking her if she was all right. “Oh, I’m sorry, Thad. Yes, I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, yes,” she sighed. “It’s just been an emotional roller coaster the last few days. I think I’m totally drained.”
“Look, why don’t you go home tonight and get a good night’s sleep?” the doctor asked. “We’re going to be busy giving Lloyd a battery of tests and I want to prescribe him some medicine that will strengthen his heart and help in his recovery. You’ll have plenty of time to spend with him tomorrow. He might even wake enough to talk to you.”
“Mom, I’ll go get the car and we’ll take you home,” Eric interjected.
“I think it would do us all some good,” Tina offered.
Gertie thought for a moment and then agreed. The longer she could postpone confronting Lloyd the better.
Dr. Conover rose from his seat and declared, “Well, good, then. I’m going to get back in there and see how it’s going.” He hugged Gertie and said, “You get a goodnight’s rest.”
Gertie was still stunned and could only mumble, “Thank you, Thad.”
Eric followed the doctor out and then made his way to the parking lot.
The three women stood in silence, not looking at each other, as their minds raced as they attempted to comprehend what was happening. Each one fought hard to control the panic attack building inside them. Finally, Tina could control herself no more and cried out, “Oh, my God!!”
“What?!?” Gertie blurted out as her senses were shaken back to reality.
“Oh, my God!!” she cried again. “Oh, my God!”
Grabbing Tina by the shoulders, Gertie firmly asked again, “Tina, what’s wrong?”
Tina looked her directly in the eyes with her own eyes begging Gertie to make the nightmare go away. “I’m the reason Lloyd’s fighting to live!!”
“What do you mean?”
Tina was having a hard time thinking straight and only mumbled, “I’m the one! I’m the one!!”
“Tina!!” Gertie almost yelled as she shook her shoulders. “Tell us what’s wrong!”
Shaking under the stress she declared, “I told Lloyd about Eric and Kyle!”
“You did what?!?” Thelma exclaimed.
“Go on, Tina,” Gertie ordered.
“I told him that Eric is gay and about the arrangement we have when he dies,” she explained. “I told him everybody knew about it but him. I thought he was dying!! I’d never told him if I thought there was a chance of him surviving. Gertie, I thought he was dying!!”
Gertie closed her eyes in a feeble effort to ease the tension. Tina blubbered, “I’m sorry, Gertie!! I never dreamed it would make him want to live! I didn’t know!”
Thelma cleared her throat and then with a nervous laugh said, “You weren’t the only one, Tina.”
Gertie turned to her best friend and asked, “What did you do, Thelma?”
Taking a deep breath she replied, “I told him what really happened to Muffin.”
Gertie sighed and said, “You did, huh?”
“Yes, I did,” Thelma answered. “I didn’t think he’d make it either, so I figured I’d get in a parting shot.”
“He loved that cat,” Tina declared.
“You call that love, the way he treated her?” Thelma shot back.
“No wonder he’s trying to pull out of this,” Tina mused. “Between what he knows now about Eric and Muffin, he’s got a reason to live, revenge. He’s gonna kill me!”
“Me, too,” Thelma chimed in.
Tina closed her eyes and mumbled again, “Oh, my God!”
“I’m so sorry, Gertie,” Thelma said as she dabbed her eyes with a tissue. “I know because of what we’ve done he’s gonna be mad at you, too.”
“Yes, he is,” Gertie agreed as she sank back down into her chair.
“Oh, I wish I’d kept my big fat mouth shut,” Tina offered.
Choosing her words carefully, Gertie said, “You two are being too hard on yourselves.”
“I don’t think so,” Thelma objected.
“You know how he is,” Tina inserted.
“Yeah, but I took the opportunity to tell him about Glen and me,” Gertie revealed.
“You did what?!?” Tina and Thelma shouted together before slinking down beside her.
“That’s right,” Gertie said. “I did like you two did and ran my mouth. I thought that was going to be the last time I saw him alive, and well, I figured I owed him enough to let him know.”
They all sat in silence as they envisioned what a conscious and vengeful Lloyd would try to do to them for misleading him all these years. None of them could see how any of this would turn out for the good. It was scary and a cloud of doom settled down upon them.
Finally, Gertie snickered and said, “Well, we are a bunch, aren’t we?”
“The question is a bunch of what?” Thelma chimed in.
“Here, we thought we could reveal all our little secrets to a dying man and not have to worry about anything bad happening,” Gertie observed. “Now, there’s a mountain of trouble coming our way.”
“With what we’ve told him it’s no wonder he’s all riled up,” Tina said. “Hmmph, it was enough to bring him back from the dead.”
The three women looked at each other as they desperately tried to find a way out of the dilemma facing them. Gertie just shook her head and finally said, “Well, there’s only one thing to do.”
“What’s that?” Tina asked.
“Lloyd is going to have to die,” she matter-of-factly said.
“What?!?” Thelma cried.
“There’s only one thing we can do,” Gertie continued. “We’ve got to make sure Lloyd never harms anyone again.”
Tina nodded her head and said, “Then he’ll have to die.”
“Wait a minute!” Thelma almost shouted. “You can’t be serious?”
“Yes, I am,” Gertie answered. “I don’t see any other way out of this.”
“But there’s got to be another way,” she objected. “You’re talking murder.”
“I’m talking survival,” Gertie shot back. “It’s either him or us.”
“I’ll take ‘us’ any day,” Tina chimed in.
“Oh, we can’t do this,” Thelma objected again. “We could never do something like this.”
“No, ‘we’ couldn’t,” Gertie agreed. “But, I will.”
“I’ll help you,” Tina offered.
“No, he’s my problem and I’ll have to be the solution,” Gertie offered. “I just want you two to not tell anyone.”
“Gertie, you can’t do this all by yourself,” Thelma interjected. “Besides, we already know what you’re planning. That makes us an accessory to something or other, I’m sure.”
“Then, I’ll do it,” Tina declared.
“Oh, Tina, you’re just wanting Lloyd out of the picture so you can get your money,” Thelma said with a hint of disgust.
“Well, that may be true,” Tina agreed. “But, there’s no way I’m gonna let him harm Gertie or Eric either. I’ll go in there right now and rip every tube out of him and let him suffocate to death if I have to.”
“No, no, it’s up to me,” Gertie said. “I won’t involve you two.”
“You’ve already involved us,” Thelma declared. She stared at her friend to make sure she was serious about taking a life. Gertie had the most determined look, and Thelma couldn’t help but notice that a calmness had settled down on her friend. Now that she had made the decision, an air of peace surrounded her. Gertie’s conviction was contagious, and Thelma said, “No, we’ll help you. We’ll get through this together.”
The three stood in silence as they weighed the decision made. They all realized it was wrong, but the fear of what Lloyd could do was enough to push them over the edge and make them do the unthinkable.
Finally, Tina said, “Look, there’s no need for all of us to be involved. It’ll only take one of us.”
“We can draw straws or something,” Thelma offered.
“Yeah, then only one of us will know for sure who...” Tina’s words trailed off as they weren’t needed as everyone knew what she meant.
“If we do this, then we must never speak of it again,” Gertie declared. “That person will have to be willing to take it to their grave and never tell anyone.”
They agreed and the women hugged each other. It was a long hug as they were now bonded even more by their deadly scheme. Gertie reached for a tissue as Tina opened her purse and poured some pennies out onto the coffee table.
“I don’t have any straws, but maybe we can use some coins,” Tina said. “Help me find two with the same date on them.”
They looked until they had found two with 1999 on them. Tina grabbed another penny with the date of 2002. She emptied a small change purse and placed the three pennies in the purse. She closed it and shook it to mix the coins up.
“Okay, there’s only one that is dated 2002,” she declared. “Whoever picks that one is the chosen one. Agreed?” Thelma and Gertie nodded in agreement. “Who wants to go first?”
“You go first, Gertie,” Thelma offered. “I think you should have first choice and then Tina. I’ll go last.”
Closing her eyes, Gertie reached into the purse and removed a coin. Tina followed and then Thelma took her turn. Each turned away and looked for the date on the penny they had selected.
When they turned back each one studied the other’s face for a hint of who the one chosen was. None of them gave any indication and they were interrupted by Eric coming in the room.
“I got the car downstairs,” he said. “Are you ready?”
The women hugged again and then walked out of the hospital to the waiting vehicles. It was a silent ride for Gertie and Tina as Eric drove them home. Thelma drove home without saying a word.
Two women had a restless night’s sleep. One woman didn’t sleep at all.
It was before dawn when Gertie arose the next morning. She showered and pressed her clothes before getting dressed. Eric and Tina picked her up for the drive to the hospital. The two women were sullen and didn’t talk. Eric didn’t notice as he was busy telling them about a lucrative job they had obtained and how it was going to keep the company financially stable for several years to come. His enthusiasm was interrupted when his cell phone buzzed. Tina grabbed it and answered.
The look on her face told it all. Eric asked, “What’s wrong?”
She closed the phone and replied, “That was the hospital. They said for us to get there as soon as possible.”
Gertie bit her lower lip and just nodded her head as Eric sped the car toward the hospital. Darting in and out of traffic he asked, “Did they say what was wrong with Dad?”
“No, they didn’t,” Tina replied as she took a quick glance back at Gertie. “They just want us there now.”
He had to slam on brakes to avoid hitting another vehicle and Gertie cried out, “Eric! It’ll do us no good to have a wreck!! Please slow down.”
Eric lowered his speed and in less than ten minutes they arrived at the Emergency entrance. Tina told them to go on in and she would park the car.
The nurse saw them coming as they stepped off the elevator and approached them with a dire look on her face.
“What’s wrong?” Eric asked.
“It’s not good,” the nurse replied. “Let me take you to a special waiting area where you can be alone until Dr. Conover can join you.”
Gertie and Eric sat together as she felt her stomach slowly balling into a knot. She knew this was going to happen, after all, she was one of the ones who had planned it, but, now that the time had come, she felt a chill descending over her. It wasn’t long before Tina joined them and shortly afterwards the doctor came in and sat down beside Gertie.
“Thad?” Gertie asked as she looked into his eyes. He had his professional face on again.
“I’m sorry, but we did everything we could,” he replied. “It wasn’t enough. Lloyd died about ten minutes ago.”
“What happened?!?” Eric cried. “You said yesterday that he was going to make it.”
“I thought he would,” the doctor answered. “I’d been willing to bet money on it. He was doing so well, but in the middle of the night his condition deteriorated. We put him on life support, but it wasn’t enough. He never regained consciousness.”
“So, you weren’t able to speak to him?” Gertie asked.
“No, and I thought he would be talking up a storm by this morning,” Dr. Conover replied. “But, when he started downhill, the end came quickly.”
Tina placed her arms around Eric as tears flowed down his cheeks. Gertie hugged her son as they cried together. Once they had regained some composure, the doctor asked, “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No, Thad,” Gertie answered. “I thank you for all you’ve done already. It just wasn’t meant to be.”
The doctor left them alone and they cried some more. Eventually, they were joined by the hospital’s Patient Advocate who helped them make plans for a funeral home to come and take Lloyd’s body for preparation for burial.
Several days later Lloyd was buried in the family plot at Memorial Lake Park Gardens. After the graveside service, all gathered back at Gertie’s to comfort each other. Kyle was there for Eric, Tina had her boyfriend there, and Glen was there for Gertie. Dr. Conover briefly dropped by to offer his condolences. There was little small talk as the three women had not spoken much to each other since they had made their deadly pact.
Eric came up to his mother and touched her arm. “Mom, we guys are gonna go out in the backyard and get the grill fired up. Do you need anything before I go?” She assured him she was okay and the men left the women alone.
The silence was awkward. Finally, Gertie declared, “I don’t like this!” They all turned to look at her. “Here we are good friends and we can’t even talk to each other.”
“It just doesn’t seem the same anymore,” Tina observed. “I guess that’s what a guilty conscience will do to you.”
Thelma covered her mouth with her left hand and then blurted out, “I need to tell you something!”
“No, no,” Gertie objected. “We said we’d never speak of it again.”
“I can’t go on like this, Gertie!” Thelma declared. “There’s something you need to know.”
“I know all that I need to know,” Gertie exclaimed. “We will not discuss this.”
“You’re gonna start telling me what I can and cannot say?” Thelma asked as her temper flared. “I guess the spirit of Lloyd lives on!!”
“Now, quit this!” Tina shouted. “Both of you. What are we doing? We’ve never treated each other this way. Let’s not start now!”
Gertie lowered her head and humbly offered, “I’m sorry Thelma.”
Thelma got out of her chair and rushed to Gertie’s side. “I’m sorry, too,” she wailed. “It’s been hard on you and I shouldn’t have acted like that.”
The two women hugged and finally Gertie said, “Go ahead, Thelma. What were you going to tell us?”
Clasping both hands together to steady her nerves she declared, “I couldn’t do it.”
“Do what?” Tina asked.
“I couldn’t do what we had planned to do,” she revealed.
“You drew the 2002 penny,” Tina stated more than asked.
Thelma nodded her head and continued, “Yeah, I did. When we left the hospital, I was determined to go back that night and take care of it, but I just couldn’t force myself to go back. I didn’t sleep a wink all night.”
“I was just so happy that it wasn’t me,” Tina declared.
“I’m sorry, Gertie, but I just couldn’t do it,” Thelma cried. “I found out I can’t take another person’s life no matter how much they deserve it.”
Gertie shook her head and smiled for the first time since Lloyd was struck ill. “I don’t think any of us could’ve done it. That night I prayed that we had never made such a deal. It was wrong and I should’ve never suggested it.”
“Hmmph, you’re right,” Tina chimed in. “As afraid as I was of what was going to happen when Lloyd got well, I realized it would be better than living the rest of my life knowing we ended his.”
It started deep in Gertie’s stomach and finally she couldn’t control it anymore. She burst out laughing loud and hard. It startled the other two women and Thelma asked, “What’s so funny?”
She tried desperately to control herself and finally blurted out, “What a bunch of losers!!”
That was enough to send Thelma and Tina over the edge and they roared with laughter. Tina snorted, “Yeah, we’re lousy killers, for sure!!” They laughed and cried and laughed some more as the tension between them melted away.
Eventually, the laughter subsided, and Gertie reflected, “Well, I guess things have a way of working out anyway.”
Thelma looked at her friend and pondered, “Since I didn’t do it, I wonder what caused his death.”
Gertie shrugged her shoulders and said, “I don’t know. I didn’t ask for an autopsy. In fact, at the hospital the Patient’s Advocate discouraged me from asking for one. She said since Lloyd had died under medical supervision there was really no need.”
“Well, he was pretty sick anyhow,” Tina observed. “It probably didn’t take much of downturn to take its toll.”
“Yeah, it seems you see people act like that sometimes,” Thelma interjected. “It looks like they’re on the upswing and then they don’t make it.”
“It’s kinda like a last hurrah, I guess,” Tina said.
Silence descended on the three as they reflected on Lloyd’s death one more time. Thelma cleared her throat and said, “Well, I think things are going to be better now. I think things will be the way they’re supposed to be.”
“Well, as much as I didn’t like the way he acted,” Tina declared. “I hope Lloyd is finally at peace.”
“Me, too,” Thelma said.
“Yes, I hope he is, too,” Gertie mused. “I hope he’s found the peace he never allowed himself while he was alive.”
###############
Dr. Conover hummed an old tune to himself as he drove past the street he lived on. It was another five miles before he realized he had missed his turn. Silently cursing, he found a place to turn around and headed back. As he approached his house he tried hard to remember where he had been. Pulling into his driveway, he turned the car’s engine off and then remembered, “Oh yeah, it was Lloyd Miller’s funeral.”
The flash hit him like a bolt of lightning. It was crystal clear, and he started to tremble at what he saw. He could see a hand writing a prescription to be given to a patient. It was his hand. The name of the patient at the top of the page was Lloyd Miller. In horror he watched as his hand scrawled the word “penicillin” under the drug to be prescribed.
“No!” he yelled out loud. “You can’t do that!! He’s allergic!! It’ll kill him!!!”
In a panic he flung the car door open. He was supposed to have given him medicine to strengthen his heart muscles and not something that would kill him. Why didn’t the nurse catch the mistake? Surely, she could see the tag on the folder warning against giving Lloyd penicillin. Why didn’t he catch it? He knew it would kill Lloyd. How could he have been that careless?
He ran up the steps and banged on the door instead of taking time to unlock it. His wife rushed to the door as she heard the commotion and opened it as he kept banging away.
“What’s wrong, Thad?” she asked as he came into the room. She could tell by the distorted look on his face that something terrible had happened.
“I didn’t mean to do it, Martha,” he cried. “I would’ve never done it on purpose!!”
“What dear?” she asked as she grabbed his arm. “What did you do?”
Her simple touch distracted his attention and tranquility settled down on him. His face smoothed from its anguished look to one of professional calm. He looked at her and then his eyes darted back and forth as he tried his best to remember what was wrong. Finally, he admitted, “I don’t remember what it was.”
“Are you sure?” she asked as tenderly as she could.
He scratched his head and replied, “No, I don’t. I think it was important but I’m not really sure.”
She kissed him on the cheek and said, “Well, dinner is almost ready. Why don’t you relax in your recliner and maybe it’ll come to you.”
“I think I’ll do that,” he declared. As he settled in the chair, she took a long hard look at her husband. As gently as she could she said, “I think I’ll make an appointment tomorrow for you with Dr. Clarke.”
“He’s a Neurologist,” he observed as he shot a glance at her. “You think I’m losing my mind, don’t you?”
“No,” she smiled. “But, you and I both know you’ve been forgetting things here lately. Something like that won’t get better on its own.”
“Well, go ahead if you want,” he declared. “Just don’t go and make a big deal out of it.”
“I won’t,” she promised as she turned toward the kitchen. “But, you were going to tell me something important and now you can’t remember it. Right?”
“Oh, don’t be silly,” he laughed. “If it’s that important it’ll come back to me.”
The good doctor settled back in his chair and closed his eyes. It had been an exhausting week.
THE END
Copyright ©2014 by Jerry W. Crews
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