
The Crying Game
She fondled the vial of succinylcholine. Could she bring herself to add it to his tea?
She regretted writing the note now. Eyes would focus on her as the spouse. The note would seal her fate. Still, to be rid of him, it might be worth it. She lifted the vial to the tea. Unable to squeeze. It wasn’t in her. Tears came. Tears of frustration.
She heard the door. Home already? She grabbed a carving knife and onion to mask her tears.
Frain entered the kitchen. Right hand waving her note. “We should talk about this.”
“Is there anything still to talk about?” Sniffled. One time. Couldn’t stop it.
“No need to cry.”
“I’m not crying. It’s the -”
“I think we can handle this like adults. Two things bother me about your note.”
He wants to talk! Maybe he can change. Maybe he can become the man she married. For a flicker, she remembered Frain behind the volunteer table on race morning, handing her packet, the contents spilling, both of them laughing…
“Your third sentence needs an oxford comma. I get that I’m a liar and a cheat, but the casual reader will not understand you also expect me to practice a little housework.”
Did she hear him right? Was he going to start helping with housework?
“Even more egregious? Nit-picky gets a hyphen, especially here where it’s modifying asshole. Still, nothing to cry over. We can fix it.”
“It’s the onion making me cry, you nit picky asshole!” She hurled the onion at him. Somehow it stuck to his tie.
She’d forgotten to remove the carving knife.
Tip o’ the cap to Kathy Joyce, a fellow Reider, who knew I was struggling with O and sent this:
Oleo (long, slow death) olio (death by combination of things) and “Oh, Leo” (death by orgasm).
Alas, I couldn’t improve on hers, so I had to switch to Onion. Tomorrow, P, is based on a real-life incident. Be sure to check back!
I really love these little tales. That is maybe not a good thing? But I do worry how often Frain is murdered by his wife. Maybe a little murder is the key to marital bliss?
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If absence makes the heart grow fonder, one can only imagine how fond my wife has become of me during this April spree. She won’t be able to stay away from me in May!
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I look forward to these every day, John. Why murder cheers me up, I have no idea!
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Maybe it’s because you can imagine the dolt who keeps getting murdered every day. He seems kinda worthy of a good polishing off.
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Maybe that’s it 😀
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Oh, yes, nothing incites people to murder like the Oxford comma!
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Wars have been waged over less. Don’t get me started on dangling modifiers!
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That made me laugh out. Hmm does that make me a psychopath.. I wonder. She might have done it accidentally on purpose but I think he brought it upon himself!
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“Accidentally on purpose!” I believe you know this woman very well, Shweta. You’re on to something there.
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Haha 😂. Oops, I might have given away a little too much. But I guess it’s too late for Frain!
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>>Nit-picky gets a hyphen, especially here where it’s modifying asshole.
LOL
But now I have a soft spot for the old Frain, since he’s apparently a fan of the Oxford comma. Why oh why does he have to keep dying like this????! [I need an onion to mask these tears, preferably one without a knife…….]
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Surely, those are crocodile tears, Dena. I wouldn’t give them much worry.
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(laugh) quite the inspirational friend you have. I enjoyed this thanks!
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Inspirational is far too much flattery for her. I prefer conspiratorial. I’m just never sure what she’s conspiring to do … to me.
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I don’t know, Frain. Seems like the harder they are for you the more interesting they are. 😀
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Lemme tell ya, I struggled with M and O. As it turned out, O came through rather well. But M, we must all agree, was rather lame. Next struggle: Q. Ugh! I’m sure that’s a universal feeling amongst folks doing the A to Z.
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I love today’s little byline.
Phillip | O is for an Octopus named Hank He’s also Orange!
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Bit of a teaser, eh. If I had caught on a moment earlier, perhaps I could’ve escaped before the onion came flying my direction. Ruined my tie too, I’m sure.
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That’s brilliant I love that it stuck to his tie, made me laugh 🙂
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I’ll never wear that tie again. Or any other tie, now that I think about it. Well, perhaps she’ll have the funeral director lay me out in that same tie. I’m sure she’d enjoy the irony.
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Great twist at the end 🙂 What will P be? Maybe a pepper to go with the onion? Hmm. I guess we just have to come back tomorrow.
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P is one of two entries based on a true story. Crazy as it is.
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Wow!
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Why have I not been following this blog my whole life?! Can’t wait to read it all!
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Well, Kathy, with comments like these, I’ll take you to lunch and you can read them while we wait for your appetizer. Heck, I’ll cook you lunch. Wait, that wouldn’t be a reward. Never mind. Besides, if April has taught me one thing, it’s that women in my kitchen are bad for my health.
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death by onions oh no! I laughed at this, also, I kind of hate Frain, correcting her grammar like that, he couldn’t stop at one, silly Frain….
have a lovely day.
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Silly Frain is putting it mildly. Well, much more mildly that his onion-wielding wife put it anyway – and she STILL didn’t remember her hyphen! Sheesh.
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I’ve missed a few but this one stands out as your best yet! Funny, macabre – and sick. Yeah, all that and a pickle too! I mean onion.
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This one was fun. I think my wife enjoyed it a little too much, but when she wanted to re-enact it before dinner tonight I had to put my foot down. And take my tie off.
All that and a pickle too! Where do these come from?!
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Darned if I know. Lack of sleep?
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Bwah ha ha! I loved the photo caption best of all.
Operation Awesome
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Was a teaser, that caption. Had I only realized what it meant, it might have saved me some grief.
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Any vegetable that males you cry is not to be trusted, knife attached or not!
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Agreed. And so many vegetables make me cry when I see them on my plate. Squash being the biggest offender.
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This one cracked me up. Enjoying your daily death, John =)
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I’m glad one of us can enjoy it!
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Oh great message from Kathy Joyce! I love play-on-words 😀 Your story was a really fun read – as always! I’ve been known to nit-pick with punctuation but there’s a time and place Frain, a time and place! hehe.
Here’s my “O” post 🙂 http://nataliewestgate.com/2017/04/oversight-secret-diary-of-a-serial-killer
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Well, it was my time. And I was in the right place. Or, the wrong place, depending on your point of view.
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I don’t know how I missed a day, but – oh! I truly LOVED this! (The oxford comma bit especially)
Keep it up, John!
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I’ve missed entire weeks and didn’t know where they went, so you’re certainly excused for misplacing a single day.
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Mmm… Is your wife reading this blog?
—–
Eva – Mail Adventures
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Shhhhh … I’m sleeping too close, I can’t afford for her to read these.
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