April Showers

April Showers

         It was April Fools day and Karaoke night at Danny’s Club House.  Bill and Marie were their normal bickering selves as they sat at the bar waiting for a table.  They sat there getting louder and louder until Bill stormed out the door.  Marie ordered another drink and turned to watch the next person to sing. 

         She watched as someone was belting out “April Showers” just like Al Jolson did it.  She never noticed a hand pass over her glass or the drinks additional bitterness as she turned and downed the Vodka Tonic.  Being a woman that could hold her drink, she began to feel a buzz after her third drink and asked for a cab.  She was unsteady when she got up and two people helped her to the door.

         Marie never remembered the parking lot or the car. 

         She woke up with the strobe flash of a digital camera close to her face while sitting tied to a chair.  Her whole body felt numb and it took a few minutes to realize she was in trouble.

         The chair was made of metal pipe and it was cold, her ankles were taped to each of the front legs and her wrists behind her back.  A small piece of tape covered her mouth and the front page of a newspaper stuck to her chest over her breasts, she suddenly realized she was naked.  She was uncommonly at ease for a woman in that position. 

         It was a cellar with no windows, a cracked concrete floor and a loud oil burner roaring behind her.  Her eyes focused on two people, they were wearing very large plastic garbage bags and nylon stockings pulled down over their heads. With elbow length black rubber gloves they were stuffing all her clothing into an overnight mailer. 

         One of them walked over and removed the tape from her mouth, “Yell all ya want cutie, we’re forty miles from civilization.”  It was a coarse male voice, sounded uneducated.  He ripped the paper off her chest and paused to admire her figure, chuckled, then threw a blanket over her. 

         The other person had a woman’s voice, “Ya’ll better pray they pay fer ya Hun, or we gonna send ya back n’pieces.” 

         They sealed the package with packing tape, the same tape that bound her.  Climbing the stairs they turned out the light and closed the door behind them.  Her heart pounded, angry at being so stupid to be caught like this. 

* * *

         Grumbling in anger, she fell asleep and awoke in darkness; she heard movement over head.  The smell of bacon, eggs and coffee waffled down to her, tantalizing her.  They were eating and Marie had to pee.  She screamed, “Someone Come Down Here!  I Need Help!”  There was no response. She pleaded and still no one appeared. The ache in her belly was growing.

         The door opened and the light came on, momentarily blinding her.  It was the female, carrying a tray of food. 

         “I have to pee!”

         “Hun, it’s a potty chair, ya’ll just go ahead and do yer business.  We all juss got it all set up!”  The woman chuckled. 

         Marie felt stupid, this Hill Billy told her what she should have figured out for herself.  She did that cackling chuckle again as she heard the water dribbling down into the empty pot. 

         Without gloves, Marie could see the woman’s hands, they were old, the skin wrinkled and spotted.  Eileen set a snack table before Marie and put the tray on it.  She picked up a fork and began to feed her. 

          “Yer husband must hate ya, he cussed us and said we could go ta hell!”  She picked up the fork and was about to feed her. 

         “You called him from here?”

         “Yup, an he ain’t a-pay’in, he said, no way!”  She held the fork up to Marie’s mouth. “So enjoy it, it’s yer last breakfast!”  Again the cackled laugh. 

         “You called him from here!”  A sly grin came across Marie’s lips.

         “Said so did’n I!”  With a curious look she added. “Why?”

         There was a rumble of footsteps overhead and the man called down through the open cellar door. “Bitsy Hun, we got company!”  There was a crash of wood splintering and the man screamed like a child.

* * *

         As they walked away from that house, the rain still pelted them; Marie wearing one of the black plastic bags and Bills clothes were torn and tattered.

         “Son of a Bitch, how do you find yourself in these situations.”  Bill was furious as he opened the car door for Marie.  She went to sit down and could see the mailer in the back seat, still unopened. 

         “You could have come sooner, I had to pee in front of her, that’s embarrassing.” 

         “You drink too much…” Smoke started to billow from the small dwelling.

         “You’ve been eyeing other women again…” Now flames appear in the windows.

         Bill had to duck his head to get into the drivers seat, as the short horns in his forehead were still protruding. “Shut up, you want to walk home in a plastic bag, barefoot and in this rain?”

         "You shut up, it's just an April Shower!"

         Just then the entire house went up in flames and they drove off down the lonely country road, still bickering and arguing.

W.C. = 895