A Particular Disability
(Melinda Intro) Hi all! Gym class is starting in a few minutes but not much ever goes on there! I have enough time to tell you about my terrible dream last night! It took place at a funeral home ....come to think of it, so much horror comes from those locations, right ?!... and involved a newly widowed lady, the mortician and the lady's mentally disturbed brother! Well, anyway, the subject for this nightmare would have never come about if one of the characters didn't have.....
Marlene Shultz looked at the small bathroom mirror through tear filled eyes. While she had held out remarkably well throughout the services and visitation that day, hearing a saved voicemail from her husband caused her to break down on the spot. She was only glad that most of the guests had left the funeral home by that time and she was able to find refuge in the home's rest room. "Oh....Lord!", she sighed as she looked at her phone. It's 9:33 PM! I've been in here almost half an hour crying my eyes out! Dan's probably already here to pick me up!" Wiping her face and composing herself as best as she could, the heartbroken young woman took a deep breath before exiting the small bathroom.
Marlene stepped into the home's vestibule and took a seat in one of the chairs. Mortician Gregory Whittaker gazed out of the front French window as he crushed a cigarette butt into a glass ashtray in his other hand. "We're not supposed to smoke in here", he mused softly, "But sometimes a person just..." "Oh, that's all right", Marlene replied with a soft, difficult smile. "It's been a rough couple of days for everyone involved. And Mr. Whittaker, I want to thank you for staying late with me and for all the kindness you've shown me." Gregory turned to face the young widow and paused for a moment to find the right words for this somber conversation. "No problem, Mrs. Shultz. Or do you prefer Miss, now that...?" "No, no, I'll always be a Mrs. even without Robert being around anymore. But you can call me Marlene, please ?" "Well Marlene," Robert rejoined, "I'm here to help you along during these difficult days. Grief is something that takes time to heal, and we all experience it during one point in our lives or another."
"Yes," Marlene said as she gazed towards the now dim and empty chapel where her husband's earthly remains sat in repose. "And there's still the funeral tomorrow! It's just so hard when we lose a loved one so suddenly....I mean, I remember his last words so clearly: 'I'll be back in about an hour, babe! I'm just going to take this dresser over to my brother's and drop it off.' And then I get a call from the police not 45 minutes later. I was in hysterics but the police man asked me not to come down to the scene because it was....there was a lot of blood and it was a mess no wife should see..." Her voice trailed off as she reached for a tissue from the box on the nearby table. "So, I only had to see his face on a closed circuit TV screen for identification purposes at the morgue. Some of Robert's family wanted an open casket funeral tomorrow, but I couldn't bear to see his body in that state."
"You say Robert was an active man, Marlene ?", Gregory asked in a soft tone. "Oh yes, a real man's man type of guy", Marlene replied. "Off roading, bear hunting, hang gliding, lumberjacking, you name it. He loved his outdoor activities, and loved life itself. In fact, he had gone hunting only the weekend before last. Bagged himself a brown bear." She sighed and looked downward at her feet at a loss for further words. "So sad", Gregory rejoined, "But the memories will live on forever."
"You could say Robert was the exact opposite of Dan, you know, my brother. Those two never saw eye to eye but at least he's coming here to pick me up tonight." "Ah yes", Gregory answered. "You told me your brother has a particular kind of disability...." "Yes, he's bipolar, but on meds for it. Or at least I hope he's still taking those meds!", Marlene replied with a slight roll of her eyes. "He used to be pretty violent at times but lately he seems to have calmed down to the point where he can at least drive and hold a minimum wage job. He seems to think of exercise and fitness as some type of mortal enemy to him though." A tone of decided bitterness could be heard in her voice as she spoke the last sentence.
"I see", Robert replied as he closed the guestbook and turned out the tiny light above it. "Well, we need to show consideration for those with disabilities in society." "Come to think of it, he should have been here by
now!", Marlene spoke with a slight tone of irritation in her voice as she squinted towards the funeral home's twin beveled glass doors. "Oh God, if he got into an accident too, I just....!" Seeing her about to break down, Gregory walked toward her and gently placed the guestbook in her lap. "Let's not assume the worst just yet, Marlene. He said he would be here between 9:30 and 10:00 PM and according to the grandfather clock over there, it's about....9:47, maybe 9:48. He probably just left his house a few minutes late." "It's just not like him though. If anything, he's usually so impatient to get where he has to go that he shows up 10 - 15 minutes early. I really appreciate you keeping the parlor open late for me like this, but if he doesn't get here soon, I'll just call a cab and..." Intercepting her statement, Gregory patted her shoulder and replied, "Or I could take you home if need be. My car is in the funeral home's garage."
Marlene initially refused Gregory's gesture as an unnecessary burden on him but agreed once the home's grandfather clock sounded the 10:00 PM chime. "The garage is a bit dark and cluttered", Gregory said in an apologetic tone, but I'll lead the way." As the pair entered the attached concrete structure and walked between the vehicles therein, they heard a sound coming from a doorway on the garage's South side. The noise was clearly that of someone trying to force the door open. She said nothing but, as memories of her brother's violent past entered her mind, Marlene could only feel an impending sense of fear. Gregory's burly frame brushed between her and the parked hearse. "Stay here!", whispered. As he moved toward the door, she said in a shaky voice, "Be careful! I honestly don't know if he's dangerous at this point or not!"
Bracing himself, Gregory slowly released the door's dead bolt and, within a split second , reached for the steel knob and threw open the door. A scream came forth that was so shrill Marlene could not tell if it was her brother's, Gregory's or that of someone else. The sounds of blows being traded and unintelligible words being exchanged by a pair of men followed. She crouched behind the large black hearse in fear and with a touch of self loathing for not being able to work up the will to move from that spot. She then heard a load, sickening thud, then a crash. Everything then fell eerily quiet. The silence lasted until Marlene at last heard Gregory yell in a labored voice, "Marlene! It's over. You can come out!" Marlene rose to her feet uneasily, a feeling of nausea and cold sweats washing over her. 'It's over....' likely meant that Gregory had killed or severely injured her brother while defending himself.
As she stood shaking and on the verge of tears a few feet from the doorway, Gregory stepped back into the larger portion of the garage. "Marlene, I'm....", he stammered, "I'm sorry. He came at me with an axe and I had to..." His voice trailed off as Marlene looked past him and saw the form of her brother laying in a pool of blood. "But...!", she exclaimed as she looked up at Gregory. "This....this isn't a door to the outside! It's...a..." "That's right, Marlene", Gregory answered, his demeanor taking on a menacing and sinister tone as he dropped the axe and grabbed her by the shoulders. "It's a walk in closet, my dear! Your brother arrived early all right, luckily for me, while you were using the facilities!" She never heard the rest of his words over her own screams, the sounds of which
were muted to the outside by the garage's thick walls. "I told you we need to show consideration for those with disabilities in society, and that includes people like myself who have a condition called iron deficiency anemia. It's a disability that makes us crave.....RAW MEAT!! The flesh of your husband was grand, but let's hope yours and Dan's will be even BETTER!!" If there was any mercy granted during this situation, it was only that Marlene had just enough time to squeeze her eyes shut as Gregory's teeth closed in on the center of her face....
(Melinda Outro) Horrible guy, that Gregory, wouldn't you folks agree ? Not that he got away with it for too much longer! You see, Robert was a guy who ALSO enjoyed his meat rare. When Gregory feasted on Robert's raw organs earlier that day, he got an unhealthy dose of the Trichinellosis that Robert had picked up on that last hunting trip! Within a month from killing Marlene and Dan, he would die from the untreated parasite, or if you will, from his 'particular disability!' Good riddance, eh ?!
Well, gym class is over so it's on to history class for this girl! Take care all, and....try to stay safe...!!