Michael stood in front of Valley Green Floral Designs looking into the window. Hearts and flowers were as deep as a cliché. Valentine’s Day, he harrumphed to himself. What a waste of energy…not to mention money. He leaned closer to read the price tag hanging limply from the stem of one of a dozen roses in a generic glass vase. “Eighty-five dollars!” he exclaimed rather loudly. “What a bunch of crooks!”Walking toward her townhouse, Michael couldn’t shake his thoughts of revenge.
* * *
A year ago he proposed to Mary giving her a dozen red carnations from Wal-Mart and an inexpensive ring from Sam’s Club. She was beaming with happiness and stated she didn’t need a diamond because their love meant more than a high priced symbol.
Mary herself was frugal. Her wardrobe was all hand-me-downs in drab colors of brown and gray and she never went to the hairdresser or wore a speck of make-up. Being a shy person kept her away from dating. Meeting Michael in her check-out line at Giant Eagle was the highlight of her life. As his container of Wesson oil was jumping down the conveyor belt it fell spilling out its contents all over the rubbery surface. She immediately grabbed some paper towels to sop up the spatter.
“Don’t worry miss; it will only make your hands softer.”
Mary’s heart melted as her eyes met Michael’s. He reached over and squeezed her hand offering to help and asking her out once her shift was over.
Their flirtatious relationship blossomed into a marriage proposal in only six months, but last week, Michael put an end to this Romeo and Juliet romance when he saw Mary kissing her boss in the frozen food aisle at the store. She pleaded with Michael that she was just wishing him happy birthday, but he refused to
believe she didn’t have intentions of wanting more.
* * *
Michael unlocked her front door with the key she had given him. At her computer he typed in the words magazine subscriptions. He ordered every subscription he could using her address and credit card number. It was easy to place an ad in the classifieds of the local paper which would read, For Sale: 1966 Corvette, Mint Condition, Must Sacrifice $6,000, call after midnight only 555-766-3129. He quickly dialed the pizza shop and ordered ten pizzas for dinner and then called for the weather report in China and laid the receiver down on her desk without hanging up to accumulate charges on her phone bill.
He noticed the red flag up on her mailbox and pulled out the awaiting envelopes. Addressed to J C Penney, Macy’s and the IRS for taxes, he frantically ripped them into pieces and placed the shredded remnants in his pocket. It was easy to pour the water out of his bottle onto the frigid sidewalk so it would freeze causing her to slip when she returned home from the bus stop. He placed sugar in her gas tank, a potato in her tail pipe and removed the caps on her tires and put black paper in the holes so the air would leak out at a slow pace. In her freezer was vanilla ice cream so he replaced it with Crisco, put itching powder in her panties, bleach in the bottom of her washing machine and then he turned to her medicine cabinet. No drugs; only a toothbrush, toothpaste, a gathering of Q-tips and no make-up. It was then he realized how simple she was and how much he loved her. Michael fell to his knees and wept. It was then he noticed Mary lying in the blood-filled tub with her wrists slashed.
The note read:
My darling Michael;
You were right; I have betrayed you and I can’t live with this lie.
I truly did love you!
* * *
Later, Michael was in Valley Green Floral purchasing flowers for the funeral home at a price of $170.00; twice the amount of the dozen Valentine roses.
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