PASTICHE

“Chuck that thing out,” Bob said…………

Marney does what Bob said, and chucked the Geranium out. Marney watched Bob
chewing on the meat, sucking on the bones and shifting about in his chair as she
waited for the water to boil for the tea. The following day Bob went out as usual, and
Marney used the handset to call the number in the newspapers. Ring ring, the other
side of the phone was answered with a sharp, enthusiastic voice.
“Hello, this is the head of the local supermarket, the best sales of all time and the
store manager, Sophie.” Marney frantically answered the arrogant lady as she heard
Bob’s car coming home unexpectedly early.
“Umm… I would like to sign up for a job at yours. Do not call this number again I will
be there on time tomorrow!” Marney ended the call and shoved the newspapers
under the midnight blue seat cushion with the threads sticking out the sides.
Bob manoeuvred his car into their driveway. As Bob treaded into the house, his eyes
flared at Marney. Bob grasped the women’s upper arm, like a predator that found
prey.
“Ouch” Marney quietly whispered. Marney pretended to fix the dining chair leg that
had snapped. The chair was clearly not fixable since the fibres of the wood are
sticking out. The leg of the chair had the features of a knife.
“A leg of a chair wouldn’t break like that itself,” said Marney’s friend earlier when she
was giving Marney the geranium. Words of Marney’s friend from a few hours ago
flashed in Marney’s head and tears flooded her eyes, even though those tears were
already emotionless.
Bob was already gone before the sun had fully shown. Marney was on a mission.
She quickly grabbed a jacket, a fruit knife, a cookie tin, the broken leg of the wooden
chair and some spare boots. The lady shoved the equipment into a black leather bag
around the size of a shopping basket at a supermarket.
Marney swivelled down the block and went into the local supermarket and hid behind
a box with kumara filled to the top. Marney heard an icy cold voice, so cold that it
could give someone hypothermia. She could easily identify that the man was Bob.
Marney cautiously stepped out and asked for the manager. The moment Sophie
stepped out of her office she asked Marney who she was, and she was dismayed to
realise that the person standing in front of her was that frantic lady on the phone a
day ago. The top sales didn’t say anything. She just showed her all the staff rooms
and how to do the best job of advertising the products there. The bag with all those
eerie items was locked up in one of the staff lockers.
When it was around four in the afternoon, Marney rushed down the street, slipped
back into the house and locked all the doors as if nothing happened. Scenes flashed
back, scenes of Bob’s fingers sinking into Marney’s wrists leaving a pitch-black
bruise with purple hints, flashed back. Marney lost her temper and abruptly grabbed
a cleaver knife and stood by the door. Bob walked in and bang, a puddle of fresh
scarlet blood seeped onto the shiny ceramic tile. Marney chucked the knife right next
to the corpse.