Vera's parents succumbed to the flu. So did Jackson's parents. The sheriff lost his wife and three of his five kids. The pastor died, along with Demetria, his wife. Over half the village lost one or more family members. The doctor had died, not from the grippe, but from sheer exhaustion.
And when the Specter's sickle mowed down its largest number, Obidiah agreed to let Jackson store corpses in the numerous outbuildings on the undertaker's property.
It was only a temporary remedy, Obidiah explained.
Jackson believed it was the winter's cold that finally brought the undertaker to his senses. And Jackson was thankful for any favor that bought him time.
The iron man was beginning to feel his years.
His body was wearing out under the physical exertion of so much work.
***
Jackson grieved for his parents and his wife's family, too.
But only for an instant.
The mountain of human mortality that needed to be properly buried was enough to drive him over the edge. He decided to take deal with each body, one at a time. He refused to look at the disaster in its entirety and chose to chip away at the mountain -- a single corpse at a time.
One mad hatter in his house was enough.
***
Although she had hidden it for months, Vera's odd behavior had become the grist for the gossip mill.
Folks couldn't help but notice and wonder why Jackson stayed hitched to her. Shame caused the Judge and his wife to abandon Vera. His father-in-law advised Jackson to send Vera off to the state lunatic asylum.
But Jackson refused.
He had made those vows for better for worse. He intended to keep them no matter how bad it got. The Judge said he admired Jackson, and proceeded to leave the couple alone.
YOU ARE READING
Love Songs: The Wrong Note - A Collection of Short Stories
General FictionA second volume of short stories in the Love Songs collection. Many of the stories in this collection focus on the theme of love and how it sometimes goes wrong. A large collection of stories that run the gamut from humorous to tragic. 1. Love Songs...
