Love You Enough

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Gertrude retreats to her room and settles down on the bed, picking up the phone. She opens her phone book and dials the unfamiliar number, waiting for a response.

"Hello, Carol dear!" She says.

"Gertie! How are you?"

"I'm doing very well. How are you?"

"I'm wonderful"

They chat idly for a few minutes, the women laughing and generally having a lovely conversation.

In the time Carol had been putting around after she lost her job, she had been staying with a relative in Maine. She needed to get away, clear her head and mostly she needed money. Mick had shut her out for a while, the money flow ceased and she had no idea what to do. She found out had a relative who was very sick and in exchange for caring for him, she got a place to stay plus a little money she could squirrel away. To her delight, when her 'patient' passed away, she was left a substantial amount of money that quickly began to burn a hole in her pocket. In a stroke of luck, Carol and Gertrude crossed paths at a small supermarket in a remote little town on the coast and as they spoke, Carol came to realize just who Gertrude was. The old woman became useful to her and Carol Ann was as sweet as she could be to her in order to gain more information.

With all the work she had put in, it was no surprise that Carol was practically bursting with joy when she received a call from her new friend, telling her she was with the couple right now. Gertrude found it so kind of her to be interested in her at all, and the fact that she would chat for hours about her beloved brother Morris and other family members, made her friend very near and dear to her heart. No one had been so nice to her before. She was an eccentric at best, always someone who was hard to know and hard to like. Carol didn't mind, she was very much the same.

"Tell me about your day" Carol said, trying to disguise her excitement.

"Oh well, I met Stevie today, my nephew's wife. She's expecting a baby"

Carol became very angry, burning with such a hatred that had never been known to her before. Her chest began to heave, her breathing becoming heavy and erratic. She was like an animal ready to attack and she descended into the thoughts swirling in her own dark little mind as Gertie continued to talk. When she managed to calm herself down enough to speak, she put on her most sugary sweet voice. "Gertrude darling, did you say there would be a new baby in the family?"

"Yes I did. Stevie and Lindsey are expecting a baby. To be honest, I don't much like Stevie but she's part of the family and she's pregnant. It's not right to treat her badly now, with her delicate condition"

"What is she like?"

"She's a witch, I don't know if you believe in that sort of thing. She's always scribbling hexes in her black book and she's easily tempted by the devil. No one believes me but I know the truth. She has them all under a spell"

"Oh no, your poor nephew! And to think, she was able to weave her way into his life and now she's having his child"

"Please, I cannot bear think about it, Carol" Gertrude says dramatically, deeply distraught over the intruder in her family. "Will you pray for our family, Carol?"

"Of course, of course I will" Carol says, having no intention of praying. She has a much better idea to get rid of Stevie and erase both of their problems in one fell swoop.

"Thank you, my dear. I'm getting quite tired. I will call you again tomorrow, if that's alright"

"I wouldn't dream of it being any other way"

Gertrude smiled. "By the way, since you're in the area, maybe you could come by? I'm sure I could make arrangements for you here"

Carol's heart almost leapt out of her chest. "Oh really? That would be such a joy"

"I will see what I can do. Talk soon"

"Take care, good evening"

The women hung up and Carol was feeling rather impressed with herself, and how well this false friendship was paying off. She was invited over to see Lindsey and would get her chance to act much sooner than she thought. She immediately threw items into a small piece of luggage, ready to go when the arrangements were made. She laughed to herself as she put the tiny baggy of potentially fatal white powder into her toiletries bag.

~

On their second and third days at the Buckingham house, Stevie was feeling optimistic as Gertrude was being so very kind. She did her best to be open and accepting of Lindsey's aunt's strange ways. When Gertie would say something back-handed to her she would simply ignore it or take it at face value and thank her for the compliment. Stevie didn't want to rock the boat and make their visit a bust. They were going to be heading back home the next morning so she wanted to make the most of the day that lay ahead. She helped Ruth cook all of the meals, went for slow walks with the older women and talked to them at length of her upcoming plans with a baby on the way. She was careful not to spend too much time in the bedroom as Gertie would be quite cold when she emerged and it took her forever to warm back up again.

Walking on eggshells was hard work and by the end of the day, she was more exhausted than ever. Lindsey appreciated her efforts to make his aunt feel liked and appreciated but would tell her to not let herself get walked on. Stevie simply nodded, taking in his advice but made no real use of it. After dinner, she went right to bed. Sleep, however, didn't come as it should have. Her stomach was in knots, she developed a nagging headache and felt generally unwell. Was she coming down with something? The more she lay in bed, tossing and turning, she began to  notice a disturbance in the protective barrier of psychic energy around her. She sat up, alarming Lindsey as he had fallen asleep hours ago. He turned on the bedside lamp and looked at her, really studying her.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his voice raspy and low, almost inaudible from sleep. She shakes her head, an overwhelming sense of unease and dread falling over her like a long black veil.