Juniper

Chapter II

"You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them..."

Exodus 20:4 & 5

It was 1965, Pam was fourteen, the homecoming queen, and it was her last year sober. She met Bobby Perkins that summer while getting a frosty in her hot pants and red cowboy boots, feeling like Nancy Sinatra. Bobby sure did love his coke. He said it was better than speed and sweeter than horse. It was a new thrill after mushrooms, weed, and ecstasy which Pam would try all of those after the fact but none quite hit the spot like her first love. He had cut it and set her up and she loved it. It helped her stay thin and made her feel alive. What was not to love? Before you know it she was blowing Bobby behind the bowling alley, in his Chevy, and gave him handies in class under the lab tables just for a taste like a classic waste of space. By 1978 she was still using but she would never let Bea in on it.

Pam was just another valley girl wanting more out of life but somehow ended up a stereotypical unhappy trophy wife. She had made a career for herself in nursing. That's how she met the stiff Frank Walsh. She was tending to him in the ER as he was minorly wounded on duty. His partner had ran over him partially while parking at the station after lunch. It was the end of her shift and he invited her for dinner at the diner and two cold cups of coffee later Pam believed that Frank was her ticket out of the valley. He was, but he didn't get her too far but Long Beach was good enough for now and at least she was out of her parents house. It's all about those small steps.

Her parents, Mitch and Mindy Murray, were quirky folk. Mitch Murray wore large glasses, insisted on a crew cut hairstyle, wore bow ties, and managed a paste factory. He also ate the paste the company produced. It made him feel superior he once stated at a family supper. Kate, Pam's sister, laughed. Kate laughed at anything her father said. She laughed at anything a man would say really. She didn't have a whole lot going on, on the brain train but she was at least nice unlike the rest of her family. Kate ended up changing her name and became a model. She now lives in New York and has an array of lovers.

Then there was their mother. Kate and Pam's mother, Mindy, shot at and killed the squirrels in the yard from their yellow house through the second level stained glass window and would have the girls go grab 'em. She'd then prepare them for supper. She always styled her hair in a beehive until the day she died, wore red lipstick from the drugstore, and wore a robe and house slippers all day every day. She hadn't left the house since the Kennedy assassination and became the best damn hoarder in the West of the nation by golly.

Mindy's behavior began to ride on Mitch's nerves. He fell in love with the Head of Quality Assurance at his company, Doris Cooley, a mild mannered business lady who was constantly searching for something to fix the itch. Mitch decided that it was time to leave his looney wife for Cooley. Even though Cooley only enjoyed the thrill of having an affair and didn't so much enjoy the lanky tweed wearing man. He was too old, extremely clammy, and smelled like rubber. So when Mitch wrote in his letter of resignation and a lump sum of money was removed from his account everyone thought he fled to an island somewhere in the Pacific and Cooley moved on to her next marriage. You see Mitch was a piss poor liar. Mindy knew what was going on but he had gotten way too happy day after day. She hated happy. So, she questioned and he threatened and thus musty Mitch ended up bleeding out on the bathroom floor, razor in hand.

You see, after the threat Mitch threw at Mindy, dear old Mindy decided it was high time for Mitch to die. That night, in a red glow that came from the sole lamp that sat on a chipped stool in the bathroom that had a red paisley scarf graced on top, she watched him shave in the mirror with a single blade while she sat on the musty dusty ol' bed. She walked around the stacks of rusty papers that filled in the gap between the bed and the bathroom door. She came up behind Mitch and gave him his final hug and a kiss on the shoulder before wiggling the knife down her pink fluffy robe sleeve and gripped it into her hand. Annoyed he scoffed at her right before she stabbed him at an upward angle under the ribs piercing his lung. The second slash was to the back of Mitch's knees before the final blow to the throat. Mitch lunged forward and slid down quickly from her force. He was done and gone but Mindy wasn't satisfied just yet and positioned him ever so nicely and repeatedly stabbed his chest before gauging his eyes with a forceful pop as her own sharp thumb nails pierced their surface, fluids gushing forth. Throwing back her head in euphoric delight Mindy basked in that first gush of fluids letting out a moan as they warmed her skin. The moment ended too quickly for her though as Pam was peering at her from the edge of the doorway. As she licked her lips she beckoned Pam over with a nod; carefully observing her every move. After the assessment of her daughter she realized her daughter enjoyed it just as much as her. She yanked her right thumb out of her dead husband's eye socket and brought it to Pam's lips. Pam grasped her mother's hand gently with both of her dainty hands and suckled her mother's thumb clean of blood before she graced the next one as they both shared a smile. Kate had no idea what had truly happened to her father. She had snuck out with Kirk to go make-out at Mullholland. They were reaching third base when Kate did feel a twinge in her heart which made her pop up and scream at the exact moment the first blow had hit.