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Friday, August 13, 2010

Life Lessons from Mom

"Ruth?" Anna Goldberg stood at the bottom of the stairs. "Ruth? Come down here."

"Yeah Mom." Ruth's voice sounded from her room. "What?"

"Come down here. We need to talk. I'll be in the kitchen."

Anna waited, listening to her daughter as she made her way noisily downstairs.

Ruth looked at the diagrams and medical texts on the kitchen table. "Mom! Do we have to do this?"

"We do," said Anna. "Sit. You need to know this."

Ruth sat and glanced at the diagrams in front of her. "We covered this stuff in biology."

Anna shook her head. "There are things you still don't know. Things they won't teach you."

She patted her daughter's arm. "Now. You told me, this boy, he's interested in you?"

Ruth made a face and nodded her head. "Yeah, he's been nosing around me all week. Every time I turn around, he's there."

Her mother pursed her lips. "Well, remember that girl, Jenna? We can't let him do to you what he did to her. Can we?"

Ruth shook her head. She was too busy studying the diagrams in front of her to answer. "These," she said pointing to what had caught her interest, "these are--"

"--pressure points," said Anna. "And these," she continued, her finger touching several points on the diagram, "are paralysis points. You need to press carefully though. Do it too harshly, you leave bruises."

"That wouldn't be good," said Ruth.

"No," said Anna. "There's little value in getting caught."

She pointed to another diagram.

"See here? If you inject enough air, it can kill. It's difficult though. It can take a lot of air to get the bubble just right."

She pointed to other vulnerable areas. "Here, a little and you can cause a stroke. There can cause severe tissue damage."

Ruth grinned. "Oh, he wouldn't like that, not there."

She continued looking through the information in front of her.

"Slivers of glass? We actually have some?"

"Yes," said Anna, "we have. It takes time, you need to be patient. But, one of those in the bloodstream...one day it reaches the heart." She shrugged.

Ruth looked up. "Dad," she said. "He died of a heart attack, didn't he?"

Anna spoke quietly. "Yes, Ruth. He did. It was necessary."

She pulled her shawl more closely around her and looked at her daughter.

"Now you know how black widows got their name."

17 comments:

  1. Oh, another excellent visit with the Goldberg women. They don't mess around, do they? It's important to be prepared for everything. :)

    I love these glimpses into the lives of these women. Great story, Kevin.

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  2. Oh, certainly wasn't the talk I thought Ruth would be getting from her mother!

    And laughed when Ruth said her biology teacher had already covered it. :)

    Hope you don't mind me pointing out a small mistake. When Ruth asks her mother is her dad died of a heart attack, you have her mother calling Ruth "Anna".

    Love a mom who helps a daughter with her homework. :D

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  3. @Gracie Glad you enjoyed it - these Goldbergs have wonderful variations open to them. I'm quite enjoying them myself.

    @Marisa Good catch! Thank you. Fixed.

    Happy to have made you laugh. Many thanks for dropping in.

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  4. This was a riot, Kevin! I loved "the talk" and certainly not what I expected. Another wonderful variation of the Goldberg women.

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  5. Wow! A bit of a sinister spin on the classic "talk". This one grabs you and won't let you go.

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  6. Sinister but practical. I'd want no less for my daughter - but maybe a little better for her daddy.

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  7. @Laura Glad I was able to keep this a little unexpected. It was fun to write, glad it was fun to read.

    @G.P. Yeah, a little grim. Grabbing is good. :)

    @John True, Dad didn't come out too well. Thanks for reading and commenting.

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  8. Careful with the bruising, dear. Love a good twisted tale.

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  9. What a hoot Kevin! And such a sneaky twist - love it!

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  10. Funny, but frightening at the same time. Totally wasn't what I was expecting them to be talking about. Nicely done!

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  11. These ladies are trouble.

    I like them!

    And I like this story.

    :)

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  12. Hey, my mom didn't tell me any of this! Probably a good thing, this was super bad - in a good way.

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  13. Many thanks for the comments. I'm glad you enjoyed this variation on the Goldbergs. I had fun writing it.

    Twisted, sneaky, frightening, trouble, super bad - how could I ask for more? :D

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  14. The shadow teaches survival skills, huh? Creepy, Kevin, but very good. Megahugs, Bear

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  15. @Joanne Glad you enjoyed it, Joanne. I like "creepy".

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  16. Oh! Got to love a serial killer family! Great job.

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  17. Whoa. Like mother, like daughter - I guess. *shiver*

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