The pretty red headed lass had a smile on her face peppered with freckles. At 5’6”, 110 lbs, she carried herself with the grace of a ballet dancer and the confidence of...well, the confidence of a graceful ballet dancer. She was all that and twenty three years old. The last five years had been tumultuous ones for her and she was forced to forego a ballet scholarship and/or “ academic one. She was presently an insurance analyst with a local company where she had been a typist in highschool and the work kept food on the table since her mother’s passing. Her mantra, “after I eat the whole family’s fed,” became her identifier or trademark in her small town of seven thousand.
Marnie was well liked by those that had known her for years, accepted by those she met and unfairly held in contempt by those corrupted by gossip. Being a lovely caring woman was not enough for a free pass because her mother had those attributes as well, before being sentenced to die in the gas chamber for the murder of her husband. Marnie maintained a stiff upper lip and remembered her mother’s words to her after sentencing, “That was a good man I murdered and I deserve what I get.” Ma had always been a fair woman and anyone who ever knew her would tell you so,” Marnie was quick to share. They also said that other than ‘the incident’, her daughter was exactly like her.
The pretty red headed ballet dancer got married and had two beautiful daughters with a loving husband. One morning while making breakfast, before sending them off to work and school, one of the girl’s asked, “mom, when gramma had the incident, was that the only time she did that to someone.? Marnie was spreading butter on their father’s toast when she said, “oh no girls, but you see the other three had it comin’. Get a towel girls, your dad spilled coffee all over himself.”
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