April, 2018, Ohio

Annie sat in the meadow with dynamite placed underneath her. Her fate seemed to depend upon the outcome of a tough conversation. Marcy Murray had the detonator in her hand as she looked out the window of the farmhouse at her husband’s true love. When her husband, John, arrived home, there would be decisions for him to make. His answers could determine the direction of an explosive ending.

Earlier That Week

For a Sunday in April, it was pleasant and warm at the Murray’s farm in central Ohio. The smell of spring flowers filled the air to Marcy’s delight. John, however, couldn’t stop sneezing. The hibiscus and the tulips aggravated his allergies and he was just thankful they wouldn’t be in bloom much longer.

Marcy gazed with the glow of spring fever at her beloved flowers, but noticed how their beauty put the old house to shame. John had fixed up the barn over the winter, but the white paint on the house looked dirty and was peeling off revealing that old ugly green underneath. Several boards clearly needed replacing, and a few shingles drooped over the edge of the roof.

She spotted Duke, their faithful black lab on the porch. It wasn’t too long ago that he would run to her whenever she was outside and greet her with rapid tongue and playful yips. She lamented that even her playful puppy was now an old dog. Her initial spring joy quickly dissolved and she felt older and a bit depressed.

“Good morning, Pastor.”

“John! Good to see you.”

Marcy and John Murray looked forward to church every week. They had lots of friends at the little Baptist church, and it was also the day they were guaranteed to see both of their daughters and their families. Their twenty-six years of marriage resulted in two lovely girls, a grandson by their oldest daughter, and a granddaughter on the way from their younger girl. It was the family tradition to attend church together and then feast on the Sunday brunch buffet at the Madison Inn. It was always the highlight of their week.

“You gonna keep me awake with your sermon this morning?”

“I hope so. You’re my visual barometer for how I’m doing up there.”

“Oh, I see our girls over there. I’ll give you your grades after the service.”

“Be gentle with those grades, John. We need more folks with the gift of encouragement these days.”

They started walking towards their family when Marcy shared an observation with her husband.

“Look, Honey. The young lady our girls are chatting with. Is that Cindi Shaw? She looks like that baby will pop out of her any day.”

“If I remember correctly, you had a similar look when you were having each of our girls. Seems like only yesterday.”

“When did we seem to get so damn old?”

Marcy waited for any response from her husband. His opportunity to say something like, ‘You’re still the prettiest girl,’ or some form of compliment was just hanging out there without being grasped. She heard nothing. There was no affirmation of his undying love or continued desire for her. The depression that was creeping into her seemed to deepen. ‘I must be as tired looking as that damn, old house,’ she thought. Only the youthful spirit of her children and grandson kept her from completely giving in to her foul mood.

After the service, the family was in line to greet the pastor when Marcy noticed Lucy Rawls trying to get her attention. ‘Darn,’ she thought. ‘What does the old busy-body want with me?‘ She excused herself from the family and wandered toward Lucy in the front of the sanctuary where they would be alone.

“Lucy, what’s the matter?”

“Oh, Marcy. You know I don’t like to spread rumors, but I saw something with my own eyes that I think you should know about.”

‘Right,’ Marcy thought. ‘She’d rather start rumors than spread them.’

“What, Lucy?”

“Oh, dear me. I don’t want to upset you, but I’m pretty sure I saw John stepping out on you this past Thursday.”

“What? You must be mistaken. No, he wouldn’t do that.”

“I’m sorry, dear. I saw him go into that woman’s house that lives across the street from me. He was in there for about twenty minutes, then came out looking all ... you know ... satisfied.”

“I’m sure you’re wrong, Lucy. My John wouldn’t do that.”

“Oh, I understand how you feel and how you want to stand by your man and all. I thought I saw him there Thursday the week before but I wasn’t sure, so I didn’t say anything.”

Marcy thought for a moment. She realized that Thursdays were when John went to town and to the feed store. He used to go on Tuesdays, but about six weeks ago he changed his routine.

“Lucy, I appreciate your concern and bringing this to my attention. You will keep this between us, right?”

“Absolutely. I don’t want to spread something like this around.”

‘Yeah,’ Marcy thought. ‘It won’t take long before it’s all over town.’

Lucy continued. “That woman is known for her particular enjoyment of performing ... well ... certain sex acts that the Lewinsky woman was known for doing with President Clinton. Do you know what I’m talking about?”

“Yes, I do. You mean fellatio.”

“That’s right. Nasty stuff. She’s not a very good looking woman, so I guess that’s the price she pays to get male attention.”

“Perhaps that’s true. Lucy, do you have a digital camera or a cell phone that takes pictures?”

“Sure do.”

“Can you keep an eye out next Thursday, and if you see him again take some pictures?”

“I’d be glad to, dear. How will I get them to you?”

“Do you know how to text on your phone?”

“Sure. Do you want me to text the pictures to you?”

“Yes, please. Call me first as soon as you see him, okay?”

They exchanged numbers and parted.

Marcy’s depression and now her suspicions started to completely destroy her attitude. She tried to put on her Sunday smile for her family and, fortunately, her one-year-old grandson made that easy. He waddle-ran into her arms as she approached. Lucy picked him up and immediately noticed the unmistakable smell of a ripe diaper.

John looked at his wife with a slight appearance of worry. “What did ‘Loose-lips-Lucy’ want?”

“Oh, she’s trying to organize a surprise birthday for the pastor in a few weeks and she wanted my help.”

She turned to her oldest daughter with the wrinkled face of a woman who had detected a horrendous odor. “Sweetie, I think I’ll take this little ball of energy down to the nursery for a minute to change that diaper. I’ll meet you all in the parking lot.”

Marcy did her nasty duty with the joy of a doting grandmother. Speaking to her squirming grandson, she summed up her experience of the last few moments. “I guess we should clean this poo off you, Sweetie. And Grandma needs to figure out how much poo Grandpa is in.”

Marcy was a strong and level-headed woman. Her face and mannerisms displayed no signs of the news she received from Lucy. It was easy to keep her composure during brunch with all the family around. The rest of the afternoon would be no problem because she knew John would be planted in front of the idiot box during the afternoon while watching the Reds lose another ball game. Why he bothered with watching that team baffled her.

Most Sundays, John left her to her own devices and she usually took the opportunity to read a book that helped her escape the confines of their simple life. She enjoyed historical romances and often dreamed of the dashing leading men sweeping her off her feet. Marcy was not unaware that once she was an attractive woman. She noticed the looks men gave her. Sure, the farm made her rugged, but the tomboy in her seemed to attract many men. She was sure that if she were a countess in old England that she could seduce the handsome gardener into a tryst in the meadow.

This Sunday, however, she would be pretending to read while she considered how to deal with her potentially wayward spouse. She took stock of her husband’s good and bad points so she could decide the best outcome if Lucy spoke the truth. She loved the son-of-a-bitch, for sure. He was tall and good looking, and the farm had kept him pretty lean. And for a tough farmer, he used to be tender and loving with her. She wondered if things had changed, and if she was reading too much into his failure to confirm his love for her that morning.

It was the ‘bad column list’ that concerned and confused her. She never thought he’d stray simply because he was terrible in bed and usually didn’t seem all that interested in sex. Oh, she loved him and determined long ago that she could live with his shortcomings, but he was no ‘sixty-minute-man.’ She was lucky if he made it sixty seconds. He was well endowed, but what good was that when he had no staying power? In all their years of marriage, she never had an orgasm from his efforts.

She thought long and hard about various actions she could take. The big question for her was whether or not she could forgive him if he was stepping out. She had a lot of thinking to do, and only a few days to do it. If Lucy was correct and provided her proof, then Thursday afternoon there would be hell for John to pay. Defining the nature of the payment was the tough task that stood before her.

John was working in the field on Tuesday when a plan came together in Marcy’s head. He would pay, and pay big-time. She would need a little help and their farmhand, Sid, was loyal like a puppy to her. She knew Sid was strongly attracted to her and it was time to use that to her advantage.

Wednesday morning, John was back out in the field while Sid was in the barn tending to the animals. Marcy went out to find her potential accomplice.

“Hey, Sid. How ya doin’?”

“Hello, Mrs. Murray. I’m great but you’re looking fabulous as usual.”

“Sid, you’re so sweet. Listen, can I ask a favor?”

“Anything, mam.”

“Do we still have some of that old dynamite that John used to blow up those big rocks in the East field?”

“Yeah. He keeps it in the little shed in the meadow.”

“Okay, good. I need you to do some things for me without John knowing.”

Marcy gave him instructions on the things she needed him to do and asked him not to question her as to why. Like a puppy dog, he just panted and agreed to do whatever she asked. After she filled him in on her plans enough so he’d understand, they searched the barn for items they needed and hid them for the big event the following day.

“Thank you, Sid. And remember, not a word to John.”

She hugged him to seal his devotion and went back to the house to start lunch preparations. About an hour later, John and Sid came through the door.

“Hey, Honey. Is lunch ready?”

“Coming right up, dear. Hi, Sid. I hope you boys are hungry. I made a big Shepherd’s Pie.”

Marcy watched as the two men wolfed down the meal and talked about the work they had to do that afternoon. She couldn’t help feeling her nerves starting to cause her to question her plans. What she had in mind could have drastic consequences and she started to wonder if she could go through with it.

The men went back to work and Marcy paced, thought, worried, paced, and thought some more. After more than two hours of agonizing and second-guessing, she set her heart on going through with her plan. She had one more night to hide her suspicions from John, and deal with the guilt she already felt for what she planned to put him through.