Vermin

"Don't marry a man that hits you. Better yet, don't marry at all."

"Why's that Grandma?"

"Just because. . ."

Lucy turned from the doorway, where she'd been observing her relatives mourn the passing of her Grandfather.

Lucy was only nine years old; her Grandma sat by the windowsill clocked in black gossamers.

Her eyes were dotted purple.

"But, why Grandma? You were married before."

Veronica twirled the diamond ring on her finger, removed the shackle, and smiled.

"Because, my dear, forever is much longer than it first appears. Promises are binding... and poison is never cheap."

RIP Vernon Brown