by Bart Ringer

Created on: May 08, 2011

"Why don’t you just stay with us for one more night? It wouldn’t be any bother.” She hesitated a moment and then added “You know we have plenty of room.”

“No dear, I’ve been here long enough already. You know what Ben Franklin used to say about guests.”

Aunt Edna chuckled at her nieces’ puzzled look.

“Fish and guests start to smell bad after three days” she continued with a smile “And if I spend another night with you I will have been here for four days.”

“But it’s snowing and the wind’s starting to blow. You know how bad that interstate gets when the weathers like this. All of those big semi trucks just keep on speeding down the road at seventy, even if it’s slick and they can’t see ten feet in front of them.  It scares me to death just thinking of you out there in that”

“Now, now, now, don’t you worry, I’ll be just fine on that old interstate and in three and a half hours I’ll be home and ready for a good night’s sleep in my own bed.  And then it'll be just you and Ben here all alone” She added with a sly wink.

“Well, if I can’t talk you out of it, at least give us a call when you get home so that we’ll know you made it okay. Promise?”

“When I get home I’ll call you.”

“Promise?  No matter what?”

“I promise no matter what” she said witha smile as she rolled the window up on the old red Ford Taurus.

Emily stood shivering in the driveway hugging her shoulders for a few moments as she watched the tail lights disappear into the swirling snow. With a worried sigh she turned and trudged back into the warm house.

“Is she gone?” Ben asked as the door slammed shut behind her, “Please tell me she’s gone.”

“She’s gone.” Emily replied, “Why do you have to talk so mean about her all the time?”

“Because she makes me nervous. Always praying, and blessing the food and doing all of that praise be stuff.”

“She’s religious, that’s all. She believes in God, and heaven and doing what’s right for other people. She‘s always been like that.”

“Hogwash” he snorted, “That religious stuff was just invented to control people with weak minds.”

Three days of Aunt Edna had left Ben on edge and she knew better then to try

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