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Wednesday - September 15

"Aunt Ruth," says Claire, "this is delicious! You know, you're spoiling me and the baby. I want you to know that I'm appreciative that you are here helping us. It means the world to me, Aunt Ruth."

Aunt Ruth enjoys a small bite of her salad, and after wiping her mouth with her napkin, she says, "Claire, dear, there's no need to thank me. We're going to make sure that you, the baby, and John stay safe. We love you, dear."

Claire looks at Aunt Ruth, and says, "We love you, too." Twirling her spaghetti onto her fork for another delicious bite, Claire begins to feel uneasy. She lays her fork down on her plate and begins to stand, when suddenly she becomes faint and quickly falls back into her chair. Aunt Ruth grabs her arm, asking, "Claire, what is it? Is it the baby? Are you okay? Talk to me, Claire."

Claire glares at Aunt Ruth, whispering, "I want John. I need John, Aunt Ruth. Please... call John." Claire faints.

Aunt Ruth rests against Claire to make sure that she doesn't slide off the chair. With her leg, she takes her foot and drags her chair over, so she can lay Claire safely against it. After securing Claire, Aunt Ruth goes into the living room to locate her cell. Nervously, she rushes back into the kitchen, as she tries to dial a number. The number she dials was incorrect. Attentively, she dials again to be connected to the person she needs the most.

"It's Ruth. I need help. No... I mean, Claire needs help. She's fainted, and I need someone to come over and see if she's all right," demands Aunt Ruth.

As Aunt Ruth listens to the party on the other end, Claire begins to stir. She lifts her head off of the chair and tries to focus on her surroundings. Hearing a voice, Claire yells out, "Aunt Ruth! Aunt Ruth! Where are you?"

Aunt Ruth hears Claire's shout for help, and tells the person on the phone to hold. She rushes over to Claire and helps her to her feet. Claire grabs her head and mutters to Aunt Ruth, "My head hurts, Aunt Ruth. Will you help me to bed, please?" Aunt Ruth sets the phone down on the kitchen table, and carefully clutches onto Claire's arm, and cautiously helps her into the bedroom.

As Aunt Ruth helps Claire, she turns her head around to make sure the other party is still on the phone. Noticing the green light is lit on her cell, she knew they were still holding for her return. Picking up the pace, Aunt Ruth, tiny and fragile as she is, puts all of her might into getting Claire to bed so she doesn't fall. Finally reaching the bed, Aunt Ruth turns the blanket down, while Claire turns around and slithers into the soft, warm bed. Aunt Ruth tucks Claire in and tells her she'll be right back. As she leaves the room, she looks back at Claire and closes the door behind her. Aunt Ruth returns to her cell to continue the conversation.

"Hello, are you still there?" asks Aunt Ruth.

"Yes. How is she?" asks the other party.

"I just put her to bed. She's weak and looks extremely pale. I hope nothing's wrong with the baby," Aunt Ruth says with concern.

"The baby's fine. I will send over some vitamins and Diclegis for the morning sickness. Just make sure she's eating and getting plenty of rest. If anything else happens, you know how to reach me."

"Yes. Okay. Thank you. I'll be expecting a carrier then."

"Good night," says the other party, as they disconnect the call.

Aunt Ruth sets her phone on the kitchen table, and looks at the delicious feast she had cooked. She exhales a deep sigh, and begins to clean up, as she waits for Claire's medicine to arrive.

___________________________________

Henry begins to stir from his drunken slumber. As he raises his head, he notices that the television is off and Raymond is nowhere to be seen. Rolling out of the chair, Henry nearly falls, barely catching himself. After taking a few seconds to find his balance, he stretches, yawns, and releases alcohol induced flatulence. Getting a whiff of his own odor, he mutters "shit" to himself.

Looking around, he scratches his head, and then shifts his hand to his groin area to adjust the uneasiness within his pants. Feeling more comfortable, Henry walks out the door into the hallway, and glances towards Raymond's bedroom. He walks down the dimly lit hallway and notices that the bedroom door is ajar. Henry pushes the door open a tad further, and notices that there isn't any light illuminating from within. Carefully entering Raymond's chamber, Henry stretches his neck around the door jamb, hoping to see inside, but it's too dark. "Damn!" he mutters.

Taking in a deep breath, Henry opens the door completely. Surveying the room with what little light there is, Henry decides to call out Raymond's name before entering. Not hearing any response, he takes two steps forward, stepping on something that nearly makes him trip. The object rolls away from underneath his feet. From the hallway lighting, Henry sees that it's a flashlight. He bends down to retrieve it. Feeling for the switch, he turns it on, and notices Raymond in his wheelchair. Henry takes another step, calling out Raymond's name. Shining the flashlight around the bedroom to see if anyone else is with them, Henry calls out Raymond's name again. With his heart beating faster, Henry takes another step, reaches out to grab the right side of the wheelchair, and gives it a strong twist to turn it around. With Raymond partially sitting in the hallway light, Henry shakily shines the flashlight onto Raymond's face.

"Oh, shit!" cries out Henry. Taking another step closer, Henry switches the flashlight to his other hand and points it to Raymond's chest. Henry watches in disbelief the blood oozing out from a single gunshot wound inflicted through Raymond's torso.

"Well, Raymond, I guess you got what you asked for, hey?" says Henry, "No more guilt."

Henry shines the flashlight around, but doesn't notice any forced entry. He goes to the window and carefully peeks through a small slit of the curtain to see if anyone's watching. He sees no one. He turns around and shines the light on Raymond's face once more. Henry sees how peaceful Raymond looks, and says to him, "Well, Raymond, I guess they mean business. I'm sorry you had to go." Henry continues to look at Raymond, waiting for a response that will never come.

Knowing Raymond is dead, Henry turns off the flashlight and heads towards the bedroom door. He picks up a full bottle of Southern Comfort from the minibar and enters the hallway. Looking back at Raymond, Henry shuts the door and leaves Raymond's home, not reporting what happened. Henry lifts the bottle of SoCo to his dry lips. As the moonlight tries to light night's blanket, he gulps the whole bottle, then throws it onto the ground, not caring about littering; more sadly, not caring about Raymond's death. Henry disappears into the night; a covert from the military.