Death By Marriage

The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who’s going to stop me?

The Ayn Rand quote ran through Marlene Basker’s head the whole way to the supermarket. It circled around like a vulture the whole time that she walked through the aisles putting in the ingredients for a perfect dessert.

Cocoa

Flour

Baking powder

Baking soda

Almost as if an invisible and subconscious being took over she started to put the items in her squeaky cart rolling through the aisles. Outwardly Marlene Basker was the epitome of a Midwestern woman in her early 30’s outwardly perusing the aisles for groceries

sugar (powdered & granulated)

salt

vanilla

Inwardly, Marlene Basker was furious, she wasn’t just setting things in the cart as she was outwardly portraying in the benign action.

vegetable oil

butter

eggs

milk

No, in Marlene’s mind she was throwing the flour in the cart. Smashing in the eggs and tossing in the milk.

cream cheese

buttermilk

By the time Marlene checked out at the register and made her way to her car she was fuming on the inside so bad that her car keys were shaking in her hand. It did everything for her not to scream. Marlene doesn’t know when the realization truly entered her head. Tonight, I’m going to kill Leonard. With that thought, came a wave of relief and Marlene walked out of the house and down the street and straight to behind the woods where she could pick up the last ingredients for the chocolate cake. Leonard’s chocolate cake.

LEONARD

Leonard Baker was the local mechanic and had lived in this town all his life. Born here, went to high school here, and would probably die here. He married Marlene after a few months of dating. While marriage wasn’t really what he intended to do, being married to her wasn’t horrible at first. Still, Leonard just couldn’t stand her. He didn’t know if it was the way that she would walk around all depressed and morose or if it was the way that everything about Marlene was just bland. Not bad looking but not great. Not tall, not short. Neither smart nor intellectual.

She wasn’t a high heel and she wasn’t a house shoe. She was a loafer. Yes! that’s how Leonard saw her. Just a plain, brown loafer day in and day out, and for that Leonard hated Marlene, and resented her for being such a boring woman no matter what he tried therefore, contributing to his uneventful life. This reminded Leonard that he had to make a stop to see someone.

MARLENE

Mix all dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately

buttermilk and good cocoa makes a difference, don’t go cheap and you won’t be disappointed.

Marlene came out of autopilot for the first time in years since marrying Leonard. Separation and starting the recipe that she knew by heart now she methodically put things to start. She made this cake numerous times throughout the year for the Wednesday’s adult church meeting. The ladies would go to one area for woman’s faith and the men to another for them.

What’s the difference between that anyway, mused Marlene. With this thought though it also brought Marlene furious mixing speed. It wasn’t the thought of the separation though, it was the thought of a particular person. Brandy Abernathy.

The thought of that woman brought Marlene to a halt in her narrow, galley kitchen. She immediately took the last ingredient out of her apron pocket and started to grind them in the pestle. The whole time she was thinking about Brandy Abernathy. Brandy was everything that Marlene wasn’t. While they were both in tap dance in high school. Brandy was always the star. Where Marlene was quiet and awkward, Brandy always knew what to say or how to smile to brighten someone’s day. She was active in the church and worked for free at the local shelter doing secretarial work when she wasn’t at the lawyer’s firm doing it for her career. Always the one to brighten up a room with her smile, fashionable dress or enduring laugh made her the Midwestern sweetheart of their town.

After any final additions, divide batter into 3 pans evenly

Bake 20-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven

Start on the frosting or filling

When Marlene did go to the Wednesday church study or if they were at the same store or town function Brandy would always politely smile and then be on her way. BUT, she did always seem to have words with Leonard withing the last few months. Leonard started going to the Wednesday Church meetings for often and would make sure that he was changed and clean. He would even make sure his hair was nice. Marlene started noticing that right before the men and women went to their separate classes, Brandy would stop and lean in to whisper something or speak quietly to Leonard. At first, Marlene wrote this off as maybe they were speaking about a car issue but on the couple of times that they noticed Marlene, Leonard would stalk by scowling at her and Brandy just looked uncomfortable.

LEONARD

As Leonard pulled up to his house he could see Marlene’s form in the front kitchen window. He sat there for a long time just watching. He always dreaded coming home now ;if you could even call it that. A home .The little house had been in his family since his grandfather built it for his grandmother. He loved this house and all the laughter. Leonard twisted and squeezed the steering wheel as an anger burned in him. Marlene has ruined even that now. It’s like her morose character had somehow permeated the walls and seeped into the flooring. If it wasn’t for seeing Brandy, he would probably go crazy and do something even crazier. Thank God it’s Wednesday thought Leonard in relief. It’s a break up of the monotony of his life and he can be away and not bone tired for the next couple of hours. Stepping out the truck, Leonard trudges into the house.

MARLENE

Marlene hears Leonard’s truck pull into the drive. She knows that he’s been closing up the garage a bit early and disappearing somewhere. She guessed she could’ve followed him one of the times to see where he was going, but didn’t bother. One of the other church ladies did mention that he was leaving early on every Wednesday and Friday when she inquiring to how much longer her Buick would be there.

beat together softened butter and cream cheese

add in cocoa powder and vanilla

beat in powdered sugar one cup at a time

add milk as necessary and will thicken in the fridge

That and the fact that the home account was a bit smaller than normal due to some larger withdrawals led Marlene to believe that Leonard was having an affair and that affair had to be with Brandy Abernathy. What she could possibly see in Leonard puzzled her. While he wasn’t terribly unfortunate looking he didn’t have anything spectacular about him. Not particularly gifted in anything he was your run-of-the-mill good ol’ country boy.

This wasn’t the reason that Marlene picked the hemlock that grew behind the church though, or ground up the seeds in the cake batter. No, not at all. It was because he stayed, and therefore kept her there with him. If he would just divorce her or something like that, she could be free of Leonard, this house, and maybe in this whole town. Then she’ll finally be able to be happy. No, the affair didn’t bother Marlene, it was the fact that Marlene was still married to Leonard, for now.

check cakes with a toothpick. A liberal amount of crumbs is ideal for a moist cake

fully let cool on the wire racks before icing and layering

LEONARD

Getting out of the shower Leonard had remembered that he didn’t even say hello to Marlene today. Not that it mattered, she always looked at him with indifference anyways. realizing that he forgot his wedding band in the truck made him get the idea that this would make a good excuse to try to talk to Marlene. He casually went into the kitchen and approached her while she was icing a chocolate cake.

He hated chocolate cake. She knew he did and she still kept making the damn thing. Sighing, he still cleared his throat and as pleasant as possible asked Marlene if she minded going out to the truck to grab his wedding ring out of the cup holder. It wasn't unusual for him to have it off due to the mechanic work he did. Not even looking at him she sighed loftily and said sure, then walked straight out and slammed the door. Exasperated, Leonard sat in the recliner in the other room to eat his dinner on the t.v tray and completely forgetting what he had picked up at Brandy’s today after work was still in the passenger seat.

MARLENE

Going out to the truck to grab that stupid ring just made Marlene see red. This was the final straw! She didn’t even care anymore. She felt so angry that Leonard had found a way out of his misery and dared to leave her there stuck in this miserable marriage. She could do the same thing, but it’s different for women here. While a woman can look the other way about a husband’s infidelity, a man must handle the situation of a philandering wife with swift action all in the name of his dignity. As Marlene opened the door and looks for the ring she sees an envelope in the seat. At first, Marlene doesn’t care about it at all but as she’s starting to leave a beautifully delicate and feminine scent wafts up from the envelope to which Marlene has to open.

PETITION FOR DIVORCE

CASE# 4-AG5604

Plaintiff: LEONARD BASKER

Defendant: MARLENE BASKER

In shock, Marlene hurriedly stuffed the papers back into the sweet smelling envelope. Heart racing Marlene just leaned up against the truck for a few minutes. She had a million thoughts and feelings running through her body. More emotion was pouring out of Marlene in that moment than her whole life it seemed. The one emotion that kept coming up: Elation. She was elated, gay, happy and relieved.

tip: for clean cuts and stacks take off any excess to "flatten" the layers

Everything made sense now. Brandy Abernathy’s full time job was working at the lawyer’s office. All the talks at church and after hours was just Leonard’s way of keeping the rumor mill from exploding. She wouldn’t have to go through all the trouble and horrible burden of killing Leonard. This was the right and least thing he could do after all thought Marlene. Especially after the miserable life and marriage he saddled her down with. After about half an hour or so Marlene realized that she was still outside and that Leonard was probably wondering what was taking her so lone. And with a lightness in her step that she had never had going into that house she bound in.

Marlene could hear the television as she walked back into the house, but Leonard was no-where to be found. Then she remembered it was Wednesday and knew that he went to the church for adult classes. Smugly Marlene was happy to be away from Leonard and with the knowledge that soon she would be away and free of him for good.

Marlene ate her dinner in peace on the living room t.v tray as well ,and perused the idea of wanting the house or not. Honestly, since it was in Leonard’s family so long she didn’t care. She would be happy to be rid of him and having just her belongings, car and the money from their joint account. With this thought, Marlene remembered that cake and rose to go the the kitchen and toss it in the trash. As Marlene walked in she stopped dead in her tracks. The cake was gone! A brief moment of confusion and then a dawning realization screamed at her: Leonard took the cake to the church group.