Nick Stephenson - Eight the Hard Way

Cathy mentally cursed them all. She hated these women, but admitted she did already feel better. Her head didn’t pound and her stomach had settled. She put the cool can against her forehead and found it soothing.

They rode south away from shore for nearly an hour and a half. The water was as flat and still as glass making millions of shimmering reflections of the sun’s cheerful morning rays. Finally the boat engine stopped and they coasted on the water. The sudden quiet was shocking after nearly two hours of constant engine noise.

“This is a good a place as any,” said Trish climbing out of the boat’s cabin.

“Place for what?” asked Cathy looking around.

Cathy’s mother-in-law came up behind her and hugged her, “To relax, to be at ease. Isn’t it nice out here? Peaceful? Don’t you just want to stay out here forever?”

Cathy started to voice a sarcastic retort, but realized it was nice and peaceful and she felt nice and peaceful, down to the very core of her being.

“Anyone ready for a drink?” asked Martha.

“You better believe it,” answered Dolores. “Here let me make the first round, I got a surprise for you.”

She went into the cabin and soon the sounds of clinking glass and ice mixed with pouring and stirring. Emerging with a drink in each hand she passed two large plastic cups to her sisters, then did the same for her daughter and niece, and came back out with two more, presenting one to Cathy.

“This one’s for you dear,” she said with a smile.

“What is it?” Cathy asked sniffing the green colored drink.

“A little something I call ‘Ladies Weekend.’ I hope you like it.”

“Cheers, everyone,” said Ruby. “To ladies weekend and to family. The most important thing in the world.”

“Cheers,” they all echoed and drank deeply.

Cathy discovered the drink was actually delicious. She didn’t care for concoctions that were too fruity or sweet, but also didn’t care for excessively bitter drinks. Ladies Weekend seemed to be a mix of both and she felt the warmth and relaxation roll from her stomach out to her extremities. She sat back in the chair and smiled easily.

They had two more Ladies Weekends before Cathy realized something wasn’t right.

As a closet pill-popper and functional alcoholic for almost two years now, she was somewhat of an expert on what to expect in those areas. Alcohol should not be hitting her this hard. Not only did she feel sluggish, but she realized that she was nearly paralyzed. She could turn her head and lift her hand ever so slightly, but anything beyond that was akin to bench-pressing a rhinoceros.

Seeing her concern and confusion, the other ladies gathered around. Dolores and Stephanie smiled knowingly. Martha and Trish frowned. Ruby’s face showed nothing but ice.

“What’s happening?” Cathy asked in a distant voice.

Dolores crouched down beside her and patted Cathy’s knee comfortingly. “No need to fear. You’re just really relaxed and zooming. I slipped some of my cancer meds into your drink.”

“Cancer meds?” asked Cathy confused.

“Yes, a few Kadians and Vanatrips to be exact,” answered Dolores. “The Kadians are just morphine, the Vanatrips are strong antidepressants. They kind of zone you out, especially when you take as many as you have.”

Cathy’s head was literally spinning and she wondered if there were giant waves on the ocean, but she saw nothing but flat water, “But why?”

“Because,” answered Martha, “even though you’re a total bitch and deserve what’s coming to you, we don’t want you suffering any more than you have to. Also, it makes it easier to do what needs to be done.”

“I don’t understand,” said Cathy as a single tear slipped down her face.

Ruby leaned in close to her face, her hands on the wheelchairs arms. Cathy tried to pull back away from her fierce gaze, but there was nowhere to go.

“Did you really think you were going to get away with it?” asked Ruby. “Just come in and ruin my son’s life? Make fools of us all? Take my grandkids from me?”

Cathy shook her head, “I don’t understa—”

“Yes, you do,” answered Ruby, slapping her daughter-in-law across the face. “You’re in the process of a divorce with my son. You’re going to take everything and then run off with that boyfriend of yours taking the kids with you.”

“Justin said he wouldn’t tell,” whined Cathy in a betrayed voice.

Ruby shook her head, “He didn’t. Doesn’t know that I know. My son is loyal and honest to a fault. You never deserved a man like him.”

“Then how?” asked Cathy.

“Your divorce lawyer, Dave Hawkins, is an old friend of mine,” answered Ruby.

“But, lawyer-client—”

“Doesn’t count for shit when it comes to family and friends,” answered Martha. “Especially to an outsider like you. Our families have been together for generations. Did you really think you could just come in here and take from us and walk away and expect us to do nothing? Not likely.”

Full-fledged tears were flowing down Cathy’s face now. She knew she should be terrified, but in actuality she just wanted to go to sleep and rest. To escape it all. She closed her eyes hoping it would all go away.

She opened her eyes again when she felt hands on her and the sound of peeling duct tape. Stephanie was binding her hands together and Martha was doing the same with her feet. Trish meanwhile was dragging an anchor across the smooth deck to her bound feet. Once there, she took nylon rope and tied it around her feet in a series of complicated knots before attaching it to the anchor.

“You’ll never get away with it,” Cathy rasped. “They’ll find me and then come looking for you.”

Trish’s smile was sad, “Nobody’s ever going to find you, hon. The water’s almost a quarter mile deep out here. You’ll sink to the bottom and stay there.”

“At least until the crabs and fish down there eat all your flesh away and your bones leach and rot,” said Ruby in a flat voice.

Cathy tried to struggle, but she no longer had control of her body. “But people saw me get on this boat! They’ll ask questions! You’ll all go to jail!”

“They saw Dolores get on the boat,” said Stephanie with a sad look. “You’re still back at the condo sleeping off a hangover. By the time we get back there, you’ll be mysteriously gone. We’ll worry, and eventually report you missing, but you’ll still be gone.”

“Probably run off with your boyfriend,” answered Ruby, “or had to go score some pills or booze. Who knows what happened?”

“You can’t do this!” wailed Cathy.

“We didn’t do anything,” answered Dolores. “You did this. You don’t mess with family.”

Trish reached down and lifted the anchor up onto the boat rail with Martha and Stephanie’s help. Then they looked at Ruby.

She nodded.

Trish pushed the anchor over the side. It sank with a splash for a few seconds as the rope ran after. Cathy felt a sudden and painful pull on her ankles and the wheelchair spun around to follow the rope leading off the boat into the water.

“Get my chair!” screamed Dolores.

Martha and Ruby stopped the chair’s slide and then slipped their arms through each of Cathy’s. Stephanie picked her feet up and put them over the side where the weight of the anchor was pulling relentlessly down into the darkness.

“Don’t do this!” Cathy begged. “Please! Just let me go! I won’t say anything, I promise!”

Ruby looked at her closely. “I believe you,” she said and kissed Cathy on the cheek. “Good-bye, honey.”

She and Martha lifted her over the edge and dropped her into the water with a splash.

Cathy’s instinct took over and she gulped down a breath of air and closed her mouth as the water sealed over her. She looked up at the receding surface. Her heart was beating fast enough to explode. She had been a swimmer in high school and knew she could hold her breath for over two minutes. But did she want to?