Crustaceans Continued —

(continued from page 7)

cessful as a broker, there
was no pretence now; he
spent Mary’s money as if
there was no end to it.

Maureen had returned to
the west to provide some
separation and relief from the
constant bickering and heart-
break. How well she remem-
bered the smeil of the salt air,
the pulse of the tide and the
thrill of the surf. As a marine
biologist, Maureen had been
a part of the complex matrix
that was the sea.

But that was before the
accident. Her diving partner
became entangled in the rig-
ging of a wreck they had
been surveying. In her rescue
attempt, Maureen suffered

F
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Fe
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7
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WHY &ATMAN BAS
A COGPIECE..

from recurrent bouts of
numbness in her legs and
even now had to resort to a
wheelchair in times of stress
or anytime the injury wanted
to make her life unbearable.

But Mary, Stephan and
their only daughter, Melissa,
had soon followed; to be clos-
er to her they had said.
Maureen was positive that
this was at the insistence of
Stephan who was itching to
grab her money when she
died or became incapacitat-
ed.

She could not believed
that Mary loved Stephan let
alone had sex with him; he
was absolutely degenerate in
his habits, opinion and given
to ridicule Mary at any oppor-
tunity. But the relationship
seemed somewhat symbiotic;
Mary needed that semblance
of family and Stephan, well,
Stephan just took what he
wanted!

The only bright spot for
Maureen was Melissa; an
absolute jewel of a girl who
had aspirations of going to
college and seemed to have
suddenly developed a burn-
ing revulsion for her father.

Maureen had changed
her will, unbeknownst to the
rest of the family; Melissa
was the beneficiary and there
were stipulations about her
being able to attend school
away from the family home
with an allowance until the
age of majority.

Stephan missed
excitement of the “golden
horseshoe”, but all in all, the
recent move to the west
coast was a chance to semi-
retire and enjoy a life of
leisure; he had plenty of time
and money and was deter-
mined to acquire more when
the old broad died.

Stephan hated the air of
temperance in his mother-in-
laws home. It had spilled
over in to his home also. Not
that it stopped him from drink-
ing and carousing. It was just
that the superior attitude of all
of the women angered him.

The move west had
brought with it a renewed
interest in singles bars, all
night parties and of course
the inevitable trail of one-
night stands.

the’

To get away from the
women, he had just bought
an RV. This provided a con-
venient place for more inti-
mate encounters and also
allowed him to experience
the rugged coastline without
interference. For once in his
life, Stephan thought, he was
going to indulge in his pas-
sion. for shellfish; he just
could not get enough of fresh
seafood.

He awoke with a mild
buzz in his ears and smiled at
the memories of last night.
Looking out the window of his
motor -home, Stephan could
see that he was parked on
the beach, although he was
not too certain where or how
he had gotten there.

Some friends that he met
at the bar last night had told
about this spot, a small cove
with clams and mussels and
crabs for the taking. As usual
Stephan loudly insisted that
he knew all about the prepa-
ration and cooking’ of
seafood; was he not a
gourmet cook!?

As he stumbled about the
confined quarters, he con-
cluded that he definitely
needed “the hair of the dog”
and proceeded to knock back
a few to “take the wrinkles
out”.

In time, Stephan dug out
a fresh bottle of bourbon, a
lemon, a bowl and a knife and
walked out into the glorious
sunshine; waves softly lap-
ping at the beach. He made
his way to the rocks where
he at once found mussels in
abundance. He took a hefty
swig of bourbon, sighed and
settled his bulk down on a
rock to feast. A few mussels
were popped open, dropped
into the bowl; a splash of
bourbon, lemon, a swirl and
Stephan gulped them down
with satisfaction; he did not
notice the sudden burning
sensation on his lips as he
dug for more of natures’ del-
icacies. “Now where the hell
were the clams and crabs’,
he mused? ,

Stephan looked at the
sea mist and took in a deep
breath of that wonderful salt
air. He tried to exhale then
stood with difficulty, feeling a
sudden pressure in his

SCOUTS CANADA

chest.

Stephan fell face down
between the rocks, all the
while conscious but unable to
move; whether he drowned
or suffocated was of little
interest to the scuttling crus-
taceans that washed in to
feed on the rising tide.

Maureen was shocked
but occasionally could not
keep from revealing a satis-
fied smile. She guessed that
she should have said some-
thing to Stephan when he
boasted of going to the beach
to catch fresh fish. But he
never listened; always a
know-it-all! Besides, who in
their right mind did not know
about the “Red _ Tide”?
Everyone in the little commu-
nity had been warned of the
possibility of toxic shellfish
and although no one had fall-
en victim to the toxin during
the period, everyone was
cautious.

The funeral had been
well attended, which had sur-
prised her. Most of the people
at the reception were not
known to her and she felt that
they had all come for the food
which she had provided for at
great expense; likely they
were leaches like Stephan.

She was genuinely sorry
for Mary and _ Melissa,
although the girl did not seem
too terribly upset by
Stephan’s death.

She must put on a show

for poor bereaved Mary and
weather the storm of loss and
angst that was certain to fol-
low! Well, she thought, “time
wounds all heels”! “Damn”,
she thought, “that is just the
attitude that she must
repress”!

Maureen noticed that her
favourite appetizers were dis-
appearing at an alarming
rate.

From the safety and
seclusion of the darkened
corner by the fireplace, she
silently wheeled her chair to
the buffet and helped herself
to the crab puffs. Backing
again into the corner, she nib-
bled and smiled an apprecia-
tive, toothy grin.

@
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