Thelma's Dilemma “Another scorcher for sure,” Thelma said. Thelma Price didn't mind the heat; it was the humidity that made it difficult for her. Over the last few years since her husband Ed had passed away, many things had been difficult for her. Still she was not one to complain. She lived alone, never had any children, her only family left on earth was her younger sister Tess, who she saw infrequently now days. This house and the 15 acres of land was all she had and people were threatening to take that all away from her soon enough. “Come on Buddy, out the door with you.” Buddy got up from the floor and stretched, as Thelma patted him on the back. Thelma had acquired the dog a year after Ed's death. He was a constant companion and with living alone this far from town Thelma thought of Buddy as a lifeline, friend and almost as a child that she never had. Thelma opened the front door. “We have a full day ahead of us Buddy and it's going to be a hot one for sure.” Buddy bound out the door and Thelma followed. She walked up the driveway to the mailbox and retrieved a pile of mail from it. She glanced at a few of them, all past due bills. She would not let all this bad news ruin her day, rather she thought of all the work that lay ahead of her before winter set in. It was mid August but time had a way of flying by. Thelma knew one thing for sure, come hell or high water she had to find a way to keep those greedy bastards from taking this all away from her. She walked back to the house and entered the foyer placing the mail on the small table next to the front door. She proceeded into the kitchen and picked up a laundry basket full of wet clothes and headed out the back door. Thelma stood at the clothesline and started hanging up laundry. She suddenly felt a little light headed and held onto the clothesline to keep from falling. She stopped and listened for a moment. She did not hear anything out of the ordinary, but thought something was just not what it should be. She looked around for Buddy and remembered seeing him at the front of the house. “Buddy!” she called. She heard nothing. “Now where has that fool dog run off to?’’ She started to hang more laundry on the line but was interrupted when she heard several loud barks from Buddy. She walked around to the side of the house and heard a yelp from the dog that sounded like he was in pain. “Buddy, here buddy-boy!” she shouted. As she went to the front of the house she could see a boy who she guessed to be in his late-teens, standing next to a bicycle and about to hurl a large rock at Buddy. “I think you should drop that rock young man!” shouted Thelma. The boy looked toward where Thelma was standing. “Is this your damn dog, he almost took a bite out of my leg!” “Almost only counts in horseshoes. What did you do to provoke him, he is a very gentle dog, even with most strangers,” Thelma replied. “Not a fucking thing, I was just riding my bike by here when he ran out at me.” “No need to use that language,” Thelma shot back. She had not seen this boy before. She knew most of everyone within five miles of her home. He was a string bean of a kid, with dark greasy hair and he seemed to be sweating profusely. “Your not from around here are you?” “What difference does that make? But no my dad and I just moved into a place over in Schulerville last month.” “That's over 12 miles from here, you usually ride your bike that far from home?” Thelma asked. “Lady, sometimes I go double that, but it isn’t any concern of yours.” Buddy had wandered over next to Thelma and she looked him over. “You hit my dog with a rock, did you? I heard him yelp from out back.” “Yeah, I did. But only after he came at me first.” “What's your name son?” “Terry Allen, actually its Terry Allen Jr. and I am not your son!” “Ok Terry, my name is Thelma Price and this here is my dog Buddy. So you rode your bike all this way as hot as it is--don't you have a water bottle with you?” “No, didn't plan on going this far really; but if your offering I sure could use some.” Thelma thought the boy looked like he was about to collapse from heat exhaustion. “Come on out of the sun and I will get you some water. Never mind Buddy he won't bother you.” Terry pushed his bike over to where Thelma was standing trying to keep some distance between him and Buddy. As he got close to Thelma, Buddy gave a low growl and his hackle’s raised. “Buddy! That’s not like you; behave yourself!” Thelma scolded. “Better let me chain him up. Must be the heat has him a little irritable today. I guess this weather can make anyone a little irritable.” “Never look a gift horse in the mouth,” Terry said. Terry followed Thelma into the back door that entered the kitchen. Outside she heard Buddy whining and yelping at being chained to the side of the house. "I have some cold spring water in the fridge, take a seat Terry." Thelma handed him the water and watched as he drank down the whole glass in one motion. "Maybe you should have drank that a little more slowly." "Yeah maybe," Terry said. "Sorry I threw that rock at your dog. He came at me from nowhere and well, with the heat maybe it was my turn to be a little irritable." Thelma thought that the boy looked a little nervous as he said this. She noticed he was constantly clenching his fingers into a fist on the kitchen table and that he seemed to be studying her closely. His eyes seemed to be all over her and then she thought that maybe the heat was getting to her as well. "I don't usually ride this far without having water with me. Your the first place I have passed in at least two or three miles," he said. Thelma sat down at the table across from Terry. "Would you like more water?" He was holding his head in his hands and rubbing his temples. "Headache coming on; you wouldn’t have any aspirin would you?" he said. "You probably drank that water to fast. I will be right back, got some aspirin in the medicine cabinet, you sit there and relax." Thelma entered the bathroom and took the bottle of aspirin from the medicine cabinet. As she closed the cabinet door she looked at her reflection in the mirror. A few more wrinkles and crease lines and these had only came upon her in the last couple of years. She was 48 when Ed had passed away and now just a few years later she felt that time was rapidly slipping by her. She suddenly felt a cold chill run down her from the base of her neck down the length of her spine. "I know it's got to be sweltering in here," she said. Looking beyond her reflection to the hallway she saw Ed standing there. Wearing his green dickie's that he always wore when working around the house. She gave a gasp and the bottle of aspirin fell from her hand into the sink. She felt faint and grabbed the side of the bathroom sink to keep her knees from giving out. She forced herself to look into the mirror again and everything looked normal… no Ed, just her reflection, the bathroom and the open doorway. She picked up the bottle of aspirin and headed back to the kitchen. Terry was still sitting at the table and he looked up as she entered. “Wow I thought you got lost looking for the aspirin; hey you don’t look so well yourself. Are you ok?” Thelma took Terry’s glass and refilled it with water. “Just peachy, this damn heat wave were having is getting to me as well I guess.” “Look; I don’t mean to be any trouble for you, maybe I should leave.” “Your no trouble. I don’t get a lot of visitors out here anyway,” she said. “Who is Ned…no wait Ed, yeah that’s it; Ed. Who is Ed?” Thelma sat down at the table again and gave Terry the water and aspirin. She looked at Terry like he was a alien from outer space. “Ed? Did I mention Ed? No I don’t think I did!” “The name sort of popped into my head. It happens with me from time to time.” “Ed is or was my husband. He passed away a few years ago.” Thelma’s nerves were on edge and suddenly she felt very weak and defenseless. A tear rolled down her left cheek. “Sorry I didn’t mean to cause you any pain.” “I have a picture of him. Just a second.” She went into the living room and returned with a framed picture she handed to Terry. “This was taken only about six months before he died.” Thelma handed the picture to Terry. Thelma watched; he seemed to study the picture. He was tracing with his finger around the outline of Ed’s portrait. “He died of a cancer of some kind?” Terry asked. “Who are you?” Thelma asked. “But yes he had brain cancer. It was very fast moving and the whole ordeal from when he was first diagnosed until his death was just a few months.” Thelma was feeling like it was a big mistake to let this kid into her home. Her emotions were running the gamut but mostly now she guessed it was mostly fear of this person that sat before her. “Don’t be alarmed, I can sometimes see, or rather, more like feel things about people. I actually haven’t had this happen in a long time, but today it’s back and very strong.” Thelma didn't know what to make of all of this. Ever since she had gotten out of bed this morning she had felt something was not what it should be. "Terry when I had gone to get you the aspirin, I had a vision of Ed in the bathroom mirror. It frightened me and when I looked again he was gone. I just passed it off as nothing but being a little over-tired today." "I think there is something he wants you to know, right now, here today, something very important to you and your future. Is there some difficulty or obstacle in your life right now?" "You’re the psychic; you tell me!" Thelma shouted. "I never thought of myself as being psychic, I can sometimes just pick up on certain things and I don't have all the answers. I think maybe I should be going. I have a long bike ride ahead of me." "No wait! Please forgive me. To answer your last question, right now I am facing a major crisis. Ed and I bought this house 26 years ago shortly after we were married. Last winter I fell ill and was hospitalized for several weeks. My insurance did not cover all those expenses and now I have back taxes that have not been paid. To make a long story short I am going to loose this home soon if I can't find a solution." Thelma placed her head in her hands and the tears came. She wept and yet felt anger at herself for letting things get this far. She looked up as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Terry was standing over her. He put a arm around her and Thelma quivered. "I think the answer to this problem is here today," Terry said. Thelma felt him push away the hair from her eyes and when he did so, he wiped tears from her eyes and cheek. She watched in amazement as he rubbed the tears into his fingers. She was shocked to see him place his fingers into his mouth and he rolled his tongue over them. His eyes rolled up into their sockets showing only the whites and he let out a long, low moan. Thelma thought at that moment Terry was having a seizure of some kind. She closed her eyes tight hoping this nightmare would end. "Do not be afraid dear" is what she heard next. "Terry I." That voice... not Terry but it sounded like...like Ed! She looked up into the eyes of Ed. Ed was standing right here and Terry was gone! She stood and immediately felt that she was going to faint. "Everything is going to be all right. Do not be afraid. I love you Thelma always and forever." Thelma did see it was Ed and he was wearing that silly green dickie's he always wore while working around the house. He looked just like he did up until the time he was diagnosed with cancer. He was holding her tightly and she could swear she could smell his Old Spice aftershave. "Ed it's really you," she mumbled. She looked into his hazel eyes and then he gently kissed her on the lips. "Oh Ed I have missed you so much," she said as fresh tears rolled down her cheek. "Everything is going to be alright Thelma, I have seen to it. I love you Thelma. Remember that..." "I love you to, always and forever," she said. She buried her face into his chest and smelled his aftershave and clung to him like her life depended on it. "I must be going now," he said. "No I need you Ed," she said as she slowly looked up into the eyes of Terry. "I, I nee...," was all that came out of her. She felt the world slipping away from her as she slid into her own darkness. The beeping noise was growing louder. She at first did not know where it was emanating from. Also she could feel something moist slide across her cheek and heavy breathing in her ear. The beeping continued and she could smell something that she recognized but could not quit place it. She rolled onto her side and opened her eyes. Her surroundings slowly took hold in her brain. The alarm clock was beeping and its time said 6:30 am. Beside her next to the bed, sat Buddy and he licked her cheek. She reached over and turned off the alarm. "Hey there Buddy-boy," Thelma said as she placed her hand on his head and patted him. Buddy gave a low woof and licked her face again. She sat up in bed and her bedroom never looked so good to her. "Damn, have I got a headache." She removed the covers and realized she was totally nude. She did not remember the last time she had slept this way. She felt groggy and wanted a shower and something that would take the edge off this headache. She had, had a dream about Ed she had thought, but when she tried to put the pieces together, she could not. She seemed to vaguely remember making love to him once again and even that memory quickly washed away from her. "Thelma is back from dreamland Buddy-boy and it's time to get on with the day." She went into the bathroom and examined herself in the mirror. "I feel and look like I have been on a three day toot," she said to herself. She fumbled in the medicine cabinet looking for the aspirin and could not find the bottle. She sighed and proceeded to take a long hot shower. Thirty minuets later all showered and dressed for the day she was standing in the front foyer with Buddy wagging his tale beside her. "Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day Buddy, probably another hot one to." She picked up the pile of unopened mail she had picked up from the mailbox yesterday that was sitting on the small table next to the front door. She opened the door and Buddy ran outside. "Don't get yourself into any mischief!" she yelled out to him. She closed the door and headed into the kitchen. On the kitchen table sat the aspirin bottle, a half glass of water and a framed picture of Ed. She felt this was an odd combination to have here on the table. She felt a moment of deja vu and a slight chill crept up her spine. She shrugged it off, opened the aspirin bottle and downed three of them with the water. "I hope I am not getting sick again," she told herself. She looked at Ed's picture and a feeling of hopelessness came over her. "I am sorry I let you down Ed. They’re going to take it all away from us soon." She thumbed through the pile of mail, several from doctor's, collection agencies, and one from a lawyer whose name she did not recognize. There was a letter in a green envelope that came from something called T.A. Associate’s and she had know idea what or who that was. She opened the envelope and was filled with dread at the thought of being sued for non-payment over some long overdue bill. There was a cover letter and another envelope inside this envelope. She read the letter first. Congratulations Mrs. Thelma Price You are our 2nd place winner in the “Head Over Heals” sweepstakes. Thank you for your entry and for using our products. Enclosed in the accompanying envelope is a certified check in the amount of $35.000. Terry M. Allen Sr. CEO T.A. Associate’s “Yeah right. I don’t even remember entering this thing,” Thelma said She opened the inner envelope in what seemed like slow motion. Inside there was indeed a certified check made out to her for $35.000. She held the check in her hand and could not believe she had all this money, enough to keep her from the vultures, at least for the time being. She read the cover letter again and again. Something about that name… Something about that name… Terry M. Allan. Oh well you never look a gift horse in the mouth and she began to laugh. Outside she could hear Buddy barking.
Copyright © 2001 Elwin L Wormwood |