AWARD WINNER!
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Episode 5:
Mrs. G Administers Punishment!
At
7:30 A.M. on Thursday morning Belle arrived at the Boston
offices of Commerziale Bayerische Bank, her current client,
where she was working as a subcontractor on a tiny module of
a large software contract.
After checking her daily schedule, she did something that
she had never done before in her life: She called Western
Union. At 8:00 A.M. when the rest of the contract team came
in, she was hard at work on the bank's business and ready
for her daily power struggle with the lead programmer on
the project.
At about the same time, Chrissy arrived at the Melton Free
Library, where she was Assistant Director. After checking
her daily calendar, she called their travel agent and had a
10-minute conversation.
When Belle arrived at her mother's that evening, Chrissy was
already there, working on her notebook computer on the
kitchen table. Mrs. G was busy at the sink.
"I think we've solved Jane's problem," Belle proclaimed.
"That's great, sweetheart. Why don't you two come and give
me a hand here with dinner while you tell me all about
it."
"In deference to your scruples, we employed a most benign
form of deception," Belle said, approaching the sink. "I've
called Western Union — Mom, you haven't cooked
it yet!"
"It, dear? He's a male, a handsome 3-pound
male. Can't you tell?" Mrs. G took the lobster out of
its bed of moist seaweed and held him forward. "No wonder
you girls haven't been able to find husbands. Here I am at
my age with two unmarried daughters on my hands who can't
tell a male from a female, but spend their time sticking
their noses into other people's affairs." The lobster, out
of the safety of its box, became agitated, wiggling its long
antennae and many pairs of jointed legs and curling up its
tail defensively.
"Oh, gross!" Belle said. "Oh, yuck!" She turned to retreat
from the kitchen and slammed into Chrissy, who had come up
from behind.
"Now, take Jane," continued Mrs. G. "Even she has
managed to get a husband. Unlike some people —"
"Mom," Chrissy interrupted, looking concerned, "I thought
dinner would be ready already."
"Oh, everything is ready dear! It's the Newburg sauce
that takes a lot of time and the sauce is ready. See? And
the Yorkshire Pudding buns are ready to pop into the oven.
And the water's boiling briskly here..." Mrs. G selected a
sharp heavy knife from her cherry knife-stand. "And now in
deference to your scruples, I will sever his spine so
he doesn't suffer when... unless of course you want me to do
it in the traditional..." Mrs. G trailed off with knife
raised.
"Please!" Belle and Chrissy averted their eyes.
Mrs. G inserted the point of the knife into the back of the
lobster's head, cutting through the spine. "You can look
now. The worst is over. Tell me all about your plan."
"It's still
moving," Belle said.
"He's dead," Mrs. G said, shoving him head first into the
boiling water and covering the pot.
"Then why do you have to cover the pot so tightly?"
"It's dead, but it might still try to climb out," Chrissy
said.
"Why are we being punished?" Belle whispered into Chrissy's
ear.
"He has to boil for eight minutes." Mrs. G walked toward the
breakfast table. "Let's sit down and tell me about Western
Union."
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