July 31, 2004

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  The Blood    The new moon allowed no light to complete the task. No street lights, house lights, or vehicle lights were available to help. This she had to do alone. A dreaded task. There was no choice. The blood. The blood was all she could think about.   It had been a full day since the drive out of state. The body parts  in the back of the van were properly bagged upon arrival. There would be no further problems.  But the blood remained. Blood was in the carpet. One large spot that continued to spread the longer it sat. It just wouldn't do, so work in the dark she must. She had thought the extra thick bag was enough, but the blood still found its way out. It left its mark. Someone would ask questions. Someone would notice the smell. After all, it was July in Maryland. In the heat of the sun, the blood had begun its inevitable decay. When she opened the driver's door the next morning, the smell of corruption assaulted her. The foul stench drove her back from the vehicle, but she she had to be THERE in 15 minutes. If she was late, questions would be asked. She couldn't be late. Taking a deep breath she alighted to the driver's seat, opened up every window and turned the air conditioning on full. The fresh air blowing in her face almost made the smell bearable.   Now it was night, and the lack of light from the moon and stars couldn't stop her. The blood had to go. With gloves, scrub brush, a bucket with water, and detergent in hand she proceeded to scrub every...last....trace...Even in the semi-dark she could see the blood. It stood out like a beacon.  The task done, she emptied the bucket of fouled water and threw away the gloves and scrub brush. She wouldn't be using that again. She only hoped it was good enough...would the smell be gone? Would anyone ask about it? Would they find out about the bloodied bag?   This was never going to happen again. She WOULD be more careful next time. It happened every month...the drive out of state, the bloodied bag, the chance for stains on the carpet. If she was going to keep this up she really needed to consider getting a pickup. Things would be so much easier if there were no carpet to worry about. Or maybe a cooler? Would a cooler work? Then there would be no need for bags. No worries about dripping blood or stains. She hoped they appreciated this. All this work. The smell .The blood. She did this all for them.   This was the 4th time in 6 months she had made the trip. The 4th time with the bag, but this had never happened before. There had never been this much blood. She had never been this careless, and now she was paying the price for her carelessness. She had to be more careful. The smell of the blood wouldn't leave her nostrils. The scent of it clung to her skin, her hair, her clothes. Now that she had erased the evidence of her doings, she went inside the house to her family.    "Mom, mom...are you done?" her little one asks.  "Yes sweetie I'm done. What a nasty job. I need to take a shower now, I can still smell it."    "Ugh...I am glad that I didn't have to do that, " the husband grimaces.    "So the smell is gone?" asks the little one again...so curious, " Man that was nasty. Who would have thought that chicken blood could smell so bad! I guess from now on when we buy a 50lb case of chicken for the dogs we need to take coolers. The ice and plastic bag aren't enough, especially in the summer. YUCK"   Yep...next time I get food for the dogs from the farmer's market in Lancaster, I will be taking a couple of coolers. There is little appeal to a Chevy Astro van that smells like one of Frank Purdue's slaughterhouses.   Yes indeed friends, truth is stranger than fiction.   Try living my life for a day.... Blessings!                Kathie

  
  

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