An Honest Question

Short Story Day 133 of 365

***Hat tip to Liz Cerri for the basis for this story.

As she was gracefully aging, Marge was beginning to see the value of owning a firearm for protection. Her husband Sam wasn’t around as much to protect her, and there had been several armed robberies in the neighborhood lately, so investing in a weapon and training would be significant.

“What do you think, Sam? Think I should just go for it?”

“Have you run the numbers? Ever fired a small firearm before?”

She laughed. “What do you think I’ve been doing when you were gone for those weeks at a time. MaryBeth took me out to the range and let me go wild. Kinda fun actually. So, yes, I’ve fired some guns, not many but a few.”

“How much will it cost us?” Sam asked.

“I think the important question is, how much will it cost us if we don’t get one?” Marge said. “But, if you’re worried about money, I’m taking on a part-time job to pay for all of that. And the job is at the gun range. They needed a part-timer and thought I was qualified enough to run a cash register.”

“Nice,” said Sam nodding slowly.

“What? I see the wheels turning inside of that head of yours.”

“Margie, you and I have been married 34 years. We’ve had our share of differences and knock-down drag-out arguments, but we’ve always settled them… more or less.”

“More or less. Where are you going with this, Sam? I’m not liking what I’m hearing.”

Sam smiled, “Margie, before you go out and make those purchases, I have to ask you one question.”

He paused and slowly nodded his head, “Margie, is there anything in the world I could do at this point to set you off enough…?”