Sweet Revenge

The door slammed, echoing down the hall. Joan smiled as she put dinner on the table. Jim was home on time, just like clockwork. Dinner was a silent affair, for Jim did not care much for conversation, and did not want his wife to talk unless she was spoken to. "A woman must know her place," he often told her. 

Joan had left her husband  several times, only to have Jim track her down and bring her back to their house, beating her on each occasion. The last time he threatened her, saying he would kill her if she ever left him again. Joan took his threat seriously, especially after seeing the crazed look in his eyes.

Well, tonight was the last time she would spend here, if her plan worked the way she wanted. Why shouldn’t it? She thought, making herself a cup of cocoa after dinner. Jim came into the kitchen and put a couple ice cubes in a glass, then poured some whiskey in it, and drank, watching his wife the entire time.

“You made me look like a damn fool in front of my friends, running away from me!  Now my friends think I am not man enough to keep my wife at home. You embarrassed me with your stupid actions.”

Joan flinched, thinking she was going to be hit again. When she realized that it was not going to happen, she took a sip of cocoa, sitting down at the table. Jim swallowed more whiskey before continuing his rant. "Y you will never g get another chance to leave me again. I made sure of that, you, you!" Jim began to slur his words.

Good, the poison was taking effect, Joan thought, smiling. Jim always had whiskey before going to bed. The glass dropped from Jim’s hand, and he began to stagger towards the table, reaching out to Joan with outstretched hands.“W what did you do to me?” he asked in a raspy voice.

Joan stood up, finishing her cocoa. She felt a pang of anxiety at what she had done, but when she heard Jim cursing her, her confidence was boosted knowing she had finally overpowered him in her own way. “I poisoned your drink, you bastard. It was the only way I would ever be free of you.”

Jim now lay dying on the kitchen floor, perspiring heavily and could barely breathe. He did manage to smile briefly while Joan watched him suffer. Then Jim struggle to talk, beckoning her to come closer. Joan knelt at his side, no longer afraid of her husband.

"P poisoned th can cocoa!”  It was the last thing Jim said before dying, but he lived long enough to hear his wife scream in fear.

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