A Story for the New Year

 

 

Hot Chocolate Sauce – A story for Della

 

 

It was a solemn affair and the family were dressed formally, and wore long faces.  Matilda looked at Cornelius out of the corner of her eye – and saw him looking at their son Frederick who was, she noted with disgust, licking his lips.  Drusilla came into the room and glowered at her brother – Frederick ignored her and scowled at his plate.  The joint he thought was over cooked – almost charred.  But he liked the hot chocolate sauce that covered most of it.  There were no vegetables – he laughed.  Drusilla giggled.  But no one drooled – the saliva did not flow freely. 

 

Her Dad had always been strange, Matilda thought to herself, but she had never realised quite how strange. Yes, he was – or had been for most of his oddly eventful life – an eminent psychiatrist.  She shuddered – how embarrassing it all was.  The book about pigs had a good chapter on slaughtering and how to joint the beast; but it was very old, and she had found it difficult to follow.  What had made Dad think of such an idea?  He had been under the weather with a bad cold that is all, and she did not see the connection. 

 

Cornelius looked at her just then and raised his eyebrows quizzically.  Matilda nodded.  All at the same time they raised their knives and forks – and fiddled with their food.  Frederick suddenly ate a big mouthful and made a face at Drusilla – who screamed and ran out.  The doorbell rang and everyone froze.  No one usually rang at 3 am on a Monday morning.  It kept ringing. Cornelius slowly opened the door.  A policeman and a woman PC stood at the door.  “We are making enquiries about Dr Hiram Zee Binswanger – he has been missing for a week now – we understand some relatives may live here?”  Drusilla screamed again, and started to cry rather loudly.  Frederick laughed demonically – and said, in a strange high pitched voice “We are eating Granddad now – with hot chocolate sauce – it is what he wanted – he is very tasty though a bit tough – but the chocolate sauce is scrumptious”

 

The meal at an end, the six of them felt bloated but happy.  The Chilean Merlot had gone down very well.  Nothing was left – and they had certainly honoured the last Will and Testament of that unusual and philanthropic personage – Granddad - alias Dr Hiram Zee Binswanger MD and Master of Lunacy, University of Transylvania.

 

Sandy Burnfield

New Years Day 2005