Gift giving. Wrong holiday. All dialog.

A Gift From The Heart

By GC SMITH

“Yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"
"My God, Daphne, what is it? What's wrong?"
"There. Over there. On the table."
"It's simply a beribboned gift box. It's lovely"
"No, it's ghastly. It's what was in the box. I'm terrified. It's horrible."
"Now child, please get hold of yourself. There's no need for this skittishness. And, get down from atop that bookcase."
"Yes. Mother. I'm okay now. No. Yiiiiiii! There it goes."
"What?"
"There, there. It's running. It's over there in the corner."
"Point."
"Thththt-there. In the corner."
"What is it, a mouse?"
"No, it's monstrous. It's..."
"A snake?"
"Nnnnnnnn-no. It's a bug. A horrible, horrible bug. It's huge. It hissed at me."
"I'll look."
"Over there. It's running again."
"I got it. It's nothing but a cockroach. But unusual. It's black."
"Hsssssssssssssss."
"It's alive."
"Not now it isn't. I stomped it."
"What's that attached to it's leg?"
"I seems to be a piece of rolled up paper."
"Look at it. What does it say?"
"It says, 'Happy Valentine's day Daphne. Love Charlie.' And on the back it says. 'Rare, hissing Cockroach.'"
"That bastard. I'll send a black vulture to eat his heart."
"But, Daphne, darling, he's your husband."
"He was. Then, just because I threw him out of the house he sent me the centipede and then the tarantula. I'm calling my lawyer. The cockroach ends it."

pubbed in GATOR SPRINGS GAZETTE