Diary of a Devil Woman

"Twilight, and the ocean breaks..." Rosemary read aloud from a small, pink booklet in her mother's bedroom. A small box full of old knick-knacks laid open by her side on top her parent's bed. 

"Whatcha doing?" Her little sister, Regan, called out as she entered the open bedroom.

"Reading mom's old poetry." She replied. "I found this box of old junk while I was helping clear out the attic."

"Lemme read it too." Regan hollered, crawling onto the large, king-size bed. Then she grabbed at the booklet from her big sister's hands and stared down at the words.

Rosemary retorted. "You can barely read."

"I'm still learning. Ms. Kat says practice makes perfect."

"Hey you!" Their mother pounced on the bed and started tickling her youngest. She then nabbed her oldest daughter, tickling her sides as well. The three Gravely gals laughed about as they rolled around on the bed, making a mess of the covers. "What're you two nosy nuggets up to?"

"Just reading this." Regan replied, holding up the booklet to her mom's face.

"Oh wow! That's my old diary. I used to write in this when I was your age, Rosie, all the way up to college."

"Cool." The eldest daughter said. "What secrets did you hide in here?"

"Just the good ones, and some happy memories." Mrs. Gravely answered. "Tell you two what. We can read some entries just as long as you keep this away from Lu. Deal?

"Deal!" They both agreed. Mrs. Gravely then positioned along the bed with her head rested on her fluffy pillows. Her comforting arms directed her daughters along where they laid their heads upon her shoulders. Each arm locked around each daughter's neck and shoulder. Once they were all comfortable, Carmen flipped through the pages of her old diary until her eldest daughter pointed out one of her entries.

"Here's something interesting." She exclaimed and started reading. "Today I met the man I want to marry. He's smart, handsome, and one of the nicest persons I ever met. I think I know who that this."

"Think so, huh?" Carmen teased.

 Rosie continued reading the entry. "He is perfect, and his name is... Jake Blake? Who the heck is Jake Blake?"

"Captain of the debate team from high school." Her mother answered.

"What about daddy? Where's daddy?" Regan anxiously pleaded.

"I didn't meet your father until I started college. Skip a few pages in and start there."

Regan did as instructed and she thumbed a few pages in. The three came across an entry of Carmen's collage years. With the assistance of her stubby finger, she tried reading from the passage. "First day of..."

"Col-lage." Her mother assisted. 

"...col-lage and I met the most r-ru..."

"Rud-dest."

"Rudest person on the-

"Planet."

"I would rather kiss the devil than kiss him. He is so rude, and his name is... Doug Gravely?"

"Harsh, mom." Rosemary uttered with a short chuckle.

"Well that was my first impression of your father at the time." Carmen explained. "When we first met he was loud, obnoxious, and he liked to play music or practice his music during my study hours. He'd always show up late to lectures, and he'd act like a total clown during lab sessions. It was a bumpy start."

"Alright, so when did you two finally hook up?"

"Let me see." Carmen pondered. She turned a couple more pages until she found her most treasured entry. "Aw, here it is. I'll read this one. Last night I had a wonderful time. Doug took me to a concert featuring my favorite band. I was surprised that he agreed to going to this, but knowing him he loved all music. The best part was when we shared our first dance, and then our first kiss; and it was from that moment on when I realized... I wanted to... spend the rest of my life with him..."

Carmen cleared her throat of emotions then slowly close her diary. She stared deep to the plain white wall, reflecting all the fond memories she, her daughters, and her late husband shared. Rosemary and Regan did the same. Their eyes filled with water upon the realization that the person they admired and loved was no longer with them.

"I miss daddy." Regan sadly muttered.

"Me too." Rosemary muttered too.

"Oh, babies." Their mother softly whispered. She held them both tight and kissed each daughter on the forehead. "I miss him too. Back then I never could have imagined him not being with us. But we still have each other, and we also have someone whose just as loving and caring and wonderful as he was."

"YOW!" The Gravely gals jumped when they heard the rantings of their loving, caring, and wonderful someone outside through an open window. "DAMN STUPID PIECE OF CRAP! LET ME SHOW YOU A REAL FIRE!"

The cursing followed up with the sound of a roaring flamethrower, then the sound of a thunderous explosion. Carmen, Rosemary, and Regan immediately rushed to the window. The three looked out and saw Lu in the backyard, covered in smoldering soot, standing in front of the charred crater of where their gas-powered grill used to be. Lu, the devil, glanced up to his three girls, who all laughed at his misfortune. He gave them a sheepish smile and raised up a pair of roasted wieners skewed in small prongs.

"Hot dogs are done." The devil coughed.