Agatha


Mrs. Curtis had raised Agatha in a small suburban town in Ohio. Agatha had owned well-behaved dolls, a vanity mirror, tasteful clothing, and a bit of pocket money for the movies. As Agatha matured, she aquired a mother-in-law, a four bedroom home, a copy of Betty Crocker's Cookbook, and a Hoover upright vacuum cleaner. The dolls were replaced with children, but the rest stayed the same. She had been well taken care of her whole life, yet her worrying prevented her from being content. She had two sturdy boys with good sense and a calm husband with reliable life insurance, so Agatha worried about little things that would never happen.

"What if you get mugged?"

"What if you hurt yourself and can't get to the phone?"

"What if you die from cyanide poisoning?"

It amused Mrs. Curtis to think that even Agatha could be right, every once in a while.

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