Howdy! Welcome to Tuesday Tales, where authors write to a word prompt. We have more from "Two of Hearts" this week. When you're finished, hop on over to the other authors' works you'll find HERE.
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“Why don’t I send you a text every night. Would that do?”
He
exhaled. A text, a cold, impersonal, don’t-bother-to-reply text. His shoulders
sagged.
“Sure.
Sure. Whatever works for you.” He refused to appear clingy.
“Could
you sleep then?”
“Yeah.
About coming for a visit.” He shut his eyes tight, praying for the right
answer.
“You
mean this weekend? That won’t work. A bunch of us are driving up the coast.
Kind of an adventure. Then we’re going to write about the trip. Someone
suggested a road trip film. But we’d experience it first.”
“And I
can’t come?” His heart twisted.
“I
suppose you could. But the rest of the team might feel kinda funny. You not
being a writer and all. Like how would you contribute?”
“Pay for
your hotel.”
Silence.
Words tumbled from her in a rush. “I know
I’m running up a lot of extra expenses, but when I sell my first screenplay,
I’ll pay you back.”
“Sorry.
That came out wrong. It’s not about the money. Fuck the money. I want you to
have this experience. It’s not that at all. If I wouldn’t fit in, okay, then.”
“Maybe
we could plan a weekend for just us? Say next month?”
“We
could do that.” A month? Christ, I have
to wait a month to get her for a weekend? Fuck.
“Why
don’t you get on that? Text me a choice of two dates.”
“Clare,
texting doesn’t work for me.”
“You
know how to do it, right?”
“Of
course, I know how. That’s not what I meant, and you know it.” Patience wore
thin.
“Hey, no
need to get belligerent.”
“No need
to get belligerent? You’re relegating me to a text buddy? And you don’t think I
should object to that? I’m your husband, not some acquaintance.”
“We knew
this wasn’t going to be easy, Terry. Please don’t make it any harder than it
is.”
“Didn’t
you have fun when we Skype’d?”
Silence.
Then her voice, lower, more gentle than before. “Sure, I did. It was amazing. I could almost
feel you touch me.”
“Me,
too. So, let’s do it again.”
“I don’t
know. My roommate is here all the time. She’s a giant pain in the ass.”
“Then go
to a hotel. I’ll pay for it.”
“It’s
just not a good time.”
“Why?
Why isn’t it? It’s a great time for me. I love you, Clare. I miss you.”
“I know.
One month down and five to go.”
“It
seems like forever.”
“It’ll
pass before you know it. Look, I’ve gotta run. Get the stuff about our weekend
together and text it to me, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Love
you, Terry. Love you to bits.”
“Love
you, too.”
And then she was gone.
Terry headed for the
kitchen. There was an empty take-out food container on the counter. He heaved it against the wall. The noise woke Queenie who came
running in, barking.
Thanks for stopping by.
The poor guy. I feel his frustration. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but there's something odd about Clare's reaction to him offering to come and her comment about paying him back. Great post.
ReplyDeleteI really felt for him when his heart twisted. She's caught up in her own bliss and edging him out. Now he's madder than ever. What is he going to do?
ReplyDeleteUgh. I can shake that there is more going on than her being caught up in her new life. And when it’s over, can she really come back to her old life? I feel so bad for him. Great job!
ReplyDeleteYep. She's having an affair. Heifer.
ReplyDeleteAn affair is my vote too. She's sure not missing her hubby very much. If at all. I want to reach through the screen and smack her!
ReplyDelete