"You thought I forgot, didn't you? You thought I blew off all of our dreams, our hopes, our plans. I know I made promises, and I intended to keep them. I really did. I wanted more for us. I wanted everything. We were going to travel and see the world. Discover new cultures and meet exciting people. Speak French in Parisian cafes and drink Chianti in Italy. Wear designer clothes and drive Porsches to our high powered jobs. We were going to live the Sheila E. Glamorous Life.
And then when we tired of all that jetsetting, we'd settle down and have a family. Live on a farm....near the beach....with horses and dogs. There would be a studio in the loft for us to do our artwork. We'd shop at the general store and walk our kids to school. We'd sell our art and have the love that was always promised to us in storybooks......
I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I never meant for things to turn out like this."
She felt tears rise and a sob choke in her throat. All those dreams...gone...she stared at the picture and wiped a tear from her eye before it dropped onto the beautiful smiling face in the image.
She heard the door bang shut. He was standing behind her. She could smell the whiskey on his breath and the cigarette smoke on his clothes.
"Where'd that picture come from? I never seen that one." He was drunk again. She could tell. He lost his grammar when he was drunk.
"Art school. We went to the beach to take photos," she replied.
He stared intently over her shoulder at the photo. "I forgot you even went to art school," he slurred, "Damn, girl. You were one hot little chick back then. Girl in that picture doesn't even look like you," he laughed and smacked her ass. He thought he was being funny.
"I know," she said quietly, "I was just thinking the same thing. I don't resemble her at all anymore." He didn't hear her. He had already turned on the television.
She slipped the photo of her young happy self back into its hiding place and went to the kitchen to start dinner.
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31 comments:
It's never too late.
Or so they tell me.
Tatyana
You could eat the despair with a spoon.
Tatyanna - this is fiction! Maybe she'll realize it's not too late...ya never know...maybe I'll write more about her in the next Flash Fiction entry.
YNH - just the look I was going for.
Anonymous asshole - I delete all spam immediately. Fuck you and your ceiling fans, and all your little friends too.
heartbreaking... very good
Terrific! I especially like the part where he smacked her ass.
As much as I liked it, it was probably your most depressing tale.
By the way, I see you are a Virgo, which means it's your birthday soon. Do you want us all to chip in and buy you a ceiling fan so that spammer will leave you alone already.
Ooooh that was bad. As in, good. Wowsa. Food for thought. Write on!
Great story, Brooke! It's sad to think that some people are actually living that kind of dispair.
Do you think sad situations like that are more common that happy endings?
Just curious.
It seems so hard to find a happy ending anymore.
Very good writing Brooke! It's interesting how in this story, married life is equated with regret. It doesn't have to be that way (thank goodness!) I always promised myself I would never settle for a boring life. I have a feeling you are the same way! We'll never end up like the protagonist of this fiction! This story reminds me to always be going in the direction of my dreams--no stagnation!
i enjoyed that story a lot. you have an excellent writing pace (if thats what you call it) i can't wait for the sequel :)
you spoil us brooke.
very, very well done.
Good work, SMG. That's what happens when you give up on your dreams. Nice imagery.
Will you come to my site and take on the spammers too? You are a badass and I love it!
I love your writing. Both your formal and more informal writing carries a unique style. Thanks for sharing it with us!
Brooke, no fair making me cry. I'm going to make coffee now.
P.S. Cool blog!
Check out my site at designerwidgets.blogspot.com. It's full of useless crap you don't need!
I agree with 'cannot be trusted.' Since when is a job as important as blogging? Where are your priorites?
You must have time for at least posting one letter a day. And I mean one letter. Like "H" "E" "L" "L" "O". That could be your 5 day weekly posts. Is that so hard?
Just a few more days of nothing at this site and I'm just quitting blogging altogether and becoming a Tibetan monk.
Great writing as usual there Booke. You must write a short story. I think the one about your old house would be great!
WBB
PS New post by WBB from beyond the grave at driverchris if you're interested.
I enjoyed this. You know, sometimes, even in a good marriage to a great guy with great kids, one can look back and wonder if all was done that could have been done. It seems as life moves on and gets busier, how will I ever accomplish all that I would have loved to do? Ah, to find contentment in the here and now . . . Talk to you another time.
Beautifully depressing.I read this post and inhaled a half gallon of ice cream or at least that was the excuse I used to inhale the half gallon of ice cream.
Love the "lost the grammar when he was drunk" detail.
It's great. It sounds in reality, which is what makes it so sad.
Nice work amiga.
Things do just slip quietly away don't they? You've beautifully captured that sense of realisation that comes to many people once they've fallen so far and they look back to their days of dreaming. Even if it's not as serious as this, I think there's a poignancy in this story that many people above a certain... level of experience can relate to. Thanks for an excellent read.
Nice story, Brooke.
I like how she was talking to her younger self.
Ever read ONE by Richard Bach?
Very poignant story and gives a lot to think about.
That was fantastic Brooke. You are seriously my idol right now. To write something that powerful and brief. I have trouble with brevity. It's one of my "improvement opportunity" areas. I'd explain that in more detail but then I'd blow my opportunity. :D
Thanks all of you! Such kind words for such a depressing story. I'd write a comment to each of you but I can barely keep my eyes open. It's a school night after all!
Marel said it all for me :).
I see you're being attacked...Good GAWD I cant stand anonymous posters.
Be sure to get some fantastical sleep :).
Brooke,
Great story! Good thing I didn't read it after a glass or two of wine! I wouldn't have been able to recover
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