Quiet Desperation

Some relationships burn out others fade away.

 

The passion had gone out of the argument several hours ago. Salty tear trails crusted white along the sides of her nose. A dent in the wall above a dried up coffee stain testified to a long forgotten moment of fury. Shards from the coffee cup lay scattered on the floor. The storming accusations and furious demonstrations left them drained. In a more civilized dispute, the parties would call a truce, collect their wounded, eat a bit and rest up for the next clash.

"I can't believe how insensitive you are," she accused. It was an easy lob that he avoided with a stony look. She slumped back, pleased to have scored a point without having to expend anymore energy. Why can't he see how his behavior makes her feel? Is it so much to ask that a woman feel loved by her husband?

He tried to keep his breathing under control while he applied logic to the situation. There was no way for him to know what she had planned for the weekend. She told him last week when he was making plans that she wanted him to fix the garden fence. Instead she had to ridicule him, his friends and the whole idea of a kayak weekend. With all the bitching he put up with, it was no wonder he wanted so desperately to get out of the house. Sure, there was a time when he could spend days on end just holding her, sitting on the couch watching old movies and sipping Sambuca. Fat chance of that happening now. The minute he tried to relax she would be on him with some chore or a harangue about money. He looked at his watch. He needed to wrap this up if expected to have time to get his gear in order and get a decent night's sleep before escaping to the sea.

 

"You don't pay any attention to what I want," she insisted. Why didn't he care anymore? She used to love the silly stories he would tell just to see if he could shock her. Now all he cared about was his stupid kayak. He even spent $200 dollars on a life vest, for crying out loud. $200 dollars that he kept hidden from her like it was a gift for a mistress. Maybe it was. She hadn't been invited to meet his friends for over a year. How did she know that one of them wasn't some pert young thing leading him away?

 

"That's because you never make any sense!" He pushed himself up on unsteady feet and headed to the bathroom.

"You can't say something like that and just leave, Mister!" She followed after him arriving at the bathroom door in time to crash into him returning triumphantly with a package of toilet paper. The plastic cover was neatly cut open and two rolls had been removed.

"Amazing," she said, recovering her balance. "I didn't think you even knew where those were. You never put a new roll on."

He attempted to shut her up with a wave of one hand while he read the wrapper. When he found the information he wanted, he pulled a cell phone from his pocket and dialed a number.

"Who are you calling!" she demanded. He tossed her the plastic wrapper and waved for quiet while he navigated a long series of recorded options. A 1-800 number drew her attention. The caption said, "For any questions about our product."

"Yes, hello. I have a question." He shuffled the phone to his left hand and grabbed at the wrapper to read the brand name to the operator. "You can help save my marriage, if you can settle an argument for me." He listened for a moment, then answered, "Yes, I'm serious. It's about the flap at the end of the roll. Does it go over the top or underneath?" There was a chuckle on the line loud enough for her to hear.

"Stop being silly," she admonished him.

He cut her off to get the official answer. "Is that so? Well, it is around here, let me tell you." He hung up the phone and looked at his wife. She smiled at the silliness of it all. That was the man she had fell in love with all those years ago. Maybe everything would be all right after all.

He looked at the phone satisfied. "She said it doesn't matter," he said winding up his thesis. Now he could demolish her and her picky little rules. The toilet paper lady was on his side on this. The only reasonable side, he thought. "That's what I've been saying..." just then he caught the smile. It was unbelievable. She was going to let him off the hook. All he had to do now was shut up and the fight would wind down.

"You know all I want is for us to be happy together," she said. She leaned towards him and pulled out a length of toilet paper to wipe her eyes and blow her nose.

A part of him wanted to finish his point, make her see how wrong she was, but more than that, he wanted to get some sleep. "Of course, dear," he said as sincerely as he could manage.

"I love you."

"Me too." He wrapped his arms around her and reflexively stroked her hair. "Listen, I'm gonna camp out tonight so I can get an early start tomorrow. I'll see you Sunday night, OK?"

A brief fire flared in her eyes, but she was tired too. "Sure, see you Sunday."

 

Reviews

[Ankhesen Mié]

This was hilarious. Great write. The TP part really did it for me.

[Aspiring Angel]

As much as we might not like you charachters the characters are we. LOL a marriage can easily go stale, especially one of many years, and squabbles such as this one become common place. Sometimes it is a good thing to put yourseves through such a thing, just to be sure you are still alive and kicking. I enjoyed my visit with you.

Blessings,
Lesa

[Skye]

I liked the storyline; a blatant reminder never to sweat the little things.

[Rebecca Rogers]

Guys... they never change. haha

I like this story! I would separate it into better paragraphs though. It was kind of hard to read all blobbed together.

[GenMuffin7]

i liked the story itself a lot, but disliked both the characters and the ending made me sad :(

drew me in though :) keep it up