Taking A Licking

Life with an alcoholic.

The dying light of day pooled into the harsh and angled lines of his sleeping face. Snoring loudly, mouth slack, head thrown back in drunken slumber she realized how much of a stranger he'd become. Yeah, liquor was giving him a licking. Kicking the s**t out of the man he used to be. The stubble on his face had become a permanent fixture. She suddenly realized she couldn't recall the last time she had seen him clean shaven. He gasped softly and she watched his Adam's apple move up and down, undulating beneath the reddened and weathered skin of his neck.

 

Outside, the wood doves were beginning to coo. The living-room, draped in shadows, seemed suddenly lonely and unfamiliar. She glanced at the clock and was surprised to see it was already 7 pm. She used to love the sounds of wood doves announcing the approach of night, now they only represented another empty and meaningless evening. She walked into the kitchen and put away her groceries, then washed her hands to prepare dinner.

 

When supper was ready she went back to the living-room and announced, "time to eat Mike!" After waiting a couple of minutes she repeated herself then returned to the small, pristine kitchen and sat down at a table set for one. It was always the same.

 

When she finally went to bed, after eating, doing the dishes and a couple of loads of laundry, she heard him stumbling about the darkened kitchen, clanking pots and dropping spoons and occasionally swearing at the cat winding itself around his legs, as cats are prone to do. Much later she felt the bed sag as he crawled in beside her. Listening to his loud staccato snoring and inhaling the familiar repugnant odour of alcohol emanating from his wide-open mouth she thought, yeah the liquor is licking the loving s**t outta him, then, rolling over, she fell into a shallow, dreamless sleep.

Reviews

[Woody]

wonderful description and choice of vocabulary. you're very good at painting a scene, too. it's so well done that a picture pops into the reader's mind with astonishing clarity.
a solid little story (or scene), felioness.

[felioness]

Thank you! I am flattered and encouraged by your review!

[RileyRedding]

Your choices of words are so deliberate, and eloquent.
I very much enjoyed this momentary glance into a transgressive world of your design.

[felioness]

Thank you so much for the read and encouraging words!