Prompt: Conversation with my spouse. | Word count: 1200 words | Genre: Women’s Fiction
I clasp the metallic armrest of the boardroom chair. A hard and uncomfortable chair in a hard and uncomfortable room. I am sitting on my side of the large, glass table. You are sitting on yours. It could have been dinner, but it wasn’t. Not even close.
The suits shuffle their papers and shift their positions, preparing for battle. Throats are cleared, water glasses filled. It is time. You lie back in your chair, steeple your fingers. I can’t look. I don’t want to see you. I dig through my handbag instead: keys, lipstick, gum, purse, coins, receipts. Nothing offers relief. My thoughts are disjointed, past and present create a confusing tableau, memories of the way we used to be. I want it to stop, but the memories are relentless.