“Oh, do you have to ask?”
“Please…”
“Well, no more than I have to.”
“What?”
“Well, you see, this marriage has gone on for a long time, right?”
“And, what?”
“And, well, it is now something much more comfortable than just love and romance.”
“Comfortable?”
“Yes, like an old blanket, you see.”
“So, you don’t love me?”
“No more than…”
“Yes, yes, yes… I heard.”
“Good.”
“And there is no one else?”
“No one else what?”
“No one else that you are interested in?”
“Dear… As I just explained, this is what is now comfortable for me.”
“But why is it…?”
“And why would I make myself uncomfortable?”
“A new blanket, yes?”
“Yes, I don’t want that. Oh, dear. The time.”
“And I am the one who you think you will come back to if you decide to get uncomfortable?”
“Too late for a stop… What are you talking about?”
“If you did cheat, you would still be back here…?”
“Did I not say that there is nothing going on?”
“Yes, you did.”
“And that this is what I want?”
“Comfortable…”
“Very silly… Oh, and I better get going with things…”
“Another late night?”
“Another office night. You know that.”
“Of course. Just the cliché of it that bothers me.”
“What cliché is that?”
“Oh, the one about the office and the husband working late when he actually has someone else on the side.”
“Ahh… That I did not think about.”
“So, back later than usual.”
“Perhaps… Call me on my cell to check on me.”
“Oh, I will. So much that we should still be talking about.”
“Ahh… Another cliché.”
“And take care.”
“Always do. Will you?”
“What else can I do?”
“I will be back soon.”
“You have to be now.”
“Dear…”
“Yes, yes, I know… So much on my mind tonight.”
“A difficult thing that you are making harder…”
“Okay, go.”
“I shall. In two hours.”
“Or more.”
“Good night.”
“Good to you, too.”
Writer/Reader/Poet/Dreamer... Kendall is a college instructor, experimenter with the written word, and someone who thinks that books are worth saving. (Also: librarians and snail mail—damn you, Canada Post and certain school boards!) I just hope that someone gets a laugh and enjoys my work...
