Good evening! So, twenty days of Nanowrimo have passed (if you're unfamiliar with that, it's an event where writers all over the world write 50.000 words for their novel in one month), and I'm stuck somewhere in the 8000. This is partly because I started a new project (more about that in a minute), because I've been a little busy but mostly because I'm lazy. Guess that book is not going to be published any time soon; but on the bright side, I'm so much more happy with how this rewrite is turning out that it's okay. It's going to take a lot more time than anticipated but hopefully it will be worth it when I one day hold my own book in my hands. I'm also posting a short story here, but it's got somewhat of a background. The story I posted previously inspired me to write something that resembles James Joyce's The Dubliners, I suppose; because I'm trying to write a series of short stories that are all connected, one way or another. I'm still toying with this idea and as long as I haven't figured it out exactly, I'll just keep posting them as short stories. But if you feel like you've come across something before; you probably have. With that said, here is the story that followed the previous one, simply named 'Sharon'. Sharon “Sharon, are you coming down for diner?” she called, for the second time. Her wife was in the office upstairs, working. On the one hand, she knew she should leave Sharon alone, as she hated being disturbed, but there was also a part of her that figured that if Sharon didn’t want to be disturbed, maybe she should start working at the same hour as Janet herself, rather than staying in bed until 10. Besides, nobody liked to heat up grilled chicken and fried potatoes. Eventually, she had been forced to take the chicken out of the oven; better to eat it cooled down than dry. She walked around the living room impatiently, cleaning up a bit when she finally heard footsteps coming down. “Smells lovely, I hope it tastes just as good. Let’s sit down, shall we?” Janet knew how to hide her annoyance and sat down at the table, wearing a smile as she carved the chicken. She gave Sharon the biggest piece, and gladly set her fork in her own. “It’s not really hot anymore, Janet. You should know now to keep it in the oven a bit longer.” Janet didn’t mention that it would have gone dry if it had been in the oven any longer. “So how was work today darling?” “Oh, it was alright, I guess. Dave was being am intolerant jerk, but there’s nothing new there, right? Oh, John came back to work today. I’m a bit worried about him though. He doesn’t look like he’s dealing with it so well. There are these bags under his eyes, you know?” Janet knew better than to ask Sharon about her work, and kept rambling about her own day instead. They’d been living together for three years now, and she still didn’t really know what Sharon did for a living. “Do remind me, what’s going on with John?” “Oh, his wife left him a few weeks ago. She never was right for him, I guess. So stuck up on the perfect image, while John is generally a very laid-back guy.” “A little too laid-back then, I guess.” “Perhaps. Anyway, his wife left him for another guy, leaving for the city two days before their wedding anniversary. He showed me a picture of her new lover that she sent him. Her new lover looks an awful lot like John. So distasteful.” “I bet he cheated on her too.” “No, you don’t know John like I do. He’s just the sweetest, always working extra hours because his wife dreamed of a bigger house.” “You should work some extra hours, Janet. Lord knows your sweet wife would love a bigger house. This office is just so small, I can hardly get anything done.” I’m sure that’s the only reason why your income keeps decreasing every month, rather than you not getting out of bed. “You know I try, Sharon. Stop pestering me about it.” “I’m just saying! Instead of coming home so early that the chicken is cold by the time I’m actually done with work, you could work a bit later too.” “I work six days a week Sharon, ten hours a day. Is that not enough for you?” “Apparently not, since I’m still busy by the time you let the chicken get cold.” “Perhaps that’s because I actually get up at a reasonable hour, whereas you only roll out of bed at ten, and start making waffles.” “Are you saying I’m not working hard enough, Janet?” “Yes, perhaps that is exactly what I’m saying. You never let me see anything you do, you won’t mention names, you’re always vague, and I’m not sure if you noticed, but your paycheck has been steadily decreasing for months. I know that I don’t have the highest pay check, but at least it’s paying the bills. I can’t even get the groceries with yours.” “You’re just mad because you have to get up early every morning. You and I both know that the work I do is much harder than yours.” “No, I don’t know that, Sharon. Because you never actually told me what you do for a living. Although you really can’t call it a living, I guess.” “What I do, Janet, is creative work. It is not a simple office job like you do. It’s very tiring and I have to be inspired in order to create something. We’ve been over this. You can’t keep pretending like you can compare your job to mine.” “Well, at least mine is paying the bills.”
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February 2017
About meWelcome to my blog! This is where I post my stories, occasionally accompanied by personal thoughts. I always post short stories, as I keep the longer ones for myself. My stories are often based on songs. I listen to music a lot (mostly pop punk / punk rock), and often get inspired by melodies, lyrics, or music videos. |