Settled, Unsettled
The atmosphere had been charged all day so when the storm started neither of them was surprised. The husband settled in to read; the wife paced the room unsettled.
“What if,” she said, then paused at the window, watching the rain lash against the panes.
“Hmmn?” He responded, bookmarking his place with a finger to listen.
“What if,” she continued, contemplating the unleashing storm, “we got a divorce?”
“Are you angry, disappointed, frustrated, sad, or joking?” he asked in reply.
She turned to then contemplate him. “Does it matter?”
“Whatever you want,” he said, and returned to reading his book.
Melissa Ridley Elmes
Melissa is a Virginia native currently living in Missouri in an apartment that delightfully approximates a hobbit-hole. Her poetry and fiction have appeared in Reunion; The Dallas Review Online, Eye to the Telescope, Star*Line, Gyroscope, In Parentheses, and other print and web venues, and her first book of poetry, Arthurian Things: A Collection of Poems, was published by Dark Myth Publications in 2020. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @MRidleyElmes
Please support the site by purchasing one of my books on Amazon. Check out Quitting The Grave, a murder mystery set on the Oregon Trail. Plus, don't forget my other books: They Both Loved Vonnegut, Ahab's Adventures in Wonderland, and Picasso Painted Dinosaurs.