LJ Idol: Week 6: Step on a crack
Apr. 21st, 2014 05:32 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
flipflop_divaIt’s the first present they open after they are officially married. It’s been two weeks and she feels like the honeymoon will never end, like the joy on her face will never disappear.
She loves him more now than she did even just two weeks ago, and two weeks ago she thought she could never love him more.
She pulls the two crystal goblets from the fluffy white sheets of paper protecting them and shows them to him with a smile on her face. He agrees they are perfect — just like her, he says — and she puts them on display in the glass cabinet where everyone who comes to visit can see them.
•••
They’re the first items she dusts, but it’s been a while since she has. But she’s at home and he’s at the office, and she’s running out of other things to do. It’s another night of dinner for one and talking to herself and wishing he were here, but he’s doing it for them and for the future they’ve always imagined and she can’t be selfish enough to tell him to not do that.
Because even when she worries that the conversations are becoming less and the fighting is becoming worse and the touches are becoming more infrequent and the sex is becoming rougher and the light in his eyes is growing dimmer, she knows it’s all in her head because her friends and his co-workers and all the other people they have met over the years have always told her how lucky she is and how perfect they are, and she knows that so many people can’t be wrong.
So she picks up the dust rag and opens the cabinet and frowns at what she sees, because she’s sure the tiny little crack in the goblet on the left wasn’t there the last time she checked.
She pulls it out and slides the tip of her finger over the otherwise perfect glass and decides the defect is nothing to worry about. But when she places the goblet back into the cabinet, she positions it in such a way that the crack can’t be seen by anyone else, and goes back to her dusting.
•••
It’s the first thing she thinks about when her friends convince her she has reason to celebrate. They’ve been trying for almost ten months, and she’s two weeks late and everything hurts and her friends say that’s all the proof she needs, so she pulls out the crystal goblets because she thinks a romantic dinner is the best way to tell him the very best news.
But her brows furrow when the harsh light of the room reflects off the smooth surfaces of the crystal goblets, because each one has cracks she has never seen before.
She wonders how long they have been there, but she decides it doesn’t matter. She places them on the table and fills them with liquid, and they both still stand, tall and proud.
A few hours later she finds liquid on the table instead of in the glasses and she realizes the cracks were worse than she thought.
It doesn’t matter anyway, though, because he never came home and the test turned negative and dinner was burned, so she puts the goblets back in their cabinet because at least they are still pretty to look at.
•••
It’s the first time she’s opened the cabinet in months. But the silk panties she just pulled out of the pocket of his coat are definitely not hers and she needs something to remind her of their past and the way things used to be.
She bends down and reaches for the goblets, but her hands don’t quite make contact before she sees what she has never wanted to see.
Prominent lines are running in every direction through both crystal goblets, from tip to step and around the middle, and she immediately feels guilt. Maybe she should have taken better care of them, maybe she should have protected them more …
She lifts one of the glasses by its stem and places it carefully in her palm. The cracks stare up at her, mocking her, and she has only one option.
She presses a finger to the crack and pushes.
It takes a few seconds, but then it happens. The goblet finally shatters in her hand.
The above is all fiction and semi-related to Week 4: "Nobody can ride your back if your back's not bent", though it's not needed to read one to understand the other.
She loves him more now than she did even just two weeks ago, and two weeks ago she thought she could never love him more.
She pulls the two crystal goblets from the fluffy white sheets of paper protecting them and shows them to him with a smile on her face. He agrees they are perfect — just like her, he says — and she puts them on display in the glass cabinet where everyone who comes to visit can see them.
•••
They’re the first items she dusts, but it’s been a while since she has. But she’s at home and he’s at the office, and she’s running out of other things to do. It’s another night of dinner for one and talking to herself and wishing he were here, but he’s doing it for them and for the future they’ve always imagined and she can’t be selfish enough to tell him to not do that.
Because even when she worries that the conversations are becoming less and the fighting is becoming worse and the touches are becoming more infrequent and the sex is becoming rougher and the light in his eyes is growing dimmer, she knows it’s all in her head because her friends and his co-workers and all the other people they have met over the years have always told her how lucky she is and how perfect they are, and she knows that so many people can’t be wrong.
So she picks up the dust rag and opens the cabinet and frowns at what she sees, because she’s sure the tiny little crack in the goblet on the left wasn’t there the last time she checked.
She pulls it out and slides the tip of her finger over the otherwise perfect glass and decides the defect is nothing to worry about. But when she places the goblet back into the cabinet, she positions it in such a way that the crack can’t be seen by anyone else, and goes back to her dusting.
•••
It’s the first thing she thinks about when her friends convince her she has reason to celebrate. They’ve been trying for almost ten months, and she’s two weeks late and everything hurts and her friends say that’s all the proof she needs, so she pulls out the crystal goblets because she thinks a romantic dinner is the best way to tell him the very best news.
But her brows furrow when the harsh light of the room reflects off the smooth surfaces of the crystal goblets, because each one has cracks she has never seen before.
She wonders how long they have been there, but she decides it doesn’t matter. She places them on the table and fills them with liquid, and they both still stand, tall and proud.
A few hours later she finds liquid on the table instead of in the glasses and she realizes the cracks were worse than she thought.
It doesn’t matter anyway, though, because he never came home and the test turned negative and dinner was burned, so she puts the goblets back in their cabinet because at least they are still pretty to look at.
•••
It’s the first time she’s opened the cabinet in months. But the silk panties she just pulled out of the pocket of his coat are definitely not hers and she needs something to remind her of their past and the way things used to be.
She bends down and reaches for the goblets, but her hands don’t quite make contact before she sees what she has never wanted to see.
Prominent lines are running in every direction through both crystal goblets, from tip to step and around the middle, and she immediately feels guilt. Maybe she should have taken better care of them, maybe she should have protected them more …
She lifts one of the glasses by its stem and places it carefully in her palm. The cracks stare up at her, mocking her, and she has only one option.
She presses a finger to the crack and pushes.
It takes a few seconds, but then it happens. The goblet finally shatters in her hand.
The above is all fiction and semi-related to Week 4: "Nobody can ride your back if your back's not bent", though it's not needed to read one to understand the other.
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Date: 2014-04-24 08:57 am (UTC)This hit me like a punch to the stomach. Denial. We're all so full of crap sometimes...
Oh, and that last sentence was super-cathartic.
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Date: 2014-04-28 07:16 pm (UTC)I love it. Thank you.