Turns out that whilst having a newborn is enough to stop me FFing, the internet going down is. I was in the dark ages for 48 hours, but now I’m back, folks! A literal interpretation this morning. My excuse is I’m too hungover (exhaustion not alcohol, I should add) from the Canada Day picnic & fireworks to be clever 😉
I welcome your honest feedback.
Jack watched the corners of Fiona’s mouth twitch. Fifteen years ago, she’d have smiled, made some understated quip, like ‘that’d be tough to explain’. They’d have laughed together for a few miles and enjoyed the journey all the more for the strange sight of three cars deliberately half-buried in a field.
But they weren’t kids anymore and Fiona wasn’t that Fiona.
“What a mess!” she scowled. “You’d think the council would have them take it down.”
“What, and deprive you of the chance to bitch about it?” Jack snapped, wondering not why he’d married her, but why he hadn’t left.
elmowrites 
Oh dear. I think the gloss has really gone off this relationship. Nicely done Jen. And I know how you feel – yesterday my internet went down for four hours. I was ready to call the police …
I couldn’t call the police – our phones were out too! – but I was not happy!
I think you’re right about the relationship, although I feel sorry for Fiona too. Sometimes I think I’m falling into the trap of too much cynicism too.
Once you lose the laughter………….
Good piece (yet again) Jennifer
🙂 Those brackets are delightful, thanks Mick
Ooohhhh we’ve al been there at one time or another – beautifully done!
Cheers SarCou, I hope these two can get it back.
She clearly doesn’t appreciate art. Actually though she may have a point!
Rosey Pinkerton’s blog
I’m not sure I appreciate art either, but I think her cynicism has gone further than that… and a bit too far for Jack.
Your literal interpretation is just fine – well done.
I’m trying to move away from them is all, but not this time, apparently.
Perhaps Jack misses the Fiona of old. And the change is bit hard to digest.
Here’s me Friday Fictioneers fiction
Absolutely he does. I wonder whether she does too.
Good work yet again, Jen. The road of life can change significantly depending on who we share it with.
All my best,
MG
The problem cmes when the person we share it with changes on us, I think.
How often do couples go down that road… the ones who succeed in getting past it, can flourish; too many use this as the jumping off point!
Well done!
I’m hopeful, like you, that Jack and Fiona might find a way to flourish again, but who knows?
Fingers crossed
When relationships go wrong everything we see looks bleak.
Too true
Dear Jen,
Forty-eight hours? I’d have been a basket case.
There’s so much feeling in your few words. I felt sad for both of them. Perhaps they’ll find what they’ve lost. Although not every story has a happy ending, does it? Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
I pretty much was a basket case! Sebastian wasn’t thrilled by the lack of tv / music videos either!
Thanks for the comment, I like happy endings but you’re right, they aren’t guaranteed. And for some people the happier ending might not be staying together anyway.
It is knowing when to finish something – such a shame they don’t like each other any more.
As Kenny Rogers would say, you’ve got to know when to walk away, and know when to run!
Oh dear! Far too many marriages end up like this – well observed.
Thank you!
Maybe when he starts to look for reasons, he’ll find out why her laughter is gone, and things can go better. Or maybe not. I find, as I get older, that I’m less willing to put up with things I tolerated or could laugh about when younger. On the other hand, I find many things funny that were high drama in my youth. Enough of the rambling, great story, as always.
He may not be entirely innocent, it’s true. Maybe they can find a way back or, more likely, a new happiness, if they both want to.
Brilliant contrast between the start and the end. The first line took me off on a different tangent, the end was diff.. Great one..
Thanks! That’s roughly how Jack feels too
Wow. That a was a great journey across a few fast miles and a long 15 years made within a 100 words or less. Great job.
Twisted up my innards real good. Bravo.
Randy
Glad you liked it, Randy.
What a poor, unhappy couple. Women marry men hoping they change and they don’t. Men marry women hoping they’ll stay the same and that doesn’t happen either.
Connie & I have been married 40 years & counting. We’ve both learn to adapt and keep laughing.
I have the laughing part down. Neither of my exes did.
Congratulations to you and Connie – and also well done, I’m sure successful relationships are as much the result of effort as luck. And a bit of laughter, for sure.
I am getting there…thx
Ah, that last line rings true to me (though I did, indeed, leave both times).
Sometimes it’s probably still the best option; staying trapped in misery isn’t the answer.
Life and the highway take their toll. Complex interaction between these two characters – lots going on. Well portrayed.
I hope they find their way back to each other. Time does temper the thrall, but it also means there’s time for rediscovery. Well done!