Add or Subtract
The next day I felt sluggish. I hadn’t slept well, mostly
because of my bloated stomach.
I downed a mug of coffee on my way to work, and drank
another after I signed onto my computer.
I poured myself a third, knowing coffee growers in Brazil depended on
me.
An hour into my day I was wide awake, and keenly aware of
how crappy I felt. The coffee had done nothing to settle my stomach.
“I need to subtract
the big meals, not add more caffeine,” I said to my laptop.
I thought of a couple who really didn’t belong together. Instead of subtracting each other from their
lives, they added hobbies, thinking a little time apart my help their marriage.
He bought woodworking tools, and built himself a comfortable
stool. Next he hung a TV over his workbench so he could watch DIY shows in the
garage. He lost the tips of two fingers
on his table saw.
She took up cooking, discovering with the right recipe, and
wine and Xanax, cooking could be fun. I met them after she got a DUI on her way
home from the grocery store.
Adding more coffee hadn’t helped me. Adding hobbies hadn’t
helped them. Sometimes subtraction is
the answer.
Today I won’t add when I need to subtract.
Summer with the Slug
Rats © 2020 by Ken Montrose
Summer with the Slug
Rats is a work of fiction. Any similarity between the characters and anyone
you might know is purely coincidental.
Other works
by Ken Montrose are available at:
No comments:
Post a Comment