watch out for bad luck he never leaves
An hour or so before the mountains break the sun's rays and the hills become coves for missing-person sites and a weary sense of danger to all its scarce inhabitants. When night falls it seemed to bring an imbalance to both humans and creatures, a sort of fearful and anticipating wait. The kind of wait where you scratch your living corpse with your finger nails, sweaty and nervous, as if for re-assurance that you're living.
.
"You can't catch a fuckin' break in this town.."
"What are you doing?"
Steve grasped the rake handle a little tighter, "What does it look like I'm doing woman?"
"Don't you think you're working yourself a little hard right now? Doc just called, you know he wants you to take it easy a little longer."
"Yeah, and I have you to remind me every day." The leaves stopped bustling for a hesitant moment. Steve thought agitatedly for a second about how the sound might deafen his wife's senses to comprehend why he was doing what he was. It angered him. "Woman I can't just let these leaves pile up. You know what that does to me. I can't sleep."
"Enough, come on. You're being ridiculous." She seemed to get this strange burst of confidence in her voice when she thought no one could see her talking. "Even if there was someone walkin' around out there, wouldn't you rather hear their footsteps?"
Steve looked at his wife, pained at the question. He thought she knew the answer.
"Get inside and check on the kids," he called to her as if their eyes met farther apart than the few feet of distance that lay between them. "They're watching TV and it's practically 8 o'clock. I can see the fuckin' house glaring from here. I need to finish this work woman. Grab me a bag while we still got light."
More hesitation. That anticipating feeling started to chill the earth. The wind washed away all the signs of his work. His wife stared at the leaves, almost victoriously, pushing between her shoes, scattered once again, as if crawling back to their initial spots, perturbed by the disturbance.
"Come on now." She turned.
Steve waited a few moments before throwing the rake down. He heard a noise from the house. His chest jolted and he froze; the kids were in the house by themselves during that second that lasted an eternity he had just spent with the woman he had been with for 13 years, loyally. Maybe it had felt like a lifetime to them too.
.
"You can't catch a fuckin' break in this town.."
"What are you doing?"
Steve grasped the rake handle a little tighter, "What does it look like I'm doing woman?"
"Don't you think you're working yourself a little hard right now? Doc just called, you know he wants you to take it easy a little longer."
"Yeah, and I have you to remind me every day." The leaves stopped bustling for a hesitant moment. Steve thought agitatedly for a second about how the sound might deafen his wife's senses to comprehend why he was doing what he was. It angered him. "Woman I can't just let these leaves pile up. You know what that does to me. I can't sleep."
"Enough, come on. You're being ridiculous." She seemed to get this strange burst of confidence in her voice when she thought no one could see her talking. "Even if there was someone walkin' around out there, wouldn't you rather hear their footsteps?"
Steve looked at his wife, pained at the question. He thought she knew the answer.
"Get inside and check on the kids," he called to her as if their eyes met farther apart than the few feet of distance that lay between them. "They're watching TV and it's practically 8 o'clock. I can see the fuckin' house glaring from here. I need to finish this work woman. Grab me a bag while we still got light."
More hesitation. That anticipating feeling started to chill the earth. The wind washed away all the signs of his work. His wife stared at the leaves, almost victoriously, pushing between her shoes, scattered once again, as if crawling back to their initial spots, perturbed by the disturbance.
"Come on now." She turned.
Steve waited a few moments before throwing the rake down. He heard a noise from the house. His chest jolted and he froze; the kids were in the house by themselves during that second that lasted an eternity he had just spent with the woman he had been with for 13 years, loyally. Maybe it had felt like a lifetime to them too.