Photo from: http://birdingforpleasure.blogspot.com
Writing prompt from: https://myjustsostory.blogspot.com/2018/10/words-for-wednesday_17.
The Bench
He'd wanted desperately to put his hands over his ears and yell and shout. To stop the torrent of words pouring out of her mouth, overflowing on to every tissue in his body. But he didn't. He was too conscious of how childish this would look, how demeaning and pathetic.
Instead, he left her standing in the kitchen in mid-flow. His wife of fifty one years now.
He tried to sort out the words she'd used, to put them in some kind of order and perspective.
She used the word narcissist, she called him a narcissist. He'd have to look that up, it sounded like he was a flower of some kind. No ponce he. No sirree.
Then she yelled "hopeless sociopath". Him. A retired detective. As if.
But the clincher was when she said it was time for them to go their separate ways. It was time for some happiness for herself after all those years of fearful living with a monster. Meaning him. Again, as if. He knew monsters, he'd put them behind bars.
She wanting to sell the house and share the proceeds. Give her freedom. Freedom from what?
When he was the best husband and father a woman could even dream of.
Now he'd go home, his home, and talk some sense into her.
He clearly has not heard a word she said, but has dismissed them all as not true or even possible. Typical. -Kate
ReplyDeletewould be interested to see her side of the story... well done!
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of a patient with a narcissistic husband who would tell her she should thank god for being given a husband like him!
ReplyDeleteI thought it was kind of sad. Sounded as though she was losing her mind and raging on. I felt like he was the type of man who wanted to keep the peace with her. So, he did not fight back with words. He is hoping that when he gets back home, she will have cooled down some and they can talk. Maybe I misinterpreted the whole story. In the picture of the man sitting on the bench, he looks crushed.
ReplyDeleteThis , too, is my first impression while reading.
DeleteOnce again , you paint with words such a picture in my mind, I can see it. The wife standing at the sink with a dishtowel in her hands.Him sitting , with hands surrounding his cup of coffee,cloth covered kitchen table. Sugar and creamer in the center. Thanks again. I do enjoy these short , very thought provoking stories.
I also wondered what his next step would be. Comforting , soothing the mind that his wife is losing . Alzheimers perhaps.
DeleteExcellent story - so much said so briefly. I'm wandering back to blogland so look forward to catching up with you.
ReplyDeleteExcellent! Quiet desperation (fifty one years of it?) finally exploding.
ReplyDeleteThis is brilliant. And scary. I worry for his wife. Thank you so much for joining us.
ReplyDeleteThis is excellent and a little scary. I worry for both of them and hope things can be worked out.
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining in.
Thanks for all the comments. I love how stories can be interpreted in so many ways. And I love picture prompts, sets my imagination on fire!
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A man with a startling lack of self-awareness. And there are plenty more out there. Wonderful when the woman decides she can't take any more and she's off.
ReplyDeleteNick you won't be surprised when I tell you this is based on true story told me by the woman's daughterinlaw. My friend was told just before she married her son to run like hell as he was just like his father - a complete narcissist. She didn't listen and her marriage was hell too until she bailed.
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My first instinct was to feel sorry for the brow beaten husband. I guess there are 2 sides to the story.
ReplyDeleteExactly Gigi and so many are unaware of their own failings and behaviours.
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Brilliant ending!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ramana!
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It's quite fascinating the differing viewpoints of your readers, how each forms an opinion as to the guilty party. For some it's the man - the 'monster', for others the woman, whether due to illness (Alzheimers), or simple vindictiveness. It was cleverly written. My immediate response was to find the man at fault, but on reflection it could equally have been the woman. Either way, the style of writing was brilliant. I loved it.
ReplyDeleteThank you RJA.
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You can throw any insult at anyone. Doesn't make it true.
ReplyDeleteMy interpretation is that the wife has lost it, whatever "it" constitutes. I can think of at least two examples, personally known to me, where a husband is the "victim" of his love for, and loyalty to, an arch manipulator and one lost soul. I don't buy into the folklore of the men/monster - woman/victim myth. A relationship's dynamics often far murkier than the surface suggests.
Not so much an after as a thought: She might be utterly disenchanted with HERSELF. Enter the nearest punchbag.
U
I love all the interpretations here U, delighted actually.
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Great idea for a writing prompt, WWW - and so well done by you - I'd expect no less. :)
ReplyDeleteThe feeling I get is that if he's really so bad, how the heck did she stick it for 51 years? If they married in their early 20s they are both in their 70s now, possibly spending more time together than ever before. My guess is that there are faults on both sides, but neither party is willing to acknowledge this.
Financial dependence can be a cruel thing T. I've seen a lot of it in my time. And Women's shelters are temporary, where does a desperate woman go from there with no skills and no income? Often the only hope is liquidation of assets.
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Clearly there have been long-standing unresolved communication problems. Had she repressed, or had she tried to talk with him before? I wondered if he was passive-aggressive, if she had tried to talk with him unsuccessfully previously and she reached this volcanic state in frustration. In his mind her explosive behavior would be unreasonable confirming his being right.
DeleteI read later your account of the relationship on which the story was based. Guess my idea is compatible.
And many women are afraid to speak up. I can see how the story can be taken either way which pleases me no end :)
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