with the release of my newest book Black Car i wanted to offer another sample for those that may be interested. it’s a dark thriller about love, loss, and looking too deeply into the dark. it’s available on Amazon.com.
“And, and, and…” Hanna asked, poking him in the stomach as she did.
“And I LOVE you, sheesh.” Henry responded, shaking his head.
“NO, dummy, AND…I am going to clean out that spare room so…” She started to say, teasing but regretting the sort-of-a-joke joke as soon as she’d said it.
“This. Again? Fuck. Stop. OK? I told you, that’s my office. Mine. It’s the one place I can do what I need to do. If you need space to craft or scrapbook or whatever then, I dunno, we’ll figure it out. I can clean out a room in the basement I guess?” Shrugging as he pulled his jacket on.
The morning wake-up sex glow was suddenly gone, replaced by a deepening scowl that made the fuzziness fade.
“Uh, well, first, I was joking. JOKE? Ha, ha? I know that’s your office, though I have no fucking idea what you do in there, but I know it. Believe me, you’ve told me enough times. I get it. Second, we talked about that room when we got the house. I wanted to keep it available in case…well, anyway, if my sister wants to come stay for a few days I don’t want to tell her – sure thing, we have a swell basement just waiting for you. I mean, have you been DOWN there lately? Have you?” She was trying to keep her anger tamped down, but his shrug just added more fuel to it.
“No. I need to get down there and clean things up. I’m sorry, OK? I mean, you know I have been working a lot. I am trying to get some things paid off and then I can take care of some stuff around the house. I can…*sighs* I can clear out the office, OK? Not right now, but I dunno, soon? Make it a, uh, a proper bedroom or something.” Another shrug and with it the fallen shoulders she’d come to know well.
Her perpetually defeated husband.
The man of her dreams.
Seeing him defeated took away the fire that had been starting in her and took.
The same thing that had happened a hundred, no, a thousand times before whenever they argued or even bickered. His default, no matter how impassioned he was at first, was to slump his shoulder, apologize, and give up.
She wasn’t sure if he did it intentionally anymore or it was just part of a game.
She wasn’t sure and worse; she wasn’t sure she had it in her to care anymore.
She loved Henry, fiercely, but what had started with a deep fascination, had become an infatuation, then a lustful need, and over time it had just become…this.
This habit they both had that they called a marriage.
He was just Henry.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Just Henry.
A man that had had a head full of hope and dreams, but which had never come to fruition and with each failure or setback his shoulders seemed to slump more and more and more.
And now he was just Henry.
“It’s fine. Forget about it. Just…have a good day.” She said, not even looking at him as she signed and then kissed him on the cheek.
“Yeah. Sure.” And he grabbed the black bottle he always had filled with water and shrugged and unlocked the front door, opened it, looked back once, then left, closing it gently as he did.
And he was gone.
He was gone.
The Spooky World of Chris Ringler 