Day One
She had decided to stay.
It had been touch and go for weeks now. Pros and cons. Lists. Packing and unpacking. Restless nights. Exhausted days. Nothing was getting done. Everything was stacking up.
All a result of indecision. Procratination? Sometimes, perhaps.
It took time to weigh the devil you knew with the devil that’s new.
Then there were vows. In a world where promises were lyrics to unfinished songs, she decided she wanted a masterpiece. She would never have one if she gave up.
“Oh there are other songs to sing,” her friends would say. “Other fish in the sea, easier to swim with.”
But were there really? Weren’t they all just imperfect fish, each with individual foibles and assets. When she put her mind to it, focusing on the strengths rather than the shortcomings, he was worth the effort.
Wasn’t something more precious if one worked for it?
Not to mention that looking at things truthfully, she could do better. If she expected him to, then she must be willing to work at this, too.
She stayed up late into the night making peanut brittle, his favorite. He never asked for it anymore.
Peanut brittle was the handsel she’d sent him off to work with this morning.
She could already feel the difference that came from being resolute and determined.
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From the prompt, Day One from Monthly Prompts, January 2019 http://www.writerswrite.co.za and Mirriam Webster’s word of the day: handsel
Carolyn Dekat 