A birthday to forget?
Paul:
Would it happen again? I can’t bare it. If it does I’ll have to say something. But how? How can I control the anger that has built up for the last ten years? Ten years older. Another birthday. I want to marry her again. I will. I’ll ask her again. Then she’ll have to give in. She’ll have to forgive me, to forget. She’ll have to give me a present- or just a card. Heck, a card will do!!
Paul looked out through the restaurant window. Every year for the past twelve they’d visited ‘My shell’ restaurant. Perfect views of the crashing waves. Every year the weather was pleasant. You could walk off your dinner. Take in the sea air and buy a piece of rock from the shop around the corner. In the earlier years they’d walk barefoot on the sand and feed each other a piece of rock, sucking slowly, wondering who could make it last the longest and both wanting to come out champion. Maybe that’s how it started Elizabeth thought.
Elizabeth
Eleven years ago. Eleven years. Gosh, I’m good. I mean, I’m stubborn, but I’ll never forget. I’ll never forget the promise he’d made. Paul had forgotten my birthday first. My 21st! I mean, really, how? I honestly thought he’d been planning something- a secret surprise birthday party maybe? But, nope, nothing. Not even a card! A card? I mean, you don’t even need to put effort into buying a card do you? So, after I’d pointed out how unbelievably horrible and disgusting and selfish he’d been that’s when he promised. He said it. He made it a reality. He said we never have to celebrate his birthday ever again. We won’t. He’d said it. Fine, I agreed and that’s it. Every year since we still come down here but never mentioning ‘it’, you know, his birthday. I’m sure he expects me to crack. To give in. To give him something. To even acknowledge that he’s a year older. But I won’t, I can’t. It’s the principle. It hurt. Heck, it still does.
Elizabeth dried her hands in the incredibly powerful dyson hand dryer. She checked her hair and make-up one last time and walked out. The clouds appeared a darker grey outside and she felt a breeze against her neck from an open kitchen door.
‘I can’t cope. I can’t. It’s my birthday. My birthday and I want to marry you. Again. I want to marry you again… Let’s get married’. Elizabeth froze…..
Posted by keiths ramblings on January 29, 2010 at 9:45 am
I love a cliff hanger! I really like the way you’ve told the story from two angles. More please!
Posted by newtowritinggirl on January 29, 2010 at 1:06 pm
I like the twist of why she’d ‘forgotten’. I’m intrigued why she froze at the end. Can’t you carry it on a little??
Posted by roseyposey29 on January 30, 2010 at 8:01 am
Awhh, thank you- I thought somebody would ask for a bit more and if I’m completely honest the only reason i had to stop there was because my 5 month old woke up from her nap!! Otherwise I probably would have carried on to some kind of conclusion. If I have anymore time this week (perhaps tomorrow when my husband takes the little one out!) I may write some more!!
Posted by Annie on January 29, 2010 at 2:03 pm
Funny how communications can get so tangled that the original issues are forgotten…
visitors can see my entry here http://annieevett.blogspot.com/2010/01/forgytan.html
Posted by mia on January 29, 2010 at 7:51 pm
Ouch.. I have to make myself sure I will never do this kind of horrible mistake in a relationship. Really unbearable.. What I like best in this piece is how it reflects reality. With your words, I really can imagine this thing happens to me (hope not).