Wine and Games

Red is so sweet. I want nothing more than to drown in her. White is so innocent, I want to douse him in the savory deliciousness of Red and drink them both until I part ways with my body… I watch her, sitting across from him at the dinner table. “Darling, wouldn’t you say the news is rather disappointing lately? No murders, no scampering rats poisoning our streets with crime? It’s rather boring and you know how dangerous boring really can be.” He looks up from his newspaper, just long enough to acknowledge her. I know what he’s thinking. I’ve loved him. Adored him. The only thing good a child has in this wretched mansion is the love of her father. He’s been a good parent, and an even better mentor. I admire his tolerance to that thing across from him. I look so much like her, but am nothing like it on the inside. No, she flourishes in the plasticity of her body, everything about her is fake. How he came to love her is beyond my comprehension. She’s tried to end his existence so many times and yet he drinks her poison like it’s the well of life. I will never be her. She is not my mother. She…is a monster. And tonight, this monster will finally succeed in her goal. They say children know a good person from a bad one, but they never say that she will hate her own mother and become her in less than a decade. Cadence I wake up with a headache. I knew I had too much to drink and yet I still decided to throw a few more back for the sake of it. I never knew I was such a light weight. I go to sit up, and smack my head on the top of my bed. I forgot I was on the boat. The boat. Wait. I look to my side and see her laying next to me. What did I do last night? I jump out of bed and smack my head on the ceiling. I knew it. No. There’s no way I actually slept with that poor excuse for a woman. I couldn’t have. I throw my pants on, and rush myself out of the boat, on to the dock. Where are my keys? Finding them after checking every pocket, I run to the truck and start her up. Realizing what time it is, I know I don’t have the luxury to change. Welp, I guess I’m going to the office like this. The drive isn’t long, and I barely make it through the first part of work, counting the minutes until I can swing down to the cafe and grab some good ol’ liquid energy. By the time I get down there, I’m starving and about ready to crash. I’m busy with this story I’m trying to figure out. It’s about a woman. A scandalous woman and her many marriages. It wouldn’t be such a scandal, or any different than a classic Hollywood attention attempt from celebrities, besides the fact that she’s only 21 and has had 9 marriages, all whom have had oddly natural occurring deaths within six months of the marriage. I’m not sure as to how I should go about it, and just as I am thinking to myself, on the direction of the narrative for my piece, I feel a tiny little body slam right into my chest. I instantly start to feel irritated and go to chew her out but then I realize it was completely my fault. I look down at her and as I go to apologize, am thrown for a loop. She is the simply the most stunning thing I have ever looked at. I look into her grey eyes and am absolutely captivated. Wait, stop staring. That’s weird. Shaking myself back to reality, I see that I’ve spilled her drink and her sandwich on the ground. “I am so sorry. I didn’t even see you,” I say, pulling her up off the ground, as well as the now empty coffee cup that- hold on a second. Is that wine? I look curiously at the cup contents on the ground, and back at her. “Are you drinking wine? At 1:30 in the afternoon?” I ask, bewildered and impressed simultaneously. She starts to giggle. “I guess you found me out.” That small warm giggle, the way she did it, it drove me wild instantly. I stand there just looking at her for another long moment, and then register that I’ve made quite the fool of myself and offer to buy her a new, well, whatever she’s gotten. “Oh no, thank you, I guess I really must be going actually,” she says “I have an odd feeling I will be seeing you again though. Have a nice day.” She looks at me with a lingering, glowing smile, and I just stand there, utterly stunned by everything about her. Then she turns and walks away. I watch her dissolve into the crowd in the street, and then it hits me. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I hadn’t even asked her name. How absolutely pathetic can I even be? I mentally beat myself up over it as I’m ordering my lunch and eating in the window booth I always eat at. No time to waste getting upset over something I cannot change. Maybe I’ll see her again. I can only hope. Now back to that piece. I open my laptop, and begin looking over my notes on my screen and my notes in my journal. I need to meet this woman. I’m sure she’s got to be quite the manipulative schemer to get that many men to fall in love with her. This is probably the largest piece I will ever have. I need this to be the story that makes me. I have been pushing for time after time with remarkable pieces and my boss still denies me my well deserved promotion. But this piece, this one will be it. Well, the wine is gone, the day is shattered. No just the afternoon more or less, I think to myself as I’m walking back to my car. He’s everything I’d hoped and more; it seems my scout did do something right this time. Hopefully. As sincere as he was, it may be a concern that he’s too soft.