Rising
Anna stepped back from the mirror. Slender and well kept, she looked pretty good for a woman pushing forty. She thought so anyway. Her husband Frank didn’t seem to notice one way or the other, even though she’d tried to get him to—oh yes—she had. Several years ago, she’d gotten down to an anorexic size two. God, what’s wrong with me? She sighed, turning away from the mirror. She was a woman of extremes; no matter what, she went ‘balls to the walls’.
Frank was outside mowing the lawn. The drone of a motor penetrated the double paned windows; the sound was alien to her. She looked out the master bathroom window. She was up high; below was a huge lawn of crème de menthe green that stretched from the back of the house to the wall of trees that bordered their property. The lawn was Frank’s pride and joy. He looked ridiculous down there, like an insect buzzing around a light. She watched his circles get tighter then stepped away from the window. He’ll be outside for a while. She slipped her fingers into her panties and rubbed; an image of Frank buzzing around came to mind—she pushed it away—concentrating. Her climax was bittersweet. Too bad Frank doesn’t enjoy riding me as much as that lawnmower.
She looked around the room. The wallpaper looked fuzzy. Come to think of it, everything did. It was as if a milky haze had dulled her perspective, like a corona around a bright light. She laughed softly, more like a corona of dog shit; her perception had become ‘hinky’, as if she were floating around in a cottony bubble, and that made her think of her older brother. She reeled her mind back to the present and looked out the window framing a dazzling shock of green leaves; a breeze rippled through the treetops; dapples of shadow and light danced in the air before slowly sighing to a stop.
She heard the kitchen door open and shut.
Frank was done mowing. She headed towards the stairway; he’d be hungry and would want something to eat. His voice floated up from below, “What do we got to eat?”
She hurried to the kitchen. “We’ve got pork chops or chicken leftovers or I can make you something if you want.”
Frank put his hands on his hips, looking as if he were in deep thought. “Nah, heat me up some of them chops, and gravy too.”
He plopped in front of the TV and watched football, shoveling food into his mouth in between yelling at the referee for penalizing his team. Anna sat nearby reading a magazine while she ate. The sound was blaring and she couldn’t stand the noise. She put the dishes away then said, “I’m going for a ride.”
He waved her off without taking his eyes off the game. She hurried outside and loaded her bicycle into Frank’s truck, heading for a nearby bike trail.
from "Rising" (a Devil'z Hide original)