Prompt: money
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“I ordered Abigail some more things she needed today,” Ned’s wife said, clacking away at the two thousand dollar laptop that “was just something they needed,” as she had told Ned. “I put it on the Amazon card alright?”
“Alright?” Ned asked, looking up from his rapidly cooling morning cup of coffee and sighing the steam out towards his wife. “What alright? Was there a question in there?”
His wife just clacked on, not looking away from her clatter. “You told me that if it was for the baby then we could spend the money.”
“I did,” Ned said, pushing himself straight from leaning against the granite counters. “But I cannot finance a project if I lack the funds.”
“Oh!” Ned’s wife said. “So now our daughter is a ‘project’ to you?” She closed the laptop much too hard and finally gave Ned a quarter turn of her attention.
“Come the hell on, I haven’t even tasted my coffee yet.”
Ned’s wife gripped the wooden back of the chair nearest her and whiting her knuckles with her grip.”God forbid! Make sure and tell me how that coffee is dear. Lord knows we don’t flush enough money down that caffine abyss already.”
“What are you talking about? I just–”
Ned held out a shaking hand and took the pause to breathe and think. The air was hot with their bodies exertion.
“I just didn’t understand why you were telling me about how you just spent more money on these ridiculous ‘environmentally safe’ diapers, and then asking me ‘alright?’ like there was some sort of a question.”
“Oh, you just!”
The couple stewed in the thick air, miasmal by the passing of negative emotion, and sulked.
“How much did the diaper thingies cost?” Ned said.
“Four hundred-”
“For the love of God!” Ned yelled and with one hand impressively upon his hip, he splashed the lukewarm coffee into the sink and slammed his mug down. Ned left the kitchen, leaving his wife with her forehead in her hand and her elbows at her knees.
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Thank you for reading!
Cheers,
Caleb
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