I think yesterday I was rested from the weekend. Today, not so much. I still set the clock as far from me as possible but today I need the coffee. So let’s get to the prompt while the coffee brews. Timers set? Excellent, let’s see what comes out of the brain this morning.
I somehow suspect this is less a family outing and more of an intervention or the moment his marriage really collapses. Either way, he is about to have someone torpedo his world. I like to think I am not really mean before my coffee, but sometimes I suspect i am…
Tuesday, October 3rd: He dipped his hand into the water.
He dipped his hand into the water. It was cold. He instantly thought of beer commercials and their talk of cold mountain springs. He could use a beer right now. He let his fingers trail in the water. Thoughts of ice cold beer floated away and became thoughts of ice cold anything. Water, Sangria, lemonade, Kool-aide.
‘Well maybe not the Kool-aide,’ he thought to himself. He wasn’t certain if he was worried about poisoning or primary colored lips and tongue. While these weren’t the most trustworthy of people he didn’t think they had yet reached a stage where they wanted to kill him.
‘Yet,’ he thought.
He wiggled his fingers in the water and felt the tips of them growing almost numb from the coldness of the water. It was an odd feeling as there was still sweat beading on his brow from the walk up here.
The water was cooling him down and as his temperature cooled he found himself able to think about something other than cold and possibly refreshing drinks.
‘See no beer needed,’ he told himself. William pulled his hand from the stream and dried it off on his jeans clad leg. He knew he probably should have picked out shorts for the day’s hike, it would have been cooler, but he just couldn’t bring himself to go barelegged into the woods. The others didn’t seem to have that problem and they were all dressed in shorts and t-shirts.
‘Although they look just as hot as me,’ he thought. It was scant consolation.
As William dried his hands he decided to keep his thoughts of cold beer to himself. While he was not opposed to having a cold beer on a hot day or even a smoky scotch on a winter’s night, he knew that such thoughts would be met with derision. The last time he mentioned a drink, it was the purchase of a Japanese Whiskey. It had vanilla notes and was surprisingly smooth. He bought it as a treat for himself but after the first sip, he bought a second bottle to send to his grandmother for her famous coffee and whisky infused cake.
She was thrilled with the flavors and it became a standard until she died. While living he supplied her with a bottle each year for the cake and now that she was gone the scent reminded him of her. He still bought one bottle a year but if he managed to make it through that bottle in a year’s time he was always surprised. The bottle he had open now was one he had been working on for about two years.
Merely having the bottle in his cabinet seemed to mark him as some sort of deviant alcoholic in the minds of those here and he doubted mentioning a cold beer would be helpful. Still they were Krista’s family and he was trying to make it work.
As he stood he wondered how long he was going to be able to make it work with Krista. He was trying, but lately it seemed as though she had stopped. There was not only less and less meeting him half way but less attempts to talk things out even if compromise wasn’t an option. He hated the thought of divorce, but somehow suspected it was imminent. Still, he was here for the family weekend. Maybe someone would give him some insight into making his marriage work.
Ten til Midnight 