Morning all, ready to dive into the morning prompt? Fabulous, lets go. Timer’s set for fifteen minutes and let’s see what comes out.
I kind of like the fresh start angle. Admittedly I love starting stories with a person who just had their world kicked out from under them. I would stretch this out and maybe show the relationship before I broke it as well as add in the emotions, but I like the unexpected fresh start.
Tuesday, May 19th: The white paper was bright against the dark wood.
The white paper was bright against the dark wood. She walked over, a frown line forming between her eyes. When she left that morning the desk was clear. When Hank left a message usually it was pinned to the fridge. It also usually had only a few lines. ‘Working late tonight, could you restock?’
Restock simply meant that ne of the things he liked was now reaching critically low levels. Grace then un pinned the note and looked through the fridge and pantry making a list of all the staples he seemed to require for daily living. It was often an annoyance, but she justified it because he hated going to the grocery store. She asked him repeatedly to add what it was he was running low on so she could just restock and not have to go on the scavenger hunt first, but he never did.
This note was something different. First, it was on the desk. He never used the desk, she did. Second, it contained more than one or two sentences.
She crossed the room to reach the desk and inhaled. Something smelled different. She couldn’t quite place it, but there was something off about the scent.
She picked up the piece of paper.
‘Grace,’ she read. “It isn’t working out. I’m just not happy anymore. You ask too much of me and I need someone who will put my needs first. The lease is up at the end of the month. I’ve Already moved my things out. You can talk to the landlord about renewing or not if you can afford it. It was then signed Hank.
Grace put the letter down. She frowned at the note. Grace took a deep breath but knew she couldn’t deal with the emotional impact yet. There were more practical considerations. The apartment for one. While there were three more weeks left in the month, she would need to hustle if she was going to find a new place. This place was more of Hank’s choice than her own and she was not going to be sad to see it go.
The apartment was furnished and within easy distance to his work. For her it meant a long commute and most of her things in storage. She had the furniture she would need, even if she had to pick up a new mattress as she ditched the old one when putting her things in storage.
‘At least I won’t have to pay for the Storage unit,’ she thought. She had also paid the entire deposit and as Hank was running short last month, she covered the rent. Grace shook her head. She could afford the apartment as she had been paying the rent and bills as well as groceries for both of them for the last three months.
Grace shook her head. Now was not the time to dwell on it or rehash the relationship. She needed an apartment. Luckily her best friend worked at an agency that managed quite a few of them. She picked up the phone and made an emergency call to Renee.
The timing was right and instead of winding down for the day, Grace left to go look at a newly available apartment. If things worked well, she could pay the deposit, sign the lease and slowly move out and clean the apartment she was in so that everything could be done by month’s end. Her savings would take a hit, but it needed to be done. Once the practicalities were taken care of, she could think of Hank.
Ten til Midnight 