I didn’t believe I would ever say this but, I miss my washer and dryer. I even miss my vacuum cleaner. I miss my house, I miss everything about my old life. I never appreciated what I had.
It’s been three months since he kicked me out, and I’m reduced to having to clean my own dirty clothes at the corner Laundromat. Hoarding quarters from my diner tips during the week so I have enough for the weekend wash. I’m so embarrassed I always sneak in the back door of the laundry, hiding from anyone I know who might see me there.
Even after all this time, this was the first I’ve noticed the pay phone in the alley. If I have a few quarters left over today, I could call him. He won’t recognized the number and might pick up. Now, I only have to figure out what to say if he answers. “I’m sorry,” just won’t do it.
Trifecta, a weekly one-word prompt, challenges writers to use that word in its third definition form, using no less than 33 words or no more than 333. The week’s prompt is: Alley [noun \al-ee\] 3: a narrow street; especially : a thoroughfare through the middle of a block giving access to the rear of lots or buildings
Thanks for linking up with Trifecta this week. I love your laundromat and pay phone details–aspects of an alley or city life and not an entire piece set in the alley. I hope she calls him. Even if she just hangs up afterwards. Sometimes you just need one final reaching out. Great job with the prompt, Tara.
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Aww, sad. Unrelated: I love finding payphones these days. They’re so rare!
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Aw, so sad. I feel for her, even though I imagine she totally screwed up.
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Oh, sad and lonely. I love the detail about not recognizing the number and her hope that he’d pick up.
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I enjoyed the easy flow of the words, even if it was a sad story. It leaves me wondering a great deal about what happened and what may happen next.
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