This is my response to this week’s writing challenge
“Thanks again, Lynne.” I took the notes and handed over the bags of loose change. “You’re a life saver.”
“It helps me out as well.” Lynne said. “We have to pay to get change from the bank now.”
I hurried out of the corner shop and managed to hand over the money for the school trip as the school bus approached the stop. “Don’t leave it to the last minute next time!” I snapped, knowing that whatever I said would have no effect. Teenagers seemed to have selective hearing.
I went back inside and sat at my desk. I had a stack of emails building up and in fifteen minutes the phone would start ringing. However, first things first. I pulled over my only two indulgences – good quality writing paper and a nice fountain pen. I pushed aside the cheap ball point I used for work and started writing.
I laid it out beautifully. I used my finest copperplate script to inscribe my address, date and her name. It was an old fashioned usage, but it was elegant and stylish and continuing in the finest copperplate I poured out my fury. That thanks to her adultery I had to scrabble for pennies in the bottom of bags and pockets. That thanks to her selfishness I had to scrape and budget for the basics, like school bags and their haircuts. That I skipped my own necessities and once again had padded to the corner shop in shoes with holes in because all my money went on the kids that her adultery had left struggling in a broken home. It should never have been like this, but because of her selfishness, my kids suffered.
Then I let the ink dry as I addressed the letter to my errant wife. I used the calligraphy she had always adored, that she insisted should be used on all birthday cards and present tags, with exactly the right flourish. Then I folded the letter, slid it into the envelope and sealed it. I took a few deep breaths and then threw it into the drawer where the other letters lay in a drift. Now I could turn my attention to work.
