That morning, before she even
opened her eyes, Colleen understood that the crack had widened, lengthened,
that it was encroaching upon the sky-blue surface, about to split the whole
pane asunder and leave it in irreparable pieces.
She opened the front door with
care, watching the stained-glass, and knew it was only a question of time. She
wanted to scream. She wanted to call her father to come fix it. She wanted to
crab about her husband never getting around to anything. Most of all, she
wanted it back the way it was, the way it had been: whole and perfect and
useful.
She thought about searching
for replacement panels or carpenters online. How much would it cost, how long
would it take? Did anyone make stained glass anymore? At the first rain or cold
snap, it would become an emergency, something to be taken care of immediately, all
else placed on the back burner until this one all-consuming task was completed.
As she shut the door again,
Colleen looked across the lawn to the patch of vegetable garden they had
imagined. Had there been tomatoes, it would have been time to go water them.
's word this week is CRACK 3a : a
narrow break : fissure b : a
narrow opening 
'13 Untitled (Sally) 51,668;
'12 Barcelona Clash 51,878;
'11 Mojo Madness 52,793;
'10 Changing Directions 53,400;
'09 Daybreak 56,565;
'08 Vacant 52,486
I loved the thoroughly thoughtful procrastination of the character here. Especially in the end the 'the patch vegetable garden they had imagined."
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with whispatory except that it's a love/hate reaction because I am exactly that person and I annoy myself greatly because of it...
ReplyDeleteI feel like this sometimes. Like it's all to much so I do none of it. On the other hand, contemplation is something of a religion for me.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very smart little piece of writing, my friend!
Ah yes, looking at the molehill and seeing the mountain. Brilliant.
ReplyDeleteOh -- I absolutely loved this. Just perfection. Love the widening crack and the frustration, but the tomato plant line is complete perfection.
ReplyDeleteI like this. Great work with the prompt.
ReplyDeleteGood job with the prompt !
ReplyDeleteAww, the slow drag of apathy. Glad that doesn't apply to any of us, right? ;)
ReplyDelete"looked across the lawn to the patch of vegetable garden they had imagined." Solid image and the crack in the relationship is palpable. Enjoyed.
ReplyDeleteGood and what a great layers of other disappointments.
ReplyDeleteOoh, love all the layers in this Kymm. Love that the crack is also a metaphor for the relationship. Beautifully written piece!
ReplyDeleteSuch great imagery! I think we can all relate to the whole "shoulda coulda woulda" vibe. Sigh. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteAh, that feeling we tend to get from time to time. You captured it well here.
ReplyDeleteCaught up in the story though, I ache for that piece of glass. DOES anyone do stained glass any more? I hope she can get a replacement piece!
My response to the prompt: http://www.aliciaaudrey.com/blog/trifectaprompt-crack/