The Birth of Ennui
“Living in the city is catching up with us. We live here for the excitement of doing things but, we can’t afford to do things because of our poor, lackluster jobs. It’s like what Tuco says in The Magnificent Seven…”
He propped himself up onto one arm and faced her.
“If you work for a living, why do you kill yourself working?”
Running his finger down her oiled, bronzed skin, starting at the bottom of her lime green bikini top, “Ya, but…” and ending at a swipe halfway.
“Cut it out! That tickles.”
“Ya, but, isn’t he saying that to a chicken?” He looks up at the multitudes of folk all gathered on the beach; a gloriously sunny, summer Sunday that has brought city dwellers out in droves.
“When was the last time we attended a concert, let alone cough up for the overpriced beer or glass of wine there? When was the last time we could afford to view an art exhibit at the museum on any other night but freebie Friday? I can’t remember the last meal we went out for that didn’t involve standing in line to request your order, wait for your number to be called by some pimply-faced kid behind a counter and the usage of all your condiments came from little, plastic sachets.”
He was listening to her, he half-listened to her whilst watching all the beach activity and he, at most points, wasn’t listening to her at all. The term, a ‘broken record’ meant something to him, as he could remember the black, vinyl disks and what would happen if the needle got stuck in a groove but, she had no context for the reference. She knew it, in the same way she knew the movie quote – from being with him. Each time the conversation came up it wasn’t one. She would espouse her unhappiness with their current financial situation and he couldn’t argue back. She was right, of course, there was no debating the facts. It wasn’t how their union was supposed to evolve, from the heady excitement of the early days when anything seemed possible. He had not long been single, after cutting loose from an unhappy marriage and she was young, vibrant and infectious with it. However, as menial job hopping, as well as intermittent lulls in actual employment of any kind, were normal for someone of her youth, at his age, he was expected to be more settled into a good paying position, a stable and fulfilling line of work. He wished now that he had been more resilient and diligent during the last year with Maggie, bucking down to meet his quotas, which were never a problem beforehand. All the turmoil at home though interfered with his nine-to-five and by six most nights, he was into his third brew with the gang at The Fox. By the time he and Delilah got together, he was on his third job and like the previous two, didn’t come close to matching his prior earnings. Then there was Maggie’s settlement demands that were being bandied about by two lawyers who needed to pay for orthodontists, cottages up at the lake and additional footwear for their wives’ shoe closets. She blamed him for the break-up of the marriage, her inability to work due to the post-traumatic stress involved and the hovel on Bellwoods Ridge Blvd. she was forced to live in.
“I want an ice cream.”
“Okay Di, let’s go get an ice cream.”
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For the EXPLORE Worthy - The Number Games 4,S4 (2018 Art) challenge.
The Birth of Ennui
“Living in the city is catching up with us. We live here for the excitement of doing things but, we can’t afford to do things because of our poor, lackluster jobs. It’s like what Tuco says in The Magnificent Seven…”
He propped himself up onto one arm and faced her.
“If you work for a living, why do you kill yourself working?”
Running his finger down her oiled, bronzed skin, starting at the bottom of her lime green bikini top, “Ya, but…” and ending at a swipe halfway.
“Cut it out! That tickles.”
“Ya, but, isn’t he saying that to a chicken?” He looks up at the multitudes of folk all gathered on the beach; a gloriously sunny, summer Sunday that has brought city dwellers out in droves.
“When was the last time we attended a concert, let alone cough up for the overpriced beer or glass of wine there? When was the last time we could afford to view an art exhibit at the museum on any other night but freebie Friday? I can’t remember the last meal we went out for that didn’t involve standing in line to request your order, wait for your number to be called by some pimply-faced kid behind a counter and the usage of all your condiments came from little, plastic sachets.”
He was listening to her, he half-listened to her whilst watching all the beach activity and he, at most points, wasn’t listening to her at all. The term, a ‘broken record’ meant something to him, as he could remember the black, vinyl disks and what would happen if the needle got stuck in a groove but, she had no context for the reference. She knew it, in the same way she knew the movie quote – from being with him. Each time the conversation came up it wasn’t one. She would espouse her unhappiness with their current financial situation and he couldn’t argue back. She was right, of course, there was no debating the facts. It wasn’t how their union was supposed to evolve, from the heady excitement of the early days when anything seemed possible. He had not long been single, after cutting loose from an unhappy marriage and she was young, vibrant and infectious with it. However, as menial job hopping, as well as intermittent lulls in actual employment of any kind, were normal for someone of her youth, at his age, he was expected to be more settled into a good paying position, a stable and fulfilling line of work. He wished now that he had been more resilient and diligent during the last year with Maggie, bucking down to meet his quotas, which were never a problem beforehand. All the turmoil at home though interfered with his nine-to-five and by six most nights, he was into his third brew with the gang at The Fox. By the time he and Delilah got together, he was on his third job and like the previous two, didn’t come close to matching his prior earnings. Then there was Maggie’s settlement demands that were being bandied about by two lawyers who needed to pay for orthodontists, cottages up at the lake and additional footwear for their wives’ shoe closets. She blamed him for the break-up of the marriage, her inability to work due to the post-traumatic stress involved and the hovel on Bellwoods Ridge Blvd. she was forced to live in.
“I want an ice cream.”
“Okay Di, let’s go get an ice cream.”
_____________________________________________
For the EXPLORE Worthy - The Number Games 4,S4 (2018 Art) challenge.