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Questions Alex Asked His Wife Before She Left

6/5/2016

 
BY ANNE ANTHONY


​“How’d you get in?”



 “What’s with the suitcases?”


“Isn’t that green one mine?”


“Who’s sitting in the truck outside?”


“When did your brother get so fat?”


“Does Ben know, I mean, what happened?”


“Did you leave out a few details? Don’t Catholics frown on adultery?”


“Are you packing all your clothes or just the ones that fit?”


“Will you stay still for a goddamn minute?”


“Why are you taking that mug? Isn’t it chipped?”
​


“Do you remember that trip? The one before Ella…?”

​
“Have you 
forgotten our daughter? Or did screwing your boss make you forget?” 

​
​“Are you listening, Margaret? Or have you gone deaf as well as dumb?” 



“Are you crying? Why did I say that?”


“What? Can you move your hand from your mouth?”


 “Did you always hate me? Or only since the accident?”


“Will you ever forgive me?”  


“Can I give you a hand carrying something to the truck?”


“Where will you be living anyway? In Boston, with Ben and his family?”


“Isn’t his wife a pain in your ass?”


“Will you call when you get there?”


“May I at least hug you goodbye?”
​

“Was that so hard?”

Anne Anthony is a full-time writer living with her family in Chapel Hill, NC. Her fiction has been published in Brilliant Flash Fiction, A Story in 100 Words, the A3 Review, Crack the Spine, Firewords Quarterly, and the North Carolina Literary Review. Twitter: @anchalastudio. Facebook: Anne Anthony.
Karen Pullen link
6/6/2016 09:38:50 am

Anne, I truly liked this little story. I've never seen one told this way, with the questions leading the reader to understand what's going on and why.

Anne
6/6/2016 04:13:27 pm

So glad you liked it. Thought of the questions as a mystery unfolding. 😎

caren stuart
6/6/2016 11:49:35 am

That is a fabulous photo that's absolutely PERFECT for this brilliantly written story! The unanswered questions asked by Alex tell me everything I need to know about Alex, his wife, the wife's family, her lover, the relationships of all of these characters, their past, AND the present. This is some masterful storytelling. WOW!

Anne
6/6/2016 04:12:16 pm

Caren Stuart Thank you for your kind words! Intrinsick editors marvelously agreed to post the photo with the story. They're excellent!

Judy Lessler
6/7/2016 03:30:07 am

Sad story. Very well done.

Anne
6/7/2016 10:19:36 am

why are you awake at 3:30 am? everything reads sad then. ;-)

Eva Silverfine link
6/7/2016 10:45:15 am

Like the form of the story. Well done.

Anne Anthony
6/8/2016 04:02:40 am

Thank you, Eva!


Comments are closed.
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