(100 Word Challenge)

The explosion of feeling. “You always let him get away with things. Why do you need to parent? He’s an adult.”

Which to respond to?

In calamity she found peace in small reminders: the morning sun greeting flowers. In her world there were no clouds gathering and threatening to storm. No fear of angering him; no fear of the marriage deflating.

“I will tell him that the dishes must be be put away each time there are dishes in the drain.”

“Until the next time.”

No response. No fear.

They continued: two people in two spaces beside one another. Coexisting.