Life in Lockdown
“Seriously Pete,” I say, staring down the webcam. “I can’t handle another day of this. Patty is doing my head in!”
“What, team Terry and Patty in trouble? Pete scoffs. “Hard to believe, mate.”
“I agree, normally. But mate, she’s being very hard,” Holding up a lumpy looking sandwich, I ask, “What the fuck is this? Vegan or something.”
“It’s healthy, mate. Lots of people doing Vegan these days.” Pete tries to console me.
“She thinks I’m fat! Last night, I was poking around in the fridge looking for something exotic to eat, and she starts into me.”
‘You’ve had enough,’ she says. ‘You’ve eaten your dinner, my leftovers, all the bread rolls and licked both plates. You’re at the fridge And, you’re getting pudgy.’
“You said that’s just posture.”
‘Well, that doesn’t help.’ She grinned, continuing. ‘You eat too fast, and your brain doesn’t know you’re full. Stop looking in the fridge!’
My cheeks are red, and I’m breathing hard as Pete begins to laugh.
“She’s a shit wife!” I shout.
The door opens and Patty comes in with coffee.
“Hello darling. Thought you could do with one. Is that Pete? Hi, Pete! How are you?” She waves wildly at the laptop. “Don’t mind the PJs.”
“You’re a vision, boss.” Pete laughs. “You know, Terry is not happy.”
“Oh, gossiping, again?” Patty asks, calmly. She turns to me. “Is this a work meeting? Or a drinks night with your boyfriend, moaning about his tiny thing, like a dizzy blonde.”
Then she gets stuck into Pete.
“Have you called Dave?” Pete’s smile slips. “It is a priority. Clients come first. Remember your budget …”
And on and on she goes. Her voice seems to fade, as my ears begin to bleed.
Then, I deep hawk into my throat and Patty literally growls!
“That’s disgusting! Blow into a tissue.You’re always doing that. Even in the shower.”
I’m mortified and feel even worse when I see Pete smirking and shooting hand pistols.
“Blowing does nothing. Anyway, it’s okay in the shower.”
“It’s still disgusting.” She’s smirking too.
“You’re a shit wife, Patty. You could win Shit Wife of the Year. I should post that on Facebook!”
“You should!” Patty cries. “I’d love it.”
“Really?” Why was I surprised? “You’re twisted, you know?”
Patty hugs and kisses me, and I notice Pete chuckling.
“We’re a great team,” she says, leaving the room. “What would you do without me?”
She might be a shit wife, I think. But she’s my shit wife.
As I turn back to Pete, he says “You have been in a premium paddock, bro!”
Swearing under my breath, I try getting back to business.
“About tomorrow’s meeting.”
This short story was written for Australian Writers’ Centre Furious Fiction competition for August 2020. Word length, 500 words or less. Each month, certain criteria are set and for this month the criteria was:
- Your story must contain HUMOUR/COMEDY
- Your story must include the following five words: DIZZY, EXOTIC, LUMPY, TINY, TWISTED.
- Your story must include a sandwich
You can read the winning entry and long-listed stories here.
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RANDOM THOUGHTS by Trish 