A Day In An Ordinary Life
A Day In An Ordinary Life
By Edmund Siejka
Watching TV
More out of boredom
Than anything else
He allowed his imagination
To drift
Back
To when
He was a teenager
Sitting in a darkened movie theater
Lost among the empty matinee seats
Slouched
Knees propped against the seat in front of him
Quiet and unnoticed
Watching Hollywood’s version of life
Trying to understand
What the images
On the giant screen
Were trying to tell him.
Impulsively he went upstairs
Two steps at a time
Leaning against the bedroom door frame
He watched his wife dress
The room was stuffy
Blinds drawn
The hissing of the radiator made him feel drowsy
Over her shoulder she said
“Sit down, you’re making me nervous.”
Looking at the clothes strewn bed
He walked over to the rocking chair
Near the window
The wooden slats pressed against his back
Forcing him to move forward
On its edge
Stopping its swaying motion.
Holding up a dress she asked what he thought of it
He didn’t think anything of it
Dimly aware of something else
He said nothing
As she searched through the closest
For another dress
Suddenly he asked where their daughter
Was
“She left early
Had to meet someone all the way out at Stony Brook.”
“And Jon?”
“Jon has his own plans
That’s the way kids are today” she said
Carefully pulling out a third dress
She stood in front of the mirror
Letting the silky floral pattern
Cling to her.
Standing up
He hesitated
Wondering what to say next
When their silence was broken
By a noise
From the kitchen.
Going downstairs
He saw his son
Back turned
Peering into the
Refrigerator
From a room away
He called out
Without turning his son said
He was hungry.
Smiling he replied
Make something for both of us
Father and son worked in the kitchen
Not a word being said
As they maneuvered past the cabinets
And past one another
Eating in comfortable silence
Punctuated by few words.
At the end of their meal
The son took off
The front door slamming shut.
Minutes later
The wife came down
Saying that she would be late
Crossing the stairs
She went out through the garage.
Living room curtains discreetly parted
He watched her drive away
As the hands of the kitchen clock
Reached straight up
To 12 noon.
Picking up a book
He began reading
Not hearing or seeing anything else
Bu the words in front of him
As the afternoon quietly slipped away.
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