Faded
Plaid Flannel
He’d
left it behind when he moved out. Guess the old bathrobe became too
ratty even for his casual tastes. She can’t look at it without
seeing his wiry frame wrapped in the faded plaid flannel, crouched
over his poetry at the kitchen table. Vodka on one side, smoldering
cigarette on the other, close enough to touch, a million miles away.
She
holds it to her face, breathing him in, sweat and tobacco, and
underneath, that elusive musk that first hooked her. Addictive,
intoxicating—in
an instant she’s drunk with the astounding lust that first drew
them together. Eyes closed, she relives their ecstatic frenzy, the
clarity of pure connection. In bed they were one body, obscene and
holy. She never cared what they did; every carnal act felt like a
sacrament. The loss of him, of that glory, is a vast, black, aching
wound in her chest.
He’d
felt it, too. Inhaling her female perfume, he lost himself, drowned
in her lushness. Scary. One reason—
along with his wanderlust—that
he’s gone.
Chemistry’s
not the same as compatibility.
She
stuffs the rag between her thighs. Eventually the flannel will smell
only of her.
2 comments:
Lisabet, this is great. Very atmospheric and almost noir-ish. The picture alone reminds me of old B-movies and blues-in-the-night torch songs.
Thanks so much, Tim!
This is based on a personal experience - a mixed up, rather desperate love affair with a lot of chemistry and an equal measure of angst.
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