A mere dalliance

“Your dalliance with that woman was never more than that.”
“For Christ’s sake, mother, she is my wife!”
“But you’re going to get a divorce. And you got married just last spring. That didn’t last. I knew it wouldn’t. And that’s the second time already. As if you were Picasso.”
“Yes, you knew. You badmouthed her from the start. Called her a sexpot and an animal. I know you did.”
“I knew right from the start. And she was no virgin, either, you’ve got to admit that.”
“Neither was I. And neither were you when you got married to my father.”
“That man! Don’t talk to me like that. I am your mother.”
“I know. And mother’s always right. I know – you’ve been telling me that ever since I can remember.”
But my comment had fallen on fertile ground – she shut up and left me alone. For the time being.
Is it possible to get divorced from one’s mother? Perhaps, if I’d done that at an early age, I would have been spared my marital and many other messes.

– James Steerforth

Note
The challenge from Cafe Writing for March (option #4) was to weave at least three out of seven words – spring, change, virgin, dalliance, fertile, nature, oil, crank – into some writing. I ended up using four in this ultrashort piece of flippant drama that is only partially inspired by real life.

~ by James Steerforth on March 8, 2008.