Wordle by Wordle: Day 10
Wednesday, Jan 10, 2024
Wordle #935 - THREW
I cough and consider fleeing back downstairs. The astringent smell of cleaning products is so overwhelming that it makes my nose tingle.
“Sorry, the cleaning lady went a little overboard. I already had a talk with her,” Bree says uncomfortably. There’s a chip in her perfect hostess veneer, and she’s not happy about it. She steers me further into the room and quickly changes the subject. “Here’s my office! Don’t you love it?”
My eyes are watering like I’m on Hot Ones, but I’m able to recognize the room from our Zoom call. The new bookshelf, the rainbow of books. I dab my eyes on my sleeve, take a step closer, and reach for a volume. Ostensibly to admire it, but really to snoop. Yep, filler books.
Curiosity satisfied, I take in the rest of the room. Most of the wall space is occupied by photos of Bree and Roy, laughing, holding hands, posing in picturesque vacation destinations.
One photograph in particular catches my eye. I remember that evening, when Bree threw a surprise birthday party for Roy. I was there.
In the photo, Bree’s hand is clutching Roy’s shoulder, her other hand raised in a toast. Her slinky dress sparkles like champagne. Roy is smiling at her, gamely, never one for surprises. His dark hair falls over one eye just so and he’s handsomely well-dressed. A man who doesn’t have the word “jeans” in his vocabulary.
I’ve been cropped out of the picture, but I recognize my elbow poking out at the edge of the frame. A little piece of me always on the fringe of their radiant life.
My stomach clenches and I ask myself what the heck I’m doing here.
Notes:
A past-tense verb? A past-tense verb?! Doesn’t Wordle know I’m writing a present-tense story here? Come on!
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