The Question

By: Cam Wohlfeil
Published: 2017-01-25 0000 EST
Modified: 2017-12-27 0000 EST
Category: Fiction

This isn't a particularly good story, just me trying some things out. Feedback welcome.

I

Today was the day he said to himself, for what felt like the hundredth time. He was grinding his teeth, enough to make his jaw sore. He turned the wheel of the car and pulled on to the street. He briefly considered driving past, thinking of any excuse he could give for his absence. Nothing came to mind so he gave up and slowly pulled in the driveway as planned, stopping in front of the house. He killed the engine and collected his thoughts. What was he going to say? He had spent days planning it out but now that it was finally time nothing seemed quite right. He opened the door and stepped outside. He didn’t bother locking it. The walk to the front door may as well have been a million miles. He walked slowly and never seemed to get any closer. The door opened and a woman came out to greet him. They embraced warmly, and he cheered up at the familiarity of the situation. They sat down in the living room and talked as they usually do. As the night carried on he became his usual self again. She asked if he would like a drink. The night grew darker and colder as they shared glass after glass together by the fire. The record player softly played their favorites. After a while he began to grow serious, and knew that now was the time. He called her name and let out everything he had been holding in all. When he was done, she too grew serious. As the situation fully dawned on her, she became cold and angry. She replied to him and expressed her shock and anger. He too was now shocked and hurt by her response. Both were now deeply offended by the others actions. The conversation was increasing in speed and volume, betraying their emotions. After a few minutes of this the man could take it no longer. He grabbed his coat and left, slamming the door behind him. He got back in to his waiting car and drove off quickly. She watched him leave and fumed for a while but as she picked up after them she was began to cry a little. She took a long bath and went to bed.

II

The young woman angrily walked up the stairs. Her mother shouted behind her to not come back down until she had found what had been asked. She groaned at the thought of the task she had been given and how she’d rather be doing almost anything else. After a quick search she found the most likely candidate, an old safe deposit box labeled “Karen’s important papers”. It probably hadn’t been opened since it was filled and labeled before being moved who knows how many houses ago. She took half the papers out and placed them to the side, then began leafing through them. One piece of paper fell out from the stack, it was much smaller than any others and looked to have a few small water spots on it. When she looked closer she noticed it wasn’t one paper but two newspaper articles cut out and glued to a single piece of paper. One was an obituary for a man who had gotten in to a car accident. It was determined to be drunk driving. The second was a classified ad. It read: “One diamond engagement ring, never worn.”