“If I could, I’d live here all the time.”
“Yeah, but it isn’t a matter of could, is it?”
“God, Mary, do you really have to start this again?”
“I’m not starting anything. I’m just saying—will you zip me up in back? Thanks—I’m just saying that you have a choice. You’re an adult. You can tell her—ow!”
“Sorry! It keeps sticking.”
“You picked a great time to call me fat, Casey.”
“I’m not calling you fat. Jesus Christ, will you quit putting words in my mouth? I just said the zipper’s stuck.”
“Well, if it is, it’s your fault.”
“How? We’re not some old married couple. You get all fat and content, maybe I’ll finally be able to dump your ass.”
“Pfft. I can assure you it won’t be happiness making me gain weight.”
“…Mare. Don’t fuck with me like that.”
“I’m not. It’s been two weeks.”
“It’s been—dammit! I didn’t think you’d play those stupid games. If I’d wanted that, I would’ve dated some eighteen-year-old, not—dammit, you know I can’t leave her.”
“Won’t, Casey. Say won’t. There’s a difference.”
“Christ! I’m getting out of here. Give me my shoes.”
“Here. Here. Take them. Take that lingerie, too. I may be the other woman, but I’m not a whore. My fat ass probably can’t fit into it anyway.”
“Look, you don’t need to—I gotta think, okay? Just…just call me when you know something.”
“Fine.”
“Great. Well…okay, then. Okay. So, uh, no, I’ll call. I’ll—yeah. Later. I’ll call you.”
“Sure you will. …Hey, Casey?”
“What?”
“It’s funny, isn’t it? All this time, I’ve been trying to get you out of my system…but when I go to the clinic, there’ll be doctors to do it for me. An abortion might be just what I need.”
Mary's voice took form with her first line, sharp and a bit haughty, so I had to think of who Casey would need to be in order to make her have such a lousy reaction to his sweet words. From there, their voices came pretty much naturally. I know this story has been written a million times before, but man, I had so much fun doing it that I couldn't resist.
ReplyDeleteSure, and the characters definitely have distinct voices. It's not so much that the story's been done before, it's more that without unique details the story doesn't advance, doesn't change from its most common iterations. Here, the characters could allude to fuller lives, to specific characters and concerns that really define a new twist on all of this. The setting of this conflict, that is, could be more present in the argument, could influence it more compellingly.
ReplyDelete