FICTION posted by Mai

“Mind yourself now,” his wife called out when he slowly pulled out the car from the garage. “And take care of yourself!”

“Yeah, I will,” he answered through the rolled-down car window. As soon as the car was properly positioned by the road outside, he beckoned to his wife for a good-bye kiss. “Take care, too. And thanks for the present. I’ll use it. My word.”

“And control yourself, beloved,” she whispered against his ear.

“Yeah. I promise.” He drove off happily, and in slightly good sprits. The present in question, an unopened pot of peppermint-scented potpourri taped to the leather dashboard, waiting to be given proper acknowledgement. The man turned on the radio and listened to his MP3 player, whose playlist was altered by his wife, who deemed the song selection as too ‘provocative’. His lip slightly curled in distaste when he found out that his wife had inserted a couple of Simon and Garfunkle songs, which he promptly skipped with a deft flick of his finger.

“Goddamn b…graah,” he groaned and gritted his teeth in a great effort to stop himself from cursing loudly. He promised his wife. I promised. “Emo of the sixties, they are,” he grudgingly blurted out, frustrated and at the same time relieved that he was able to voice out his aversion without breaking his word. more…