Months turn to years while housewives scrub floors and remove little balls of lint from the collars of their husband’s suits.
On the rind of Earline’s husband’s suit, lipstick appeared. Eddie, of course, was ignorant of its origins, never being near the sort of woman who wore lipstick like that. He rubbed the stubble of his chin, looked up at the sky, and said, “Except for … uh … the jostling in the elevators every morning—we’re like sardines in a can, Earline.” It was the skyward glance and the way he added, “Yeah, maybe that’s it…” that made Earline think of subtracting Eddie’s head from his body. She pictured that little ball of lint rolling into eternity, like a gutter ball spurned from scoring anything but the sting in its eyes when it sees the machete coming—the one Eddie bought her at the thrift shop to round off her pirate wench costume last Halloween.
Course, that’s just Earline’s dream. Housecleaning thoughts, as she rifles through her husband’s drawers.
Brenda Warren 2012
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undercaws 
This is fabulous!
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hehehehe, he better hope she doesn’t change her mind. Great piece
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Brenda how do you do this!? Create a story in such a little bit of space? I love the tone of this- and will now shut down the ‘puter and dream of Eddie and Ealrline.
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Thank you for your compliment, Teri, it’s appreciated. Stories like this one come fairly quickly….I used to write more of them, and feel like they may be making a comeback. 🙂
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I love the very visual line “subtracting Eddie’s head from his body”. Eddie may not live to regret buying her the machete 🙂
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Playful bit of daydream there, Bren. Your sense of humor intoxicates. Thanks.
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Thanks for the laugh, Brenda. Made smile and since I don’t feel well, that is a good thing for me today. Very well-developed characters in this story.
Pamela
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I hope you feel better soon, Pamela. Glad the piece brought a chuckle.
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This was a beaut brenda – gave me a chuckle and reminded me a bit of a song the Dixie Chicks used to sing about a guy named Earl who got his come-uppance also … clever and fun …
thanks for stopping by my blog earlier, I appreciate it!
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I love the Dixie Chicks, and know that song….perhaps it was at play here a bit. The subconscious rises in everything we poets write, methinks….. Thanks Sharon. I’m glad we’re getting to know each other through our work.
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Cute ending I thought.
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I love it… I think that husband’s time is up, though he may not recognize it. Well done.
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Gotta say, Brenda…I’m agreeing with De on all counts!!! So vivid…very well written!!!
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A giggler! Nothing like a loose lint ball…
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LoveloveLOVE. This whole excerpt belongs in a novel. Especially: “On the rind of Earline’s husband’s suit, lipstick appeared.” This use of “rind,” and the sentence structure, both make me indescribably happy. And this: “Housecleaning thoughts.” So much possibility for double meaning there. Fantastic.
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Thank you De, your enthusiasm tickles me. I love that sentence structure makes you happy…it does it for me, too. LoL
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I have a great-aunt Earline…her husband wasn’t Eddie though (unless…Eddie was her FIRST husband??)…an entertaining tale which used the wordle words flawlessly!
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It’s always great fun when someone uses the words to tickle their own fancy. We all get to join in and share the laughter and grins. Love your character’s name and so glad you chose to have fun with these words. A bit of dark humor can be so relieving and releasing. I, for one, will never spurn the drawers of your subtractive glee in using these rinds of words for your own pleasure and mine,
Elizabeth
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Uh – oh, I think Eddie is in for it. Earline is quite a detective and she won’t let up now. I hear violins playing….it’s over!
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LOL Thanks Mary.
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Reminds me of the joke of the husband who was unfaithful. Ask the gal if she has powder…rubs it on his hands liberally. He gets home and the angry wife at the top of the stairs asks for an explanation. So he goes for the truth…’I went drinking with the boys, met a hot babe and strayed.. can you ever forgive me?’ Wife sees powder all over his hands…’Don’t give me that bull, you’ve been bowling!’ Fun name Earline, fun piece too.
I’m here:
http://julesgemsandstuff.blogspot.com/2012/07/sw-64-wordle-diamond-in-rough.html
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Oh, those skyward glances; you know he was lying. It seems you had great fun with these particular words this week; I know i had great fun reading them. I love the way you used ball.
Richard
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Tell tale sign of a liar. Eddie sure didn’t look Earline in the eye. hee hee! Thanks Richard.
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Marianne’s choice is my favourite line as well. I thoroughly enjoyed the story and how well you developed two characters, set a mood, and told a story in that amount of words. Brava!
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Thank you, Margo. I was delighted that a story took shape. It’s fun to play with prose.
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really no good way to explain lipstick on the collar…there would sure be a head rolling in my house.
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True dat yo, my house, too.
🙂
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Haha…naughty housewife. God help him if he does ever stray from the straight and narrow of faithful husband. LOL
This gave me a real chuckle Brenda 🙂
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So glad you liked it, thanks!
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Nice little ditty! Loved the line — Course, that’s just Earline’s dream. Housecleaning thoughts, as she rifles through her husband’s drawers. — house cleaning thoughts indeed LOL!
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Thank you, Tessa. I’d be thinking about whacking something in his other “drawers” with that machete if I saw the lipstick. LoL
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Enjoyed your humorous take on the words this week, Brenda! Favorite lines: “made Earline think of subtracting Eddie’s head from his body. She pictured that little ball of lint rolling into eternity, like a gutter ball spurned from scoring!”
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Thank you, Marianne. Yes, this is a fun one. 🙂
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