Stanzas: Monthly Chapbooks May 2015: Equality | Page 20

Limbo
Eoin Hogan

M

ichael often ignored Emily. Sometimes it was just a comment she would
make or a voiced opinion of trivial matters.
‘That jumper doesn’t suit you,’ she might say.
No response.
This, of course, only served to make her more insistent.
‘I’m telling you, it doesn’t look right on you.’
Sometimes Michael offered a dismissive response, sometimes he would argue and
often, he would blatantly ignore her existence. When somebody asked how Emily was
doing he just muttered a response which gave no room for discussion.
‘She’s fine.’ A simple statement armed with an uninterested tone.
He never really understood why he ignored her. Sometimes he just preferred to
forget she was there. It’d been three weeks now since he’d spoken to her, but that never
deterred Emily. She lay now sprawled on the hotel bed as he scrubbed his teeth in the
bathroom.
‘I mean it, let’s get out of here.’
Scrub, scrub, scrub.
Michael filled the plastic cup on the shelf with water and took a mouth-full.
‘We never do anything I want to do, just because when people look at us all they
see is you doesn’t mean I shouldn’t get some input on where you drag us.’
Swish, swish, swish.
‘Whether you like it or not we’re tied to each other you know. You’re going to
have to listen to me eventually!’
Michael spat, Emily sighed.
He dabbed his mouth with the towel and took a deep breath before looking
himself in the mirror. He needed a haircut, but he liked it that way. Those sunken eyes
could do with some freshening up up though, maybe he could try get back home early
enough for a full night’s sleep tonight.
‘That stubble isn’t right on you.’ Emily commented. Michael liked the stubble,
but today Emily’s opinion seemed to hold more weight than his own. He plugged the
sink and smeared shaving foam over his cheeks, chin and neck as the basin filled.
‘I was thinking we could go shopping.’ Emily was musing now, ‘I feel I don’t have
any of my own clothes these days. All I’m wearing are your hoodies. I’d like something
a bit more me.’
‘Is shaving not enough?’ Michael thought.
Emily paused as the razor sizzled down Michael’s jaw line.
Rinse.
Tap, Tap.
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