POSITIVE SPACE (standard:drama, 1791 words)
Author: Jennifer Green	Added: Dec 17 2001	Views/Reads: 3712/2483	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Divorced woman discovers a new life for herself.

POSITIVE SPACE 

Copyright 2001 Jennifer Green 

Sally pulled the third load of laundry for the day out of the dryer, and
then went upstairs to fold the clothes.  It was quiet around the house, 
her son Jeff was off in high school.  She went downstairs after the 
laundry was folded and put away to have a glass of white wine before 
she started dinner.  It was going to be chicken and broccoli tonight, 
although who knows who would be home to eat it.  Jeff was so busy 
running around with sports and after school activities, and her husband 
Danny was working later and later these days. 

She leafed through a magazine and sipped her wine.  The phone rang, it
was Danny, saying he would be late again tonight.  Did she need 
anything?  No, just get home as soon as you can. 

She opened a box of cookies to go along with the wine when she hung up.
She sighed and got back to her reading. 

Tomorrow was her art class.  She couldn't wait, she loved that silly
class.  At first her family teased her about it, what did she want to 
go to an art class for at her age?  But when she started bringing home 
her drawings and paintings, and they saw her steady improvement, they 
stopped laughing. 

When Jeff got home from practice she made dinner, and told him Danny was
working late again.   She cleaned up, reminded Jeff about his homework, 
and then watched some TV before falling asleep.  It was 11:15 when 
Danny got home. 

Did he want anything?  No, he had grabbed a quick dinner.  He said he
had to talk to her though, and she sat up in bed and turned on the 
light. 

He said things weren't working for him anymore, and he thought it would
be best if he moved out.  He would get an apartment downtown, near the 
office.  He was sorry, but he just couldn't pretend anymore.   There 
wasn't anyone else, although of course he still loved her, but he 
couldn't go on.   And their sex life was virtually nonexistent, and had 
been for years.  She cried, yelled a little, and then after she thought 
about it she decided he was probably right, she was tired of the 
pretense too.  He worked all the time and hardly spoke to her anymore. 

He said he would find an apartment over the weekend, and talk to their
family lawyer next week.  She said fine, but asked him to tell Jeff, 
she wouldn't know what to say.  He said he would take care of her and 
Jeff, be responsible for them financially, and they would still be 
friends of course. 

She cried when they finally turned off the light.   He reached for her
and hugged her and said, "I'm sorry." 

"No you're not, you bastard," she whispered. 

He started sleeping in the guest bedroom, and in a couple of weeks he
found an apartment.  She even helped him fix it up. 

Two weeks later, she went out with her good friend Marge for lunch  one
afternoon.   She asked Marge how she was doing.  "Fine, considering.  I 
just keep plugging along.   How about you?" 

"I'm all right I guess.  Sometimes at night I cry though.  It just gets
so lonely.  It's not that we were still in love, but you get so used to 
having someone there." 

"Well, have you thought about finding someone else?" 

"Me?  I'm too old for that." 

"You are not.  You're only 45 -- that is not too old.  Look at Kathy."
Kathy was a friend of theirs in her 40's.  After her husband left her 
for a younger woman, she started going out with a younger man who had 
done some electrical work on their house. 



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