Here is this weeks photo prompt from Madison Woods.
http://madison-woods.com/photo-prompt-for-the-fridayfictioneers-14/
In spite of the flowers and the party she left him. The three day old coffee grinds had dried out and were growing mold. Emptiness deflated what little morning spirit he had, the reality of being alone consumed him. One Hand on the cold granite shaking he reached for the sugar, filters and the bag of coffee. The bowl of sugar slipped. The sweet morning solitude shattered by divorce left him bleeding on his knees cleaning up a mess. Not a soul to startle other than his own, he changed the setting to two cups. It was more than enough.
Good use of the coffee metaphor throughout to show what was happening in his relationship, even down to the broken sugar bowl drawing literal blood in contrast to the figurative blood from the cut of her leaving,and maybe even that the sweetness was gone.
Thanks Janet,
That’s kinda what I was trying to get across..The morning coffee lost all its sweetness….The time alone in the morning was no longer a gift. Thanks for stopping by.
Tom
Sounds like he’s going to survive and adjust to his loss. Ron
I would think so. He’s already learning to adjust. Thanks for stopping by Ron. I had a good laugh with yours today. Funny stuff.
Tom
Nicely told story of both literally and figuratively picking up the pieces and moving on. I might have omitted the word “sweet” in “sweet morning” as it is, to me, perhaps one two many allusions to sugar. Really well told all in all. 🙂
Thanks Jeff,
Perhaps sweet could be replaced…I will give that some thought.
Tom
atta boy. two cups. he’ll deal with it and get through the mess. well done.
Thanks Rich….Man has to move on, reinvent himself, the setting on the coffee is a nice small step!
Tom
Dear Tom,
The empty room is a catalyst for meditations on loss. Yours is one of the better ones. Loved the play of words that you used in the ‘bleeding on his knees’ sentence. And in the end, the two cups setting being more than enough. Good work.
Aloha,
Doug
Doug,
Thanks for stopping by and for your kind words. This prompt help create more than a few sad tales and for you to say that mine is one of the better ones is encouraging.
Tom
Your last line makes me wonder did he lower the coffee setting to 2 cups from whatever it was earlier or had he lowered it earlier and increased it now to 2 so that not everything was a change.
He lowers it to two cups. The point is he changed it, he adjusted…who only drinks one cup of coffee? At that moment two is more than enough because he is alone. He could drink both cups or maybe someone comes into his life and has the other cup…..
Thanks for stopping by,
Tom
Very thoughtfully observed piece. I enjoyed this – very well done.
Thank you Sandra!
This is beautifully written, and the mess in the kitchen, the broken sugar bowl, great stuff! I really felt the emptiness…
Raina,
Thank you so much for stopping in and commenting. I am glad you enjoyed it.
Tom
You captured his desolation. “not a soul to startle”…”cold granite” Great job. Hope this isn’t written from personal experience. A job well done, Tom.
Everything I write has a bit of my life worked into it. But all is good in my world Rochelle, no need for worries. Thanks you so much for your very kind words.
Tom
Wonderful piece of writing, very touching.
Well thank you very much!
Tom
Oh, how sad. I feel his loneliness. Good job!
He’s going to need more than two cups I think, unless it’s Starbucks.
Probably ought to get some more sugar too, at least for now. Nice post!
Perry,
A little sugar would be nice…Thanks for stopping by.
Tom
Did he really think flowers and a party would entice her to stay if they were close to divorce? I see now why you questioned the coffee pot on mine, although I still don’t see one! That was integral to your story. Good job.
http://banterwithbeth.blogspot.com
Beth,
Last ditch effort, grabbing at anything…doesn’t matter if he believed the party and flowers would work he was going to try anyway. I am not 100 percent sure but I think if you look in the cabinet on the right you’ll find the coffee pot.
Tom
Love the way you expressed his isolation and empty first morning without her. And what a sugary mess to beat. Sorry she’s not there to clean up after him. A lesson to be learned perhaps?
ps: From your last reply, you had me going back to the photo to look for the coffee pot. Well, I’ll be damned it if isn’t there.
Thanks Lora,
The coffee pot is in the cabinet on the right behind the box of Honey nut Cheerios. 🙂
Tom
I loved the ending. Two cups instead of one made him feel less lonely. Good job. And so sad.
Thanks Shirley. You can interpret the ending any way… He changed it to two cups not to feel lonely…two cups one for him, one for hope or he lowered the setting down to two cups because normally he made a pot for the whole family. The main point was he adjusted and made a small step towards excepting change.
I am glad you loved the ending…
Tom
Ah the buying flowers when it’s too late ploy. Been on the receiving end of that one. You gave me the other side of the story, which was interesting. Hope he has more luck next time around.
Anne…I am sure he will adjust and find happiness again. He looks like a determined man to me. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
Tom
Actually, I think I see that elusive coffee pot lurking between the Honey Nut Cheerios and Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes which is lucky for our hero as Tony the Tiger is eager to share in that two-cup brew and provide (limited, perhaps) early morning conversation. That pesky wife doesn’t realize how easily she is about to be replaced.
LOL…Vb. That Tony sure is GRRREAT! Time to move on even if it is with a tiger! Thanks for stopping by and having a little fun.
Tom
Tom, you captured the loneliness perfectly. Wow–“he changed the setting to two cups.” You left me with a lump in my throat. 🙁 Nicely done.
Jan,
Thank you so much for the kind words. I am happy to hear I captured the loneliness in this piece. Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I enjoyed yours as well.
Tom
I thought that last line was especially good. You did a nice job unfolding the backstory slowly, with emotion. Nicely done
Thanks Brian,
This one felt a little rough to me but overall it worked well enough. Thanks for the kind words. I enjoyed your post.
Tom