Factual Fiction

He had been gone four hours. She would be worried, or suspicious. How was she to know what he had been up to? The balloon was his only proof. He had gone with his friend, Matt to the fair because Matt wanted to visit the kissing booth, but didn't want to go alone.

"Look Matt, I have a lot to do today - "

"Come on buddy! I need you there! Gimme some support."

"Dude, it's just a kissing booth, it's not like you need a wingman. This sort of thing is for 10-year-olds and old men who can't get any action. Go to a bar and see what you find there."

"Look, it's for reminiscing, you know, looking back to the good ol' days. Just for fun, man! Come with me, you'll enjoy it."

"You mean you'll enjoy it."

"Whatever, you can feed off the glow of my experience."

So he went. The line was very long. While he waited for Matt, he bought a bright pink balloon because he thought, "She will like this." He hadn't gotten a chance to tell her that he was going out - she had been yelling at a telemarketer on the phone. She would be in a bad mood when he got home so better bring something nice back.

Matt finally got through the line and got his smooch. Now it was raining. It would take him an extra hour to get home because of the weather. It started coming down in torrents and by the time he dropped Matt off, it had already been an hour and a half. She would be extremely anxious now. He realized he had left his cell phone on the counter when he was leaving earlier that day. She would be furious - how many times had she told him to ALWAYS take his phone with him wen he left the house?

10 minutes away and the rain had stopped, but it had become quite gusty outside. He could now see the porch light shining through the mist - it was already 8:00 pm. It had been 6 hours. She would be pacing, biting her nails, debating whether or not to call the police. The balloon would cheer her up - it bobbed safely in the back seat.

He pulled into the driveway and shut off the car. He sat and took a deep breath, bracing himself. He opened the door - WHOOSH - a blast of wind swept through the car, grabbed the balloon, and breezed out again. He stood there gaping, his arms stretched out in an empty grasp - zero balloon. And he stood there with nothing to show for the day; he stood there and thought, "Oh dear."

Ominous thoughts swirled around in his head - what would she do? What would she say? How would she react when he entered the house, hours after supper, with no valid reason for being away so long. His single shred of evidence that would have proved where he had been was gone. He stood there empty-handed, his clothes sagging with the mist, watching the balloon meander through the sky, pitching back and forth in the turbulent bursts of wind.

He turned toward the house and considered it with the fear a child has before entering a haunted mansion. Gray clouds swirled and tumbled with the wind and the naked trees in the yard creaked and swayed, making the house appear more foreboding than before. The piles of leaves he'd forgotten to bag the day before now lay scattered across the lawn, occasionally being thrust into the air with a sudden poof of wind. The sharp breeze bit his cheeks so they turned red and his eyes watered with the deepening chill.

A light flickered on in the front room and his eyes shifted to that window, unwillingly attracted to the yellow gleam. He saw a divide appear in the blinds, a space that was shortly conquered by his wife's beady eyes and her shrewd glare. He quickly gathered up his coat and umbrella and hastened to the house. The door was opened before he could lay his hand on his keys and he found himself face to face with that penetrating stare.

"Where have you been?" she asked steadily, "It's ten past eight and you missed supper."

"I'm sorry, I - "

"And you left your phone on the counter, again." Her voice went up an octave.

"I know, I feel - "

"And you didn't leave a note or anything, you had me so worried," the words began flowing out quicker and closer together, "I didn't know what to do, whether I should call the police or wait it out or what. I was going to call the police in ten minutes if you hadn't gotten back, " a whine had evolved out of her voice as they entered the house and walked down the hall, "What a mess that would have been, I mean, you're obviously OK, you finally made it home, but if I had called and you had arrived two seconds later, we would have had to waste hours explaining the situation to the police and no doubt they would have fined us for a prank call or something, like we can really afford that right now, especially with all these bills we have to pay because of the new furniture, and with your job, it's not like we're getting anywhere fast. Why couldn't you have just taken the accounting job? You'd make so much more money and we wouldn't have to buy wholesale all the time. What if we're still buying things from Wal-Mart when we have kids? Babies need good, organic foods! And so do I! I can't get fat and bloated by eating chemicals all day, do you know what that would do to my figure? How can I pay for - "

"Why do you worry so much?" Oops, he grimaced just as the last words fell out of his mouth. That wasn't exactly what he had meant to say and clearly the grimace was taken as a look of disgust.

"Why do I worry so much?!" Her pitch rose and the whine transformed into a snarl, "I worry so much because you do stupid things like take off in the middle of the day, without warning, and don't return until hours later, with no explanation of where you've been and why! I have to worry for the both of us because clearly you don't care enough to stay home and take on your share of responsibility, worrying included!"

"Look, I'm sorry, but you didn't even give me a chance to explain."

"Well do so then!" She had started using wild hand gestures and drops of perspiration had appeared just above her eyebrows - he knew she was on the brink of erupting.

"Well, OK, Matt wanted to go to the fair - "

"You put me through all of this just for a stupid kiddie fair?!"

"Let me finish! He didn't want to go by himself so I went with him to the kissing booth - "

"WHAT??"

"But I didn't - "

"You went to a kissing booth?! What do you think I am? A piece of lawn furniture? I am your wife!" Her cheeks were turning red and he felt spittle hitting his face, "Am I only good enough to cook your food and wash your clothes and you can't even come to me for a kiss?!" He figured it was time to start fighting back. This was ridiculous, he hadn't even gotten in line, much less kissed another woman.

"Look, I didn't even get in line - "

"But you were there!"

"Yeah but I didn't kiss anybody!"

"But you could have! Why can't I trust you?"

"Good question, why?!" They glowered at each other for a minute before she stalked off into the kitchen. He felt the heat of her anger dissipate as she left, but his cheeks were still warm from the fight. He watched her grab a knife out of the knife block and proceed to mutilate a green pepper. Her knuckles were white with the force of which she clung to the knife; the muscles in her arms rippled with a purpose under her skin as she violently sliced through the vegetable. Her face was hidden under her thin, brown hair, straight and plain, the only thing that seemed lifeless and indifferent in this moment of livid hatred. He saw her bangs fly up in a huff of frustration, and he could see a single tear clinging to the gentle curve of her cheek, but her eyes still glowed red hot, and they flashed in the reflected light of the knife. Her jaw was set, solid, and clamped shut in fierce determination to keep silent. He followed her, not finished with his argument.

"I promise you, I have never kissed another women since we got married. I simply was doing Matt a favor by going with him. I just stood by, watched, and then we left. I'm mostly late because of the storm. I bought a balloon while I was there because I wanted to bring something nice back to you, but the wind caught it and it blew away. You should only be mad at me because I got home late and didn't let you know where I was and I'm sorry for that, OK? Just give me a break."

"That's all you did?"

"Yes, and it was really boring."

"And you bought me a balloon?" She peeked at him through her bangs.

"Yeah, I though it would be nice and I thought you'd like it."

"What color was it?"

"Pink, your - "

"Favorite." A small smile appeared on her face and she carefully set down the knife. She looked up. "I love you."

"Wait, you're not mad anymore?"

She circled her arms around his waist and squeezed him tight. Then she looked into his eyes and whispered, "Why would I be? You're so sweet."

"God, you go through emotions like a chain smoker," he said, a little annoyed, "Why do I put up with you?"

"Let me see if I can remind you..." she pressed her lips to his and they were locked in a passionate kiss. As she pulled away, he understood.