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A man can only take so much. |
"Hal. Hal! What are you doing over there? Can't you turn the TV up?" Sarah asked with her nose scrunched up and her mouth pursed tight. "Yes dear," Hal said flatly while he took another swig of the beer he was drinking. Then he picked up the remote from the arm of his chair and turned the TV up. "Well, you didn't have to say it like that," Sarah quipped. Here it comes Hal thought. The same old thing every night. "Sorry dear," Hal said, trying to sound sincere but didn't accomplish the goal. "Why do you always have to start a fight everyday? You know what I think? I think you enjoy fighting with me. I think you get pleasure from my pain," Sarah taunted. Hal just kept stareing at the TV showing Family Feud. He drank another sip of beer. "Why won't you look at me?" Sarah demanded. As Hal was sitting there, something deep inside his brain shattered like old china tea pot and he snapped. He slowly turned to see Sarah sitting beside him, her face still scrunched up. "Why? Why should I look at you? It's the same old picture, same old movie. And I am tired of the nagging and constant complaining all the time," Hal's words came out even and steady. He rose from his recliner and to Sarah's surprise, he turned and walked down the hall with a slow yet purposeful gait. Hal went to the bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed. He opened the nightstand drawer and looked at the loaded .45 he kept there, just in case. As he picked it up, he heard Sarah's unsure foot steps coming down the hall. "Hal...?" Sarah cautiously approached the bedroom. As Sarah stepped into the bedroom and saw Hal standing there pointing the .45 straight at her. "Hal, what are you doing? Are you ok?" Sarah asked in a slow timid voice. "It's time to change the channel Sarah," Hal said as he pulled the trigger. Sarah gasped as she looked down at the blood seeping through her night gown. "Hal?" Sarah asked as she fell to her knees and then forward onto the floor. The smell of gunpowder permeated the small bedroom. Hal looked down at Sarah as she laid on her stomach, still pointing the gun at her. He finally dropped his arms down to hie side, gun still in hand. He stepped around Sarah's body and walked back to the living room and sat down in his recliner and with his free hand he took anouther drink of his beer. He picked up the remote and turnd the volume up as loud as it would go. "There you go Sarah. Can you hear it now?" Hal asked of nobody. Then he took one last swig of beer and then put the .45 in his mouth and pulled the trigger. THE END |