[an:70ba299190]the title's supposed to be ironic, by the way
[/an:70ba299190]
no, this isn't all of it, but I wanted to post something around here.
The alarm clock went off at six, just like it had every other morning for the past twenty years. He reached over blindly, but with an acquired skill, and turned the alarm off. The figure sleeping beside him did not stir. That was a long-practiced habit as well. Peter got out of bed, being careful not to disturb the other, and went to the bathroom. He stepped in the shower and turned the water on, feeling the warm spray on the back of his neck waking him up. He remained in the shower for no more than ten minutes, then got out. He did not bother wrapping a towel around his waist; he saw no point in the act. He walked back into the bedroom, ignoring the still-sleeping figure, and went to the closet. He found a respectable suit; after all, he was a respectable businessman, and silently got dressed. He had no need to hear voices, no need to make mindless conversation. He was efficient, and he got done what needed to be done. That was just his way; always had been, always would be.
He wandered down the hall of the apartment and into the small kitchen. He set up the coffeemaker and then let it run while he went outside to get the newspaper. Once he had gotten back in the apartment, he unfolded the newspaper and began to read it. The coffeemaker made a slight buzz when it was finished. Peter stood up, poured himself a cup, added two teaspoons of sugar and a drop of milk, stirred it thoroughly, and then sat back down.
At seven, he finished his coffee, folded the newspaper neatly and set it on the table. He put his expensive, designer shoes on, picked up his stereotypical briefcase and walked back into the bedroom. The other was still soundly sleeping. Peter smiled fondly and walked over to the bed. He planted a soft kiss on the wavy auburn hair, murmured, “have a good day,”, received a sleepy "love you", and walked out of the apartment. He got into his moderately nice car and drove the twenty miles to his job.
Once he was there, he got a second cup of coffee. It was still before nine and the day hadn’t really started yet. He was allowed to start his day a little late; he was an important guy and got a lot of respect from a lot of people. People respected his intelligence, they respected his position, they respected the fact that he had come from nothing and had yet risen up so far. He did not take advantage of that respect, he had not come to taken it for granted. He worked hard to keep his respect, and wouldn’t have accepted it if he didn’t feel that he deserved it.
Work started pouring in at just after nine and he settled down to a busy day in the office. At about ten in the morning, his phone rang. “Peter Jones,” he said.
“Hey,” said the voice at the other end.
Peter grinned. “Hey baby.”
“Are you coming home on time tonight?”
Peter sighed. “I don’t know. It depends on a lot.”
“You never come home on time anymore.” The voice was quite whiny, but Peter understood that. He never came home on time anymore. He had a lot of work to do in the past six months and often returned home in the middle of the night. It wasn’t exactly a situation he was happy about, though. He really did want to come home on time, eat dinner with the single person in the world that he loved, actually get to hold a civilized conversation.
“Okay.”
“Okay what?”
“I’ll come home tonight. Will you cook dinner if I promise?”
“I’ve cooked dinner for you before and watched it go cold waiting for you.”
Peter closed his eyes. He really didn’t want to fight right now. “Look, I want to come home. Really I do. You don’t understand how much I would give to be able to come home on time. Make dinner and I’ll call if I’m not going to be home.”
Peter heard a sigh at the other end. “Okay. But…I’m really starting to get sick of this…”
“I know you are, darling. Just wait until the promotion comes through…”
“And if you don’t get the promotion?”
“Can we not fight now?”
“Sorry. I’ll let you get back to work. It’s just that it’s been about three days since I’ve heard your voice.”
“I’m sorry. I will do everything in my power to be home tonight. I love you.”
“Love you too.”
. That may make it easier to make the vagueness not feel so forced. Then again, it may help to have him remain nameless. Whatever you decide.
