Short Story Writing Competition
Hell hath no fury.…brain damage effects no limit….
December 3rd 2015
Bena and Isaac went on what must have been their 80th date in six months. She wore another of her beautiful red dresses and sassy heels, and smiled and flirted. She hated having to leave Debbie with his mother during these dates but it couldn’t be helped. After three months of not hugging Debbie, she wanted them to spend every second together. Soon, though, that wouldn’t be an issue.
He was obvious, predictable, nervous and sweating, and by the time the proposal came, Bena thought she’d do it herself and get it done with. It was quite the entertaining sight.
She said her three yes’s in between dramatic silences, spotted a few tears, hands slightly below her eyes, asked if he was sure about this and called Liz to share the news. What a happy day!!!!
June 30th 2015
Seated on her little bed in her half empty room, Bena tried to put final touches to her plan, it had to go perfectly. She’d been at the rehabilitation center three months. Only two things occupied her mind; her baby, sweet innocent Debbie and her revenge plan. It had started picking up when Isaac visited her for the first time, the nerve!!!!
April 4th 2015
Bena figured she’d take one last tequila. The effect always kicked in with a bang. One second she was drunk, sad and brooding, then one final shot, and she crossed the line, bliss….
It was coming close to a full year of almost constant oblivion. Debbie had long made the trip to grandma’s and the talk with the boss had occurred about six months earlier. Bena couldn’t care less. She always woke up to the same feeling, the same taste in her mouth and the same face, Liz, the faithful sister.
Only this time the room was different.
‘You need this Bena, just three months of rehab, and you’ll feel better, and you’ll forget it all and move on.’ Hearing Liz give up on her made Bena realize she’d hit rock bottom. And thus the three long months began.
June 16th 2014
It’d been three amazing years, and Bena was in a great mood. The anniversary was finally here and she intended to have a good time. Isaac was an amazing boyfriend. Bena believed she was great too. Sure, she got clingy at times, and maybe a little controlling and vengeful, but she loved him and that was what mattered the most, no? So she consulted practical Faith who said, “You’ve been saving for a car, you’re broke, buy dinner, buy him cologne and be content”.
Romantic Rita said ‘three years??? Light candles, buy wine and lingerie and make dinner.”
Ronald, the uhhh, guy, said “wow, get drunk and do what you must till the wee hours”
So Bena bought wine and cologne, skipped the candles, made dinner and awaited the wee hours.
Isaac arrived at 6pm, flowers in hand and said he had some news.
A few hours later and all Bena remembered was ‘I can’t make the same mistake twice, God has given me a second chance, I must give this baby a proper family. It doesn’t mean you and Debbie will be out of my life…..’
June 11th 2015
It was the second month of rehab. Bena spent her time staring into space or trying to read Jeffrey Archer. She’d also read two of the Harry Potter books to help her escape reality. Two months of not seeing her daughter. She was not willing to let Debbie see her like that. She’d go back a strong, healthy-looking mother, a symbol of stability. In the meantime, only Liz could visit.
On this particular morning, she waited patiently for Liz to come with stories and laughter and chicken sandwiches. Instead she got a pitiful looking Isaac.
“I knew if they told you it was me, you wouldn’t let me come in.”
Bena, “What do you want?”
Isaac, “I’m so sorry Bena, I don’t know what I was thinking or if you could ever forgive me but I had to try.”
Bena, “Well then I forgive you”
Isaac, “You do?”
Bena, “I’ve learnt a lot in the two months I’ve been here.”
Isaac; “I’m glad, and I’m willing to wait for you till you get out’
And that was when the plan started. WILLING???? HOW VERY KIND!
What little conversation occurred thereafter was one long joke. It was a joke, right?
July 1st 2015
Third month of rehab
Isaac had brought more red roses. Bena had started to hate those as well. How about black ones to reflect her mood!? Nausea was the only effect they had on her. Kisses, polite updates on progress and such lovely plans for the future. Bena woke up every morning wondering how she was with him for three years if he couldn’t even recognize sarcasm when it was all he got. Sometimes she thought that he saw through her and was waiting to pull one on her, again!!! So Bena smiled, coiled at his touch and said she couldn’t wait to be with him again. Then he asked her out ‘officially’ in what he assumed was a romantic way. Something along the lines of being unable to wait till she ‘got out of there’. Bastard! She said yes, and cried. A very sweet guy, this Isaac. That day Bena considered actually putting her plans on paper. Instead she took a glass of warm milk and went to bed. She dreamt that Isaac had picked Debbie up and taken her to spend the weekend together. She woke up in a cold sweat.
12th March 2016
It was the final meeting for the wedding of Isaac and Bena. High spirits. It made Bena cringe that all these people actually believed she wanted to spend the rest of her life with a man who’d dated her for three years, knocked her up, promised marriage and always, then left her to marry another girl because he had knocked her up as well and he wanted ‘at least one of his children to be born within wedlock’. The nerve!!! Well that wedding had gone down the drain and Isaac had suddenly discovered that he was still madly in love with old flame Bena. But all these people came to support and they said congratulations, we are happy for you. After the meeting, Bena rushed off to pick hers and Debbie’s tickets, the flight was on the same day as the wedding.
ISAAC
March 26th 2016, 03:00am
Isaac picked up the phone alright, but he never got the chance to say a word.
“If you think I’d wed your miserable, boring, undecided, selfish, irresponsible self, you need to think again. Now make those calls and do what you do best, go on about stuff everyone would rather not waste precious time listening to.”
Isaac felt like the world’s most rotten bastard, but he had to admit the relief was overwhelming. He had started to believe Bena would go through with it and he was a bit disappointed, his Bena was better than that. He took his meds and dozed off, vowing never to skip a day of it again.
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