The Beginning of the end by Richard Ridyard
 (16 ratings)
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SUMMARY: Entry for flash fiction contest Jan 08. http://www.sffworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18951
She remembers where they first met, In a Starbucks near her house. They were happy times perhaps the happiest of her entire life, that's why she knew she would have to return to that same coffee shop to end it. Their affair had begun almost a year ago. Her husband was always travelling, often for weeks at a time. She had been so lonely. She just needed someone to talk to, someone to be with.
Talk, talk, talk, that's all he ever did though. She had grown tired of him and his garlic laced breath. She was already upset. He was late and she had to wait for him in Starbucks for almost fifteen minutes. When he finally shows up she decides to tell him straight away. She said, "I don't think we should see each other anymore."
"What?" he blurted out.
"You heard me," she said firmly.
"But I love you."
"Yes, I know you do, but the truth is I no longer love you."
"What about our dreams, our plans?" he asked.
It was true she did once love him, but no longer. He had swept her off her feet. Their lovemaking used to last all night, sometimes into the next morning. And they talked, God how they had talked. They talked of their future together, of her running away with him, maybe to Europe. But now the fire was gone. "That's all they were, dreams. I can't go on dreaming forever."
"But that's just it, now we can do it."
"How? On a waiter's salary?"
"I being a waiter didn't seem to be a problem when you were sharing my bed."
Thinking about the one night she had stayed in his apartment made her skin crawl. The tiny one bedroom was behind the Italian restaurant where he worked. It was filthy. The water didn't work properly and then there were the bugs. Big brown roaches. In the middle of the night she had gotten up to go to the bathroom; when she turned on the light a dozen of them were scurrying around on the floor. "Actually if you remember it was my bed we shared when my husband was out of town."
"But I love you," he pleaded.
A few weeks ago she decided to break it off. She realized she could never leave her husband for a middle-aged waiter. The truth was that he was a loser. A romantic dreamer to be sure, but still a loser.
A week ago her husband surprised her. He was disturbed at how they had grown apart. He had changed jobs. No more travelling. They weren't too old he said. Maybe they could have a child. God, a child. Something she'd always wanted. She was going to end this today. Devote herself again to her marriage.
"But I don't love you. I'm going to try and save my marriage."
She knew that he would take it badly but not this much. That's why she knew it had to be here, that's why they had returned to where all this began. She knew that she couldn't rewrite what they had done, but at least returning to the same Starbucks where they had met meant they could get some closure.
He looked at her for what seemed an eternity. His eyes had a cold expression, one she had never seen before. She was confused and waited for words to come out of his mouth. When he finally spoke his voice sounded different.
"It's too late for that."
She felt a sudden chill pass through her. "Why?"
"I just killed him."
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