Joan of arc, 1000 word short story

I was prepared to listen to her advice about cheese, but why was she dressed as Joan of Arc. She had no drive, no ambition, and spends her day watching the shopping channel; she couldn't even speak French for Christ sake, it was pathetic how much she thinks about herself.

The next day I took the dessert out of the fridge, tasting it and being both pleased in its dulcet texture and yet bitter, after realising Karen was right. I suppose on the bright side if it weren't for her we'd be taking a cheddar cheesecake to her folks tonight. I hate it when she's right and when she's wrong, she's still right, no doubt she'll screw up tonight too and blame it on me, I don't even know why I'm going anyway, if it weren't for this little one, I would have left her weeks ago. As I wrapped up the dessert, I cringed at the drudging footsteps as she slowly made her way downstairs, something told me that we would pick up where we left off last night and it was too early for all that again. I glanced at her ageing face so bland & aggressive on the eyes, noticing how lifeless she looked without her best friends Rimmel & loreal beside her. She had gained at least 6 years over night and I loved it. She took a keen interest in the floor walking passed me without so much as a glance. If she had any soul, she would be feeling shame as she should be, all of this was her idea. A part of me wanted to say something but it wouldn't come out, what little dignity I had left was telling me to stand my ground. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, looking for an opening, any sign of what she might be thinking but I was clutching at straws. I felt anguish but hoped it would ware off as the day went on. There wasn't any chance of luck being with me today, I had to tell Chris about our child before going to this dinner tonight with Karen's parents, it was hard enough having to deal with Chris' reaction to the news, let alone an evening of snide jabs from Karen's dad all night, damn hypocrite.

I was convinced everything Karen did was done to annoy me. From putting the mustard in the fridge to putting the toilet sit down again, she took the piss before I had a chance to. I could tell she was hurt by what I had said last night but I gave as good as I received, we let everything hang out last night for the longest 4 hours of my life. I swear if this kid isn't mine i'm leaving her for good this time and going back to Chris. She was the best thing in my life, Karen had just confused things. For months she had been verbally kicking my ass and theres only so much a guy can take. On the coffee table was my answer sitting neatly in a thin line. My eyes widened excitedly as I took it as quickly as possible. To tell you the truth the rush was better than sex.

Within a few minutes I felt more at peace than ever, I could finally relax without the agony of a girlfriend and child to ground me. My eyes slowly closed as my body tingled blissfully, more numb than anything. As soon as my eyes closed I felt the impact of a huge slap across the side of my face as Karen gave her best shot at me. She struck me so hard my ear wouldn't stop ringing. She started screaming hysterically at me but it was the last time this would happen. Without hesitation I lunged at her, shoving her against the cabinet. All the belittling from her had made me snap, the pent up aggression poured out of me as she banged her head on the cupboard falling to the ground. She cried hysterically looking up at me with obvious regret for what she had done. I could hear the baby's cry it was almost as loud as Karen's wailing. Seeing what I had done, I fell to the floor, crying as infant like as the baby, my hate for her had seemingly forced me doing something I couldn't believe, how could I have done this to her. Yes she had hurt me bad with her betrayal, but it paled in comparison with this.

My heart raced with panic at what I had seen, truth be told, I hadn't been scared like that in years. I looked towards Karen shifting in discomfit from my sudden jerk. My eyes were sore but I could still see my child in front of me. I imagined how peaceful he would be, what he might be thinking, just imagining it brought a smile to my face, I needed it after the night I had. I knew that things in the morning would be difficult under the circumstances but my love for her overcame my previous urges to contemplate doing something so unthinkable. The pale night was drawing to a close as I lay my head to rest once more, I felt proud and more optimistic than ever before, knowing that my love for her was stronger than I once thought. I rolled over half asleep towards the bedside table and turned on the light, looking for the leaflet. There was only one way I was going to get over this, I had to admit to myself that I couldn't supress it anymore, the gear had taken over, I had to admit it now. After what I had just seen, it seemed that the day would soon come when I didn't dream it. I glanced through the few pages but stared intently at the number on the front of the leaflet. This was my chance to be a good father.