No Tip

[Brad Rose]

You left in July, and it was a pretty fast slide down the rung-less ladder, after that.  By January, the bank took back the house, and I was living in my station wagon and working part-time for Dominos.  Thursday night, I was delivering two large pepperonis to a weary brown tract house on the south side, when a man the size of a defensive tackle opens the door, and as I peer into the bare, TV-shadowed living room behind him, catch a glimpse of you, dressed in your bathrobe, sitting on the couch. The man turns to you and inquisitively growls, “I didn’t order any pizza, did you?”

 

Before you can answer, I jauntily interject, “Ahh, these are complimentary, Sir…they’re on the house.”

 

With forearms taut as a warrior’s bow, the man leans forward, takes the two stacked boxes as if they were cardboard offerings to the god of love, and summarily shuts the door.

[Bill Floyd]

"Rung-less ladder" is an economical turn of phrase.  Looks like her slide has been pretty steep, too.

[Brad Rose]

Thanks everyone for reading and comments. 

[Robert Crisman]

What's interesting is the "dreary brown tract house" she fled to. Must've been real dog's hell there at home...

[Ron. Lavalette]

 Oh, my, this is gooooo-ooood. The downward slide, the fallen circumstances, the sudden sudden appearance of the ex. How you managed to make reading about it tolerable (enjoyable, even)  is beyond me. Great work.

[Mike Handley]

Hmmm ... Maybe divorcees should stick to Digiorno?

[Teresa]

Unfair.  I think I could survive a part-time job at Dominos and living in my car as long as I had 6S.  Hopefully I won't have to test this assumption.  Good one.

[Angela]

How does one manage jaunty under such circumstances?  Yet when you write it, it is funny, sad, and totally believable.

Thought the "warrior's bow" and "rung-less ladder" were great.