Reading: "Sibyl of Doom" from RITUALS OF THE ANTITHETICAL (A.Glass 2023)

 

Chelsea, New York City.

1982

“Are you going out tonight?...” Callie McClure asks, pinning the phone to her left ear with her shoulder, whilst looking at her red painted fingernails, reaching down with her right hand, lifting a cigarette from its glass ashtray, she takes a draw from the cigarette. “...We can meet up later…” Placing the smoldering cigarette on the edge of the astray. “...Yeah, I’ll cab to your place and we’ll go across to Manhattan…” Behind her, a man dressed in a formal shirt looking at newspaper article walks past, opening the fridge as Callie sits at the polished wooden galley kitchen bench, uninterested as the man opens and then closes the fringe behind her. “...See you then sweetie.” Hanging up the call, she places the phone back onto its receiver.
“She still looking for the one?” The man asks, as he places the folded newspaper down onto the galley bench.
Callie staring ahead into the lounge area in front of her, without turning to where the man is, leaning to her right, making a sandwich. She lifts the cigarette and has another draw, looking at the man beside her, pursing her lips in a certain way so that she exhales the smoke from her mouth to her left side.
“I think she just likes dancing,” Callie replies, with a sardonic grin, as her husband John McClure smiles, without overly acknowledging the comment, looking down at the newspaper, while taking a bite from the sandwich. Callie continues smoking the cigarette, staring blankly at the lounge window, watching the trees outside gently sway from side to side.
“I’ll pick up the kids tonight...” Her husband says, placing the dish into the sink. “...Then I gotta fly out to L.A.” He kisses Callie on her right cheek, walking towards their front door.
Snubbing the cigarette into the ashtray, she looks at her wrist watch.
Later that evening, looking over herself in full length mirror, eyeing her mid length skirt with the thigh high split and her tucked in light blue satin shirt, with its deep plunge and no bra. Callie checks her makeup and hair, ensuring that her blond hair is hanging down over both her shoulders. Satisfied with her appearance, she looks at her wrist watch. Walking back to the lounge room as her two young children are watching television.
“...Israel has just invaded South Lebanon, titled “Operation Peace in the Galilee,” in response to the attempted assassination of the Israeli ambassador to England...”
Quickly walking pass the lounge area to the kitchen, looking at the television screen of rocket attacks on a city with troops fighting in the streets. Callie opens the fridge to check there is enough food for dinner, she looks at her wrist watch again. “Is there anything better on?…” Checking the pantry, scanning over the stored foods. “...The baby sitter will be here any moment.”

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Reading:  "Sibyl of Doom" from RITUALS OF THE ANTITHETICAL (A.Glass 2023)