It doesn’t matter whether you agree or disagree with me. I’m going to start today. Dan told his wife while they were eating their breakfast. That was around five weeks ago. She didn’t believe him at that moment. But after a few days of going silent, Emily passed the five stages of shock. Now she is determined to restore her husband to his default status: the Good Talker she met seven years ago.
“There’s nothing worth talking about anymore!”. Dan announced to justify his decision. Emily is usually a good listener. It’s well-known that she talks barely a few words per hour. But when Dan announced the idea as a fact she got worried. Then she got scared, deeply scared. She replied “Are you sure that you don’t want to discuss the news stories? What about expressing your extreme emotions of love and hate? Will you be able to stop delivering the stinging comments that target every creature around you?
Dan shrugged saying in disappointment “there’s nothing in this world worth a word from me.” Then he stayed silent for the next ten hours. Emily called their friends and she described to them the urgent situation in detail. Most of them laughed while telling Emily that Dan pranked her and he won’t stop talking tomorrow morning. That was a bearable joke for Emily until Dan’s close friend Andrew hinted that Dan might be doing this to push her to talk more.
She stood up to the challenge. Out of nowhere, she pulled out piles of old notes. Every time she argued with Dan, she wrote down all his statements, phrases and points of view. Emily sat facing Dan and started from note number one. She reminded him of all his theories about life, love, marriage, divorce, politics and economics. She kept talking for hours and he stayed silent for hours. At this point, Emily realized how serious Dan is with his decision.
Dan started exploring life with a different approach. He started playing sports, planting roses in the garden, painting the faded walls and to Emily’s surprise, he started cooking. He always refused the idea of spending hours preparing a meal, preferring fast or frozen food. First, he made baked Tilapia, then he upgraded to Creamy Herb Chicken. Today he perfected Guacamole. All the genuine compliments from Emily didn’t convince Dan to sound even one vocal reaction. Why?
Emily thought that if she knew why Dan made his revolutionary decision, she would be able to change his mind. He looks more engaged in all aspects of his daily life, actually, he becomes more productive. So she is sure that the radical change is not related to the lack of loving life, desperation or feeling miserable. So why the talking guy went silent?
Finally, Emily decided to shift her attitude and face the dramatic action with a dramatic reaction. That morning Dan woke up to see his wife packing her clothes in a big bag. He made many gestures to ask her what she is doing but she ignored him completely. Then he tried to write on cardboard. Emily shrugged and dragged the bag, heading towards the door. She startled when he shouted loudly “Emily, what are you doing for heaven’s sake.” She turned slowly to face him with tearful eyes. She realized how much she missed his voice. Dan kneeled on the ground with a disappointed expression on his face. After a while, he stuttered “we just lost a 5000 dollar bet.” She looked shocked “A bet? A bet about what?” Dan exhaled with sorrow “It was the last day of my bet with Andrew to stay silent for five weeks”. He stood up facing Emily and extended his arms to hug her. She stepped back. Then she continued walking out of the house. He called her time after time, he apologized repetitively. Emily didn’t say a word, she went silent.
BB
It could be Bed & Breakfast. No. It’s not. It’s a raw piece of thought that comes from the Back Brain. No logic. No Grammar.