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In Case of Emergency
The Daily Cuppa Weekly Prompt: Drive
Her car keys started out on the counter.
They appeared the morning after they’d fought the “marriage-ending” fight Karly claimed ruined her third marriage. “You lay out the truth, the love and the hate, the all of it and you look to see what’s left. And there’s nothing worth saving. So you leave.”
Geri pushed the car keys aside, got down to the business of grinding coffee beans.
Apology brewed, she carried it to him just as he emerged with the basket of laundry.
Collision averted, they mumbled good morning.
A couple of weeks later, her car keys migrated to the junk drawer.
Spring cleaning revealed rubber bands, business cards, and grandchildren’s broken crayons.
Her car keys had migrated to the corner where pencil nubs lived.
Stowed in Geri’s jewelry box, the keys promised her freedom she didn’t choose.
Years later, grandchildren marveled over the car Grandma never drove.
