Sell by date comes courtesy of a Dean Writers Circle writing workshop. The other pieces I wrote on the day will never see the light LOL.
‘You’re past your sell by date, you know that, don’t you?’ Ben had hissed the words across the kitchen table when she told him she was leaving him. ‘Don’t even think about finding someone new.’ He’d pushed back his chair, legs scraping on the stone floor.
The flung insult stung. Ellen stood too and then wondered why, but it was awkward to sit again. Ben continued raving, shouting about betrayals and who was he – or she, he smirked – and if that’s the way she wanted it, good luck to her and he didn’t give a flying f…
Ellen had wanted to point out the contradiction of being past her sell by date while being accused of having an affair. Ben wasn’t in a rational mood, however, so she said instead, ‘There IS no one else. This is my decision, to do this for me.’
‘Ha!’ He stopped pacing from the range to the table and snorted. ‘Like I said, no one wants you, never will.’
He appraised her, head moving up and down to emphasise the scrutiny. Ellen thought perhaps she should have washed her hair, changed her jeans and stained gardening T-shirt for a pretty frock, a smudge of eye-liner …
‘Look at yourself.’ His forced laugh grated like fingernails on a blackboard. ‘Not sure what I ever saw you in myself.’
He’d returned to the table, sat and resumed eating with a ferocity as if the lamb casserole was Ellen herself, being chewed and swallowed into nothingness. ‘Expect you’ll be gone by tomorrow, then.’ He didn’t look up from his meal.
‘Expect so.’ Ellen had shuffled from the room, her food untouched, feeling, somehow, that – once again – Ben had had the upper hand, that she’d lost out on what was supposed to be her one moment of triumph.
But later, after showering, changing into a loose summer frock, and hauling the suitcase down from the wardrobe, she peered into the mirror above the dressing table, the drawers pulled open, pregnant with expectation of being emptied.
Not too bad, her reflection told her. Sell by date or not, Ellen decided, there was still some way to go before she passed the Best Before.
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Hope she finds someone who doesn’t care about dates😂😂
I think she might!