I spent that winter building retaining walls for Alex, that’s when I started seeing Clementine again. We ran into each other outside a cafe and remembered our immediate attraction was more important than the problems it would bring. Mornings I’d lay concrete slabs, evenings I’d lay with her, sharing the gaps in our lives as if knowing there was no threat of connection. ‘I love how rough your hands are now,’ she’d say, and I’d force them on her until she was satisfied. As the year warmed up, the work ran out, my calluses softened, and Clem faded away.
Nic
Nic Addenbrooke is a freelance writer, editor, content creator, radio broadcaster, part-time poet and sometimes artist. Nic has been coming to terms with existence for years. He currently lives and works in Brisbane where he struggles to turn the cacophony of voices in his head into things of substance. It doesn’t always work but occasionally produces a nice veneer of sanity.
18/11/2016 at 14:10
nic is a brilliant wordsmith….write a novel Nic!
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18/11/2016 at 14:13
Thanks Anthony. I’ll find the time to work on something longer soon, I promise.
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22/11/2016 at 14:11
Heartfelt bittersweet – and so well done. Loved it.
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22/11/2016 at 15:08
Thanks Mel 🙂
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