Insomnia Cures

Insomnia Cures
(293 words)

“Cindy … Cindy? Are you awake? Cindy?”

“Mmm … huh?”

“Are you awake?”

“I am now. What’sa matter?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Why?”

“Maybe I’m worried about the new job. Maybe I ate too much fried chicken. I don’t know.”

“Do you want me to get you something?”

“No, I’ll just try to go to sleep.”

* * *

“Cindy? Cindy!”

“What?”

“Could you get me some antacids?”

“OK.”

“Oh! And some of that apple pie.”

“I thought your stomach was upset.”

“The apple pie will help settle it.”

* * *

“Here. Do you want anything else while I’m up?”

“No, you can go back to sleep.”

* * *

“Huh? Jeffrey – why is the TV on?”

“I wanted to watch something. I’ll turn it down.”

* * *

“Cindy? Cindy!”

“What now?”

“My back is all stiff. Will you rub it?”

“OK.”

“Ahhhh. That’s good.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t have taken the new job. Maybe it’s too much pressure.”

“Mmmm…”

“You’re old job didn’t make you lose sleep for days at a time. Maybe you should get your old job back.”

“Mm-Hmmm…”

“But the extra money is really nice.”

“Yeeaahhhh…”

“You know what I was thinking?”

“Mmm?”

“With the new money we could get a deck built in the back. You know I’ve always wanted a deck. We could buy a nice redwood table and then we could invite people over for barbecue parties. My parents are always saying that they don’t get to spend enough time with the baby… And did I mention that the washing machine is acting up again? It’s making all these funny noises. I think we might need a new one. Do you think we could buy one? … Jeffrey? … Honey? … Sure, now you’re asleep …”

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Author’s Note: This story was written for the “Daily Flash Fiction” contest on 11/14/2009, for the prompt: “Write about someone who has insomnia.”