Hodgepodge

January 8 short story

Titus woke up and found Jessica still asleep next to him. There was a gap between them, but it was small enough for him to reach over and touch her. The gap in her heart, the one that he had torn open was wide as the Grand Canyon.

As usual, Titus woke up at the same time as the sun went up. He got dressed and took a peek into the other bedroom, which was now Daniel's bedroom. Daniel was fast asleep. Titus decided to go for a short run and stop at the small bakery on Venice Blvd a block from the Strand and pick up fresh croissants.

He ran the few blocks and went for a brief run on the Venice Boardwalk. He used the concrete stands to get his heart going by running up and down. Once he was good a sweaty, he ran to the bakery. Used to seeing him early and unshowered, the owner gave him one of her typical sour smiles, which was the friendliest she was capable of.

"I'll have three croissants and three French rolls."

"Threesome?"

"My wife and son are over."

She raised her eyebrows. "Where'd you hide a whole family for all these years?"

"Just gimme my stuff!" he said gruffly. She shoved the paper bag at him with an annoyed glare.

At home, Titus made coffee. He scrambled eggs and cut up a tomato into thin slices. He cut up an apple and a banana. For Daniel, he prepared a couple of triangle sandwiches in case he didn't want a croissant.

Then, he sat down in the living room. He sat down on the couch and started thinking about his life.