Stubborn

Stubborn

‘Humm,’ thought Lisa, sitting in her car. She almost felt calm as her thoughts focused.

Yes, she could be volatile. She’d certainly never admitted that to anyone. Strongminded, sure of herself, confident. The truth? She wanted things her way, the second someone opposed her, she dug in, lost her temper, blew her top. She’d found it was the easiest way to get what she wanted. People hated a fuss. That worked for her. She admitted that now, to herself, sitting here alone in the car.

Today it was the chicken. She sent Al for chicken for the cookout. He came home with hamburger. He thought it would be easier, and everybody liked hamburgers. She’d planned for chicken. How silly! Why did she have to make such a fuss? She ranted and raved about “all the work I’ve done” and “this spoils the whole theme” as if there were a theme. Potato salad and chips go pretty well with anything.

As she wound up, it quickly wasn’t about chicken anymore. Normally Al would just give in, but this time he dug in, he wanted hamburgers, period. Realizing it was going nowhere, and a little in shock at the sudden backbone of her husband, Lisa grabbed her keys and drove off, mostly to save face.

Her face was in need of saving now. Deciding to drive around till Al came to his senses, meaning, decided to give in, she’d turned up an unfamiliar road and was going a bit too fast when she hit the corner, slid off the edge and crashed through the safety fence. Somehow now her stubbornness seemed petty, silly even, as she sat here. Now, she was finally ready to compromise, but a little too late, she thought, calmly watching herself, and the car, fall over cliff.