Longevity's Curse (unfinished)

From my spot at the table I could see every time Natalie would laugh that the black straps, of her very seductive dress, would ever so gracefully dance down her shoulders, revealing more cleavage with every cackle. Her chest would raise and lower, and the straps would only lower, it had a subtle beauty in its lack of concern for exposure. Having noticed this, what some would call “flaw,” I kept the jokes coming. Hoping for that one exertion of breath that would lower enough to get a good sight of what she was keeping so secretly tucked away beneath her lovely dress of the evening.

As she reached to push the straps back to their proper places on her shoulders, I knew that this view, which I dreamt of, I wouldn’t ever get. I felt my heart sink, and a dream in my head slowly melt into a lost cause—with no structure or truth.

My sinking feeling must’ve shown on my face because the next thing to hit me was the light touch of my wives aged hand reaching for my thigh as she leaned over and whispered, “Is everything ok?”

I knew the truth would never be told. I gave her a simple smile, a light touch to her wrist, and a soft, “things are just fine.”

Things weren’t fine.

Story ID:	3860
Written by:	Michael Joseph Luciano (bio, link, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Story
Location:	Worcester MA USA
Year:	2007