The hutch stands in the far corner of the shed. Dusty, bedecked with cobwebs, hardware missing, doors hanging askew, it is a battered shadow of its former glory. No prized china sits proudly on its shelves, only last year’s sparrow’s nest. Paint cans and oil filters sit where carefully pressed linens were once stored.
I run my hand over the gouges that scar the counter, among them a crudely carved heart enclosing the initials: DL + BR. My fingers stop at the heart, linger there for a moment.
Who were DL and BR? Were they high school sweethearts who married? Or was it only a summer romance? Does it matter? What matters is that, for one moment, they were caught up in a passion that inspired them to leave this everlasting declaration of love.
I trace my finger around the heart and sigh. I envy them. There is no such moment in my life. I am empty.
(inspired by a word challenge to write about a hutch)
#Loneliness #Romance #Love #Longing #Regret #Fiction #MargaretGHanna #BWLAuthor
A Prairie Perspective 