jml297

It was Donna’s way or the highway. He’d known that from the start. And as one of those blokes who liked to be directed without needing to provide much input, it was easy to fall in with Donna’s approach. In the early years, he’d rebelled occasionally, though the first time he said he was putting his foot down, Donna had laughed so hard she’d cried. It didn’t do much for a man’s confidence.

So he’d go along with most things, and if he really didn’t agree, he’d find a way to soften her resolve. And mostly, they rubbed along all right. As with any relationship, there were things about each other that irritated, but Donna’s heart was in the right place more often than not.

It took a while for Mick to realise that Donna had a set on one of his family. She was polite enough to his folks, but over the years she developed a real dislike for Benny. Benny was Mick’s younger brother, and was one of those people who seem to attract trouble. Or, if not trouble, to get into scrapes that most folk tend to avoid.

Things came to a head when Benny turned up one night, looking like hell and needing a place to stay. Donna had fed him and sent him off to shower before telling Mick that it was no good thinking that Benny could stay more than a night. She said that Benny was bad news and that Mick would need to inform him that he could stay the night, but then he’d have to go. Mick spluttered, trying to defend his brother, saying that he couldn’t turn him away.

‘Either you tell him to move on, or you can both go.’

Mick was stunned. He tried again to shift her, but the set of her jaw and the fire in her eyes shut down his resistance. He’d have to find another way to help Benny. A way that Donna couldn’t find out about.

As the house settled into a kind of peace with Donna’s sighs and Benny’s snores in the spare room, Mick lay still with his eyes open and mind whirring. He knew that deception didn’t come easy to him, and Donna seemed to have a sixth sense for the smallest lie. He hadn’t told Benny that he’d have to move on. His brother looked wretched, a genuine fear flickering behind his eyes as he’d asked Mick not to tell anyone that he was here. Mick glanced over at Donna, her back to him as she lay curled up on the far edge of the mattress. She meant what she said, and he knew better than to test her boundaries.

This was written to a prompt in my writing group. Occasionally, we continue with our characters into the next prompt.

Photo: Hand sculpture at Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney.