Canned Love

/ roughwighting

canned goods, love storyAs I placed my head on the pillow to sleep, I suddenly thought about Artie. My heart choked up as if something was squeezing it, hard.

The pain pushed the blood, salt, and tears out of my soul.

I rose out of bed, realizing that sleep was impossible, and walked quietly, almost hypnotically, over to the master bath. What I needed was a good long soak in the tub . . .

     . . . in the dark, except for the candle I lit in the corner.bath, steamy bath, steamy love

As I added some lavender bubble bath to the water, I remembered that citric acid was listed on the back of the jar. I laughed bitterly as I sank into the warm foamy Jacuzzi. Did I want to be preserved, like a pickle? Citric acid is added not only as a preservative, but also to add a sour taste to food. I was already sour enough, thank you very much.

Suddenly, a dark shape entered the room and stood in front of my prone form. The candlelight shaped the shadow of the man.

Artie.

Artie, who left me weeks ago.

Artie, who had gone silent when he found out what I had done.

Artie now stripped off his clothes and joined me in the womb-like water.

He broke his month-long silence by asking, “Why are you mumbling about citric acid?”

Acid seemed to be juicing up my saliva. “It’s one of the ingredients in my bubble bath.”

“Darling, citric acid is biochemical. It occurs in the metabolism of all living things.”

I tried to not breathe, think, or respond. What did he mean?

“Sweetie,” he continued, “what you did was wrong. But metabolically, we are weaved together like yarn into a scarf. You are mine. I am yours. For better or for worse.”

Artie drew me to him, the two of us intertwined in the effervescent closeness.

“I’m sorry for the ‘worse.’” I whispered.

“So am I. So am I,” he whispered back before kissing me as if he’d never, ever stop.

 The Right Wrong Man, romantic suspense, women's fictionFlash fiction – inspired from my creative writing prompt to pick up a can in the kitchen pantry and write a story based on its ingredients. Can you guess what can I picked? The winner gets a paperback copy of my novel The Right Wrong Man. Write your guess in the comments section. (If more than one person guesses the correct answer, names will be placed in a  . . . can . . . and the name pulled out, wins.)

77 thoughts on “Canned Love”

  2. For some reason, this brought back memories of when Diana entered Anne’s story into the Rollings Reliable Baking Powder contest in Anne of Green Gables by writing the product into the overwrought love scene, unbeknownst to Anne.

    I like how you mixed a little “dirty” with the “clean.” xD

    And I’m with Norah: canned artichokes.

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    • Oh, I love your response – a little dirty with the clean. Your guess is quite interesting!! I can’t say I remember the Ann of Green Gables scene, but it sounds fun. 🙂

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    • No canned veggies at all?? I buy fresh but admit that I’ll use canned tomato sauce, soups, corn etc at times for casseroles.
      I’m just returning from vacation and then I’m going to run out and buy your book!

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  8. I’m going for a touch of the analytical and what I can see so a can of cranberry sauce for me! Citric acid … clearly has properties beyond the scientific … flash fiction indeed!

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  18. When I first caught the title of your post, my brain read ‘Canada Love’. In spite of my ‘disappointment’ that it wasn’t, I loved the story! Curious minds wonder what on earth ‘you’ did to deserve a month long silence, but I loved Artie’s line ‘we are weaved together’ ❤

    My guess? The tomatoes.

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    • Tomatoes are a great canned ingredient for so many things. Including a love affair?
      By the way, although I have only been to Canada a few times in my life, I do love Canada because of all the wonderful bloggers like you who write about the glories of your country. 💙

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  21. You know, I totally missed the whole “guess what can” thing, but kept seeing stuff in all the comments SO…I’ll guess corn 🙂

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    • Ha ha. Cans are not given enough credit, are they Elizabeth? I did enjoy making a love story out of a ….can. Fruit Fresh makes sense, given their need for citric acid. Is it the answer? Stay tuned – answer coming up soon. xo

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  35. Pingback: And the Canned Winner Is . . . | roughwighting

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