When Frank reentered the bedroom, Sarah was fully dressed in her day clothes and sitting on the edge of the bed. Her purse was over her shoulder and the light from the window pronounced the paleness of her face. She looked serious, like she had been rehearsing what she was about to say. “So, I’ll see you on Wednesday?” Sarah said. Frank nodded. “Maybe I’ll make that lasagna dish you like.” “Okay, sounds good.” “I can make something else.” “Lasagna’s fine.” There were a few beats of silence before Sarah got up. As she moved toward the door, the two had a small awkward dance trying to decide if they should hug or not. It ended with Sarah punching Frank’s arm in a way-to-go-kiddo manner, then lowering her head as she fast-pedaled to the front door. Frank sat on his bed for a minute, and replayed the punch on his arm. He took the phone from his nightstand and typed a message to Sarah: “I have a thing on Wednesday. Maybe next week.” He put the phone back on the nightstand and dried his hair. He then hung the towel on the closet door, and went up and down the row of clean shirts taking great care in choosing the right outfit. It was an effort he hadn’t made in a long time, one that felt overdue.
A Maryland native, Mike Koenig writes screenplays, teleplays, and fiction. He received his MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore and currently works at Discovery Communications. In 2013 his fiction can be seen in Phoebe.