Tulip stood in the
corner of the study room in awe of what had happened. Not that it happened for
the first time. She moved her hand in a slight circular motion to ease the pain
on the now red and bruised cheek. She kept staring as nick compiled the
scattered paper from the floor into a bundle. He sat down at his desk and
resumed whatever he was doing.
Tulip was now breathing
heavily, she wanted more. She slowly moved along the wall towards the open
window, careful enough not to disturb nick. She looked out of the window and
saw children running around having fun. She wanted some fun time too. She
turned back to check on what Nick was up to. Nick paid no attention to what
happened around the room.
Tulip went back to
looking out of the window. A tiny Basil plant swaying gently in the nonexistent
breeze caught Tulip’s attention. The lush green leaves in the white ceramic pot
filled with just the right amount of dark brown soil seemed visually appealing
to Tulip.
‘Nick Darling’ she
called out in an amusing tone.
Nick didn’t reply.
‘We should get more of these. This one moved a little.’
Nick didn’t reply.
‘We should get more of these. This one moved a little.’
Nick didn’t bother to
turn around; he didn’t say a word and kept working. Tulip grabbed the tiny
plant and in a sudden burst of rage threw it at Nick.
‘Look at me when I
fucking talk to you.’
The three second
silence in the room made Tulip realize what she had done. She knew what was
about to follow, she braced herself.
Nick, on the other hand
didn’t react. The pot had shattered as soon as it touched the back of his
crown; the recently watered plant had skipped his shoulder and landed right on
top of his paper work. The moist soil and roots added to the mess, smudging the
ink on the paper. Nick stood up and dusted the plant off of his desk and brushed
the dirt from his shoulder and looked back at Tulip. She stood dumbstruck in
front of the window.
‘You know I don’t like
distractions when I work. HOW MANY FUCKING TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU THAT?’
Screamed Nick at the top of his lungs.
‘But I’m getting
bored.’ Replied Tulip
‘Then why don’t you
clean the mess that you have made.’ Nick reached out for the bottle of ink on
the table and threw towards Tulip. The bottle smashed against the window pane
right above Tulip. Nick never had a good aim. The ink splattered all over the
window and of course over Tulip. She
tasted the ink from the tip of her lips. The bitter taste made her experience
even better. She heard the children scream from below and looked out. She
wasn’t the only one covered with ink. She quickly closed the window and turned
back. Nick had already gone back to work.
Tulip tip toed out of the room and into
the kitchen where she had a Barred Tiger Salamander in a medium sized fish
tank.
‘So, how did it go and
what’s with the new beauty product on your face?’ The Salamander asked.
‘I did make him talk
but your plan didn’t work.’ Tulip replied.
‘Okay then, you got
what you needed now let me out of this smelly tank.’
‘Not today Red, maybe
tomorrow. I’m going to take a shower and get this ink off my face. Maybe I’ll
throw a bucket of boiling hot water on him next. I love it when he does things
to me.’
