Under the Mango Tree: 101 Tales (2)

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Challenge No.37 - Acting Out of Character.

Write a scene or story in which someone acts outside of their normal behaviour.

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It was Fran's new year's resolution to start the year afresh, sans Jerry, no matter the cost. It was old year's night, and she really had no plan on how to achieve her vow, until the opportunity presented itself.

Jerry was drunk - again.

The couple had argued - again.

About her imagined infidelity - again.

He'd hit her - again.

Then passed out - again.

There comes a moment in time when a person can take no more. As the clock struck midnight and ships blew their horns and fireworks lit the sky, Fran reached her tipping point.

She was the mild-mannered, senior financial manager at Interisland Tech. A digital design company based in Saint Lucia with Caribbean and international clients. Her signature moved millions of dollars, every day. Yet somehow, she'd found herself involved with a man whose idea of dealing with a successful black woman was to drag her down.

Good looks only took one so far and Jerry's had lost its appeal. Fran walked over to the gun cabinet, reached for the automatic, checked that it was loaded and removed the safety catch.

Fireworks continued to light up the night sky. A new year was here! Hooray! She could hear people down the road shouting greetings to each other.

She entered the bedroom. There he lay, sprawled across the bed. She had loved him... once. He was still that handsome black man, but it was a disguise for the monster that lay beneath.

For a moment she stared at him, the gun dangling in her hand. She felt nothing. Not even hate. Fran crossed the floor and approached the bed. She placed the muzzle against Jerry's temple. In his drunken stupor, he opened his eyes and recognized the death in her eyes.

"Fran." He bleated and reached for her.

"Happy New Year." She squeezed the trigger.

It was a happy coincidence that the gunshot was hidden in the noise of the fireworks. It really didn't matter to her. Fireworks or not, she'd have done the deed. She poured a glass of wine, sat on the balcony that faced the Castries Harbour and savoured the moment.

She was not a violent woman, not by a long shot. But it was the first day of a brand-new year, on such a day one needed to clean the trash out of the house. Jerry was a cockroach who had infested her home and her life. Who didn't kill cockroaches?

The adrenaline rush was waining. The fireworks were so pretty and the wine was delicious. She raised her glass to the moon. "Happy New Year!"

There was no rush, she'd call the police later. Maybe someone in the press would say that 'she was a good girl.'

© 6 April 2022

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