Stolen Bites

Abigail Thomas

Word Count 174

It’s seven-thirty in the morning and I’m already tired. My stomach hurts. Too much coffee. The dogs are napping after their wild foray outside. I’m depressed about being tired all the time until I notice the lighter is right there on the table and I don’t have to get up to light my cigarette on the stove. I can use the coffee cup as an ashtray which is one of my disgusting habits. What is wrong with me? Last night a friend needed a place to sleep. He brought Chinese food and I wasn’t going to eat it because he’s dead broke, but this was duck and I kept looking at the dark strips and finally he offered me a few which I ate. Then I wanted all of it plus the water chestnuts and broccoli so when he went outside to call his son I gobbled more.  He would have been happy to give it to me, but sometimes it is more interesting to feel as if you’re doing something sneaky and bad. 

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Abigail has four children, twelve grandchildren, one great grandchild, two dogs, and a high school education. Her books include Safekeeping; A Three Dog Life; and What Comes Next and How to Like It. Her new book, Still Life At Eighty, is due out this month on The Golden Notebook Press. She lives in Woodstock, NY.