from Jammed

'There's straws in the kitchen drawer,' he said.

'Eh?' I said.

'Straws,' he said. 'I need a straw. And put some water in that tea, there's steam coming off it.'

I took the tea back into the kitchen and emptied half of it down the sink. I let the tap run till it was cold.

'There you go,' I said.

He looked at the cup. The straw moved then bobbed out onto the table. 'You'll need to do it,' he said.

'Oh, right,' I said. I looked at my watch. I wanted to get to the chippy before the queue started. The kids were on a promise.

'Did you put water in it?' he said.

'Aye, I did,' I said.

He just sat there, looking at me. 'You'll need to bring it to me, Yvonne,' he said.

It was even worse than when we lived together. I was lucky I left when I did. This wasn't what I wanted to be doing with my life. He moved his head back when he'd had enough, at least I think that's what he meant. I put the cup on the table and sat on the couch.

'The nurse was here this morning,' he said. 'She'll be back on Friday.'