E is for Enough

“Enough is enough! I cannot take any more of your crap, Phil!”

Nina was livid. He had come home drunk again. She had told him other versions of saying she had enough of it all, like “Stop drinking…please don’t drink so much…can we agree to take alcohol out of our lives“, and none of it got through.

“Do you hear the words I am saying?” Nina asked Phil.

She knew it was an impossible task to get him to stop. He had the gift of being able to embellish his dreadful habits with his own reasoning and ornaments. As much as she had tried to get him to see he had a problem, she also wanted to give up because she knew her words fell on deaf ears. Her face was red with anger. His addiction caused her pain and chagrin. His stinking breath stained with beer and other spirits made her soul hurt.

“I’m sorry, Nina! This change is hard for me to navigate. It’s been a darkness in my life for so long, and you have always been my angel. Please! Please don’t give up on me!” Phil’s expression was sincere as he plead his case.

Nina shook her head in annoyance, and said, “You always say the same thing. I am going to my mother’s in Brooklyn. Call me when you pull yourself together, Philip…I am done.”

Nina grabbed her overnight bag from the floor, blew out the candle burning on the table set for two, and headed towards the door. She could smell the smoking smell of wax from smothering the candle’s flame, and she could see his head in his own hands.

He was crying, but Nina couldn’t feel bad for him. It was time to go. She left without another word said.

Written for #atozchallenge2022 and my impromptu wordle