justice. he was hellbent on it. but his wife knew it would bring him only to himself again even if nature played fair. he would still ultimately be left with himself, one problem out of the way, one less distraction, one step closer to being alone. so he kept his fight in place as a barrier from reality. his wife knew this. and so did jim deep down. but he couldnt see it. he was too busy fighting the good fight. he wanted revenge or at least to be treated fairly in all of the mess. he wanted people to know it wasnt all his fault. it was time to move on thought sandra. but she couldn’t tell him. he kept this there. this block from living from facing now. he kept it there . and it was slowly destroying him. he wasnt looking after himself, or engaging with his loved ones, only feeling sorry for himself.  and this was when she left.

he had hardly noticed at first. and was even a little relieved in the beginning.  there was no love for a long time. and now she was out of the way there was more time to devote to fighting the fight. there was now no way they could get away with what they had, he had all the time in the world to make sure of that.

he lit up a cigarette and laid on the bed. looking into the distance he hardly noticed the weight of his solitude filling the apartment. the dishes were unwashed and clothes were piled up in the corners. he blew smoke into the room and stared more. he was so obsessed he was vacant. there was no room for anything else. he switched off from the world around him and, like a stuffed foie gras goose, choked on his own thoughts.

the phone rang, shrieking like a drunken woman in the dead of the night. he lay there, still puffing. the phone stopped ringing. he closed his eyes and for the first time in months his thoughts turned to his wife. he sat up in his blue boxer shorts, on the edge of the bed. stubbed his cigarette out, lit another, put his head in his hands and began to cry.

a key entered the front door and slowly turned from outside. he looked up as the door slowly creaked open. stood in the doorway was a dark figure. he wore a long trench coat which flapped in the wind and rain and his head looked large and square. jim blinked once and the figure stepped inside.