Mr. and Mrs. Filigree
MR. & MRS. FILIGREE
© Copyright 1997 by Gary Lee Joyner
Mr. Filigree went swimming in the family spoons. When Mrs. Filigree came into the kitchen she saw his head bouncing above the surface of the gleaming silver. His eyes had a heavy-lidded redness brought on by too much swimming, irritants in the spoon sea, but his mouth showed a calm distraction.
Mr. Filigree made one mistake. And the mistake that Mr. Filigree made was over-confidence. He swam too far out into the spoons.
"Come back!" cried Mrs. Filigree. "You're drifting away from the kitchen counter. You won't have strength enough to make it back. I've made fresh bread, your favorite..."
She saw him wave and yell something, but he was very far away and his voice was lost in the wild maze of spoons. And his voice was diffused by silver ornaments. He became smaller and smaller, bobbing with abandon until he disappeared entirely.
Mrs. Filigree turned from the sea of spoons which darkened under the evening sky. She stood at the screen door and looked out into the warm dusk of her garden. Her left arm hung down straight at her side. With her right index finger she tapped her elbow to a silent melody.