Gemotions

The pounding started at precisely 7:00 AM. Sarah flinched, pulling the duvet over her head. It was the new neighbors, the Millers, and their ambitious kitchen remodel. She knew, based on the glossy brochure they’d left in her mailbox, that it would be quite a spectacle. Her own kitchen, a cramped, outdated relic from the seventies, felt like a pathetic secret. She hated how it looked and didn’t invite anyone over.

She avoided looking out the window as the hammering continued. It would feel like admitting defeat. Instead, she stared at the cracked paint on her ceiling, tracing the patterns with her finger.

Later, she saw Mrs. Miller in the grocery store, bustling down the aisle with a purposefulness Sarah could only dream of. Mrs. Miller smiled warmly, but Sarah could only manage a mumbled greeting and quickly diverted her shopping cart, focusing on the canned peaches.