Gemotions

The phone rang again. It was his daughter, her voice bright and full of the details of her new religious practices. He hung up immediately, feeling a wave of nausea. He tossed the phone onto the couch with a force that made it bounce. He felt a throbbing ache in his temples, a physical manifestation of his frustration. He stared out the window, at the familiar landscape – the oak tree in the yard, the neighbor’s picket fence – that now felt tainted, somehow. He knew he'd be avoiding her calls for the foreseeable future.