Gemotions

The dust swirled in the air, a fine, gritty powder that coated everything. The renovation's effects were inescapable. Emily coughed, feeling a familiar tightness in her chest. The construction was not only loud, but it was physically making her sick.

The sheer audacity of the Smiths, with their constant influx of contractors and building materials, filled her with a simmering anger. Her own home, modest and unpretentious, now felt inadequate, a testament to her perceived failure.

She picked up the phone. She wondered, as she often did, if she could sell her house. She couldn't afford to move, though.