Gemotions

"Honey, could you turn that down?" Sarah called from the living room, her voice strained. Her husband, Tom, lowered the volume on the TV.

He knew what she meant. The construction next door had begun, and the din of saws and hammers was a persistent backdrop to everything. It was a constant reminder of their own financial limitations.

He sighed, the sound heavy in the quiet of their house. He looked at the peeling paint on their own siding, the cracked pavement of the driveway. He looked at his wife, and a silent anger, a burning disappointment, seemed to swell inside him.