Gemotions

“Oh, great,” Rachel muttered, dropping her groceries with a clatter onto the kitchen counter. The noise from next door, where the Murphys were “adding a second story,” was already starting.

She rubbed her temples, trying to ward off a headache. They'd been boasting about it for months, about the extra space and the value it would add to their home. She knew better.

She closed her eyes for a moment, picturing the noise, the dust, the endless parade of construction workers. She went to make a cup of coffee, the familiar ritual somehow calming, though the impending chaos was anything but. She predicted this would lead to nothing but stress.