Gemotions

The email sat in Martha’s inbox, a stark white rectangle against the muted gray of her screen. “Closing Permanently.” The subject line hit her like a punch. She leaned back in her chair, the sudden tightness in her chest making it difficult to breathe. Her hands clenched into fists, the knuckles white. She’d been planning to go to Luigi’s this Friday. That perfect bowl of pasta, the crusty bread, the warm, familial atmosphere…all of it, gone. She felt a profound sense of loss, a hollow ache where excitement had been.