The sun pried its way into my eyes like a thief using a crowbar to open a locked window. I realised I was lying on the couch, and the three-quarter-empty bottle of scotch explained why. I hadn’t meant to drink last night, but something had gotten the better of me and I had capitulated. My clothes were wrinkled, and my head was aching, so I decided to lay there and just stare at the bottle. It stared back like the victor in the boxing ring after fifteen rounds and I sighed and wondered if things would ever change. The room smelled like carpet in a country pub and my breath like the sole of a dirty shoe.
I stood up and opened the rickety window as far as it would let me. Fresh air drove out the stink of the room and brought odours of good health, new beginnings, and spring. My flat needed a clean, there was no doubt. The couch was covered in hair, there were crumpled newspapers on the floor, and some enterprising spiders had taken up residence in the round light fitting that hung from the ceiling. I turned on the radio while I made some coffee to wake up my addled brain.
Miles Davis coloured my world while the coffee machine made its magic, and before I had finished my first cup the phone rang.
‘Yeah?’
‘It’s Marlena. I need to see you.’
‘Well, I don’t need to see you.’
‘It’s important, Jack.’
‘You say that every time.’
‘And every time it is always important, am I right? One hour?’
I sighed in defeat. ‘Yeah, alright. At my office.’
***
Marlena Ivanov entered my office wearing a jet-black dress that clung to her like a strangler vine clinging to a tree. Her blond hair was set in a plaited ponytail, she was carrying a slick black handbag, and her dark sunglasses hid those hypnotic violet eyes that had so entranced me the first time we met.
‘Thank you, Jack. This means a lot to me.’
‘I don’t have a lot of time, so spill.’
She pulled a soft pack of Peter Stuyvesant from her bag and lit up.
‘Would you like one?’
‘No thank you. I’m trying to give up all my bad habits at once.’
Her mouth curled into a slight smile. ‘I see.’
‘Now have you got something for me or is this just a tea party?’
She took a long pull of her cigarette letting some smoke curl out of her open mouth before suddenly expelling the lot in a short, sharp burst. Stubbing the cigarette out, she then pulled a snub-nosed .38 from her handbag. Its oily blackness gleamed in the dim sunlight as she casually held it pointed at my heart.
‘I can’t let you get away with this, Jack.’
‘Come on Marlena, we’ve been over this…how many times?’
‘And we have never come to a satisfactory conclusion.’ She stood, walked slowly to the window, pulled the blinds to the side, and checked to see if there was anyone loitering outside. Keeping the gun aimed at me, she circled the room and looked at the rows of legal books on the shelves, brushed her fingers on the sideboard to check for dust, and leaned against the door. The hallway light created a halo around her head like an angel. I glanced at my right-hand draw and thought of diving for my Heckler & Koch .45, but realised I’d never make it in time. I’d have to hear her out.
‘I miss you, Jack.’ her voice trembled. ‘We don’t deserve to end like this.’
‘Marlena, we have grown apart-’
‘Is that the best you can do?’
I remembered a time just after we had begun our affair when everything was shiny and new. We had sought shelter from a sudden downpour and were sitting in a dreary café together in Melbourne, playing with each other’s fingertips. Her violet eyes reflected the dim candlelight. I felt myself hypnotised by them and I was afraid. I was afraid of a future that included sitting on floral couches together and watching television, of home-delivered pizza, and of ‘making time’ for sex. That’s when I decided it would have to end. It took me months to finally subdue it, but I did, and now our broken love lay cowering in the corner like a terrified dog.
‘Would you allow me a drink?’ I asked.
‘Only if you get me one as well.’
I stood and filled two crystal glasses with whisky and carefully handed one to her.
We looked into each other’s eyes as we drank together. The gun was still pointing at my heart. I casually walked around my desk, gently opened the drawer, and pulled out my .45. She stared at me.
‘It’s always a standoff between us.’
Outside, I could hear a jackhammer smashing up a footpath somewhere. A phone rang in the office next door. Nobody answered it. Marlena gingerly walked around the desk and pressed the gun into my stomach. I pushed the cold metal of my .45 into her neck. Our eyes locked together, and she hesitantly brushed her lips over mine.
‘Why can’t you set me loose?’ I murmured.
I pulled her to me and kissed her hard on the mouth. She groaned and pushed herself up against me, letting her gun clatter to the ground. I put my gun onto the desk, and our tongues and bodies wrapped around each other seeking comfort in our embrace.
My hand found the lamp switch and the office went black, illuminated only by the dim light in the hallway. I could smell hot takeaway pizza as the lamp crashed from the desk and shattered on the floor.
‘I guess we deserve each other, Jack.’
‘Yeah.’ The jackhammer pounded on relentlessly outside. ‘I don’t think we’ll ever be free.’
[Image Credit : Photo by Tim Schmidbauer on Unsplash]
by 
Simon Storey
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- Pas de deux - September 16, 2025
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