Jack And Georgina (Short Story)
Judy Ramsook
September 17, 2009
15 Years Ago Somewhere In America...
Jack took one last look at himself in the full length mirror before exiting the master bedroom.
"Where do you wanna go on our next ski trip," said his wife, Georgina of ten years. It was also the same amount of time he had been employed as a mail carrier for the USPS.
Not sure whether he heard her right, a perplexed glance greeted Georgina when Jack entered the kitchen.
"I didn´t know you wanted to go somewhere else, what´s wrong with Steamboat?" said Jack in his slightly hoarse voice.
"Nothing, honey, I just thought we´d go somewhere else for a change," answered Georgina. She poured some coffee into a mug and set it on the cosy dining table before Jack.
"So what other place did you have in mind?" asked Jack.
Georgina stirred the pan of scrambled eggs and thought for a moment. The smell of frying onions made Jack feel even more hungry.
"Oh, I don´t know, I was thinking of Vermont, maybe."
Georgina was not used to living a life of luxury, but when she married Jack, she felt as though she hit the jackpot. With the cheque he got from the military every month, he was in the Marines, coupled with his USPS one, she didn´t have to work unless she wanted to.
She enjoyed the life both cheques allowed them to have.
"Vermont? Isn´t that a bit pricey?" asked Jack.
She spooned out some steaming eggs from the pan and set the plate in front of Jack. Then got some for herself and sat next to him on the table.
"It was just a thought, but we can go to Steamboat," she replied sensing his lack of fondness for her idea.
Jack sat up and thoughtfully looked at his wife.
"I´m not saying I don´t like your idea or anything, but check it out. If it costs the same amount like what we spend on Steamboat, we can go to Vermont."
A little smile escaped Georgina´s rosy lips.
"Okay, I´ll check it out," she answered.
"So what else have you been thinking about?" humored Jack. He chewed a mouthful of eggs and swallowed.
"How did you know I was thinking of something else?" she asked with a smile.
"I know you," he answered.
"We don´t have to get it right now, but I hear everybody talking about it," said Georgina.
"So you have been thinking about something else," said Jack.
"Okay, let´s have it," he sighed, "what have you been thinking about getting?"
"A computer," she answered with no hesitation.
His eyebrows frowned at her.
"A computer? What are you gonna do with that?" he asked.
"I hear people say you can do lots of things with it. Send and get emails, chat with other people on the internet, write letters on the word program. Susie´s son just got one and from what I hear, it´s great."
"It sounds like you´ve put a lot of thought into this," said Jack.
"I just thought it might be good to have, that´s all," said Georgina.
"You know, I hear people at work talking about it too. Like it´s the second coming or something. But if it´s what you want, I guess we can go and look at some this weekend," said Jack.
Excited at his words, Georgina smiled brightly and got up just when he did.
"That sounds great," she said giving him a hug.
Alone in his car, Jack turned the ignition which automatically switched on the radio.
"Microsoft sales increased dramatically the last quarter…" came the crisp, professional sounding voice of the man on the radio.
"Computers, huh, what´s the big deal anyway," said Jack to himself as he put the vehicle in reverse.
But Jack had bigger things on his mind at the moment. Like that ache in his left knee from the fall he took while running from the ferocious dog on the last house on his route the day before.
The fall he did not want to worry Georgina with, because it was nothing at the time. But now it ached in an uncomfortable, annoying way Jack did not appreciate.
"That dog," he sighed.
The Present
Georgina, now much more computer literate than she was before they had the machine, stirred the pan and returned to the computer that was not too faraway in the living room.
Jack, feeling a little disappointed at spotting her in front of the computer, sighed.
"She and that darned computer," he whispered.
Excess steam rose from the pan on the stove and in a few seconds, a slightly burning smell reached Georgina.
"Oh, the eggs!" she yelled getting up. She ran to the kitchen to see that the eggs were indeed burned.
"Damn!" she exclaimed.
"You know what, honey, it´s okay, I´ll grab something on the way," said Jack heading for the door.
"Wait, don´t you want some coffee at least?" said Georgina.
Too irate to utter another word at her, Jack left and slammed the door so hard that she thought she felt the house shake.
In the car, Jack was again listening to the voice on the radio.
"According to word out of the Postmaster General´s office, some eight hundred post offices across the nation will be shut down by year´s end. This is due mainly to lack of use of the postal services by many of the post offices´ customers and people who pay a lot of their bills online and such…"
Jack did something he had not done before. He turned off the radio and immediately began appreciating his job as a mail carrier more than he did previously. Even the annoying dog on his route seemed like a trivial matter now.
His silent moment was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone.
"Yeah, honey," it was Georgina.
"I just saw this online, is it true? They´re gonna shut down all those post offices," came Georgina´s not too happy tone.
"Yeah, apparently so. That´s what the boss told us yesterday in that meeting we had," replied Jack.
"Why didn´t you tell me last night?" said Georgina.
"I think you were busy on the computer," said Jack.
"I´m sorry, I-" began Georgina.
"I gotta go," Jack hung up.
Not as materialistic as his wife, Jack knew he night be able to live on his one cheque from the Marines until he got something else.
But he was not certain if his wife could manage until he got another job.
"That darned computer. I knew there was a reason why I was not too fond of it," thought Jack.
"Everything´s on there now anyway, why do they need us,"
Jack took one last look at himself in the full length mirror before exiting the master bedroom.
"Where do you wanna go on our next ski trip," said his wife, Georgina of ten years. It was also the same amount of time he had been employed as a mail carrier for the USPS.
Not sure whether he heard her right, a perplexed glance greeted Georgina when Jack entered the kitchen.
"I didn´t know you wanted to go somewhere else, what´s wrong with Steamboat?" said Jack in his slightly hoarse voice.
"Nothing, honey, I just thought we´d go somewhere else for a change," answered Georgina. She poured some coffee into a mug and set it on the cosy dining table before Jack.
"So what other place did you have in mind?" asked Jack.
Georgina stirred the pan of scrambled eggs and thought for a moment. The smell of frying onions made Jack feel even more hungry.
"Oh, I don´t know, I was thinking of Vermont, maybe."
Georgina was not used to living a life of luxury, but when she married Jack, she felt as though she hit the jackpot. With the cheque he got from the military every month, he was in the Marines, coupled with his USPS one, she didn´t have to work unless she wanted to.
She enjoyed the life both cheques allowed them to have.
"Vermont? Isn´t that a bit pricey?" asked Jack.
She spooned out some steaming eggs from the pan and set the plate in front of Jack. Then got some for herself and sat next to him on the table.
"It was just a thought, but we can go to Steamboat," she replied sensing his lack of fondness for her idea.
Jack sat up and thoughtfully looked at his wife.
"I´m not saying I don´t like your idea or anything, but check it out. If it costs the same amount like what we spend on Steamboat, we can go to Vermont."
A little smile escaped Georgina´s rosy lips.
"Okay, I´ll check it out," she answered.
"So what else have you been thinking about?" humored Jack. He chewed a mouthful of eggs and swallowed.
"How did you know I was thinking of something else?" she asked with a smile.
"I know you," he answered.
"We don´t have to get it right now, but I hear everybody talking about it," said Georgina.
"So you have been thinking about something else," said Jack.
"Okay, let´s have it," he sighed, "what have you been thinking about getting?"
"A computer," she answered with no hesitation.
His eyebrows frowned at her.
"A computer? What are you gonna do with that?" he asked.
"I hear people say you can do lots of things with it. Send and get emails, chat with other people on the internet, write letters on the word program. Susie´s son just got one and from what I hear, it´s great."
"It sounds like you´ve put a lot of thought into this," said Jack.
"I just thought it might be good to have, that´s all," said Georgina.
"You know, I hear people at work talking about it too. Like it´s the second coming or something. But if it´s what you want, I guess we can go and look at some this weekend," said Jack.
Excited at his words, Georgina smiled brightly and got up just when he did.
"That sounds great," she said giving him a hug.
Alone in his car, Jack turned the ignition which automatically switched on the radio.
"Microsoft sales increased dramatically the last quarter…" came the crisp, professional sounding voice of the man on the radio.
"Computers, huh, what´s the big deal anyway," said Jack to himself as he put the vehicle in reverse.
But Jack had bigger things on his mind at the moment. Like that ache in his left knee from the fall he took while running from the ferocious dog on the last house on his route the day before.
The fall he did not want to worry Georgina with, because it was nothing at the time. But now it ached in an uncomfortable, annoying way Jack did not appreciate.
"That dog," he sighed.
The Present
Georgina, now much more computer literate than she was before they had the machine, stirred the pan and returned to the computer that was not too faraway in the living room.
Jack, feeling a little disappointed at spotting her in front of the computer, sighed.
"She and that darned computer," he whispered.
Excess steam rose from the pan on the stove and in a few seconds, a slightly burning smell reached Georgina.
"Oh, the eggs!" she yelled getting up. She ran to the kitchen to see that the eggs were indeed burned.
"Damn!" she exclaimed.
"You know what, honey, it´s okay, I´ll grab something on the way," said Jack heading for the door.
"Wait, don´t you want some coffee at least?" said Georgina.
Too irate to utter another word at her, Jack left and slammed the door so hard that she thought she felt the house shake.
In the car, Jack was again listening to the voice on the radio.
"According to word out of the Postmaster General´s office, some eight hundred post offices across the nation will be shut down by year´s end. This is due mainly to lack of use of the postal services by many of the post offices´ customers and people who pay a lot of their bills online and such…"
Jack did something he had not done before. He turned off the radio and immediately began appreciating his job as a mail carrier more than he did previously. Even the annoying dog on his route seemed like a trivial matter now.
His silent moment was interrupted by the ringing of his cell phone.
"Yeah, honey," it was Georgina.
"I just saw this online, is it true? They´re gonna shut down all those post offices," came Georgina´s not too happy tone.
"Yeah, apparently so. That´s what the boss told us yesterday in that meeting we had," replied Jack.
"Why didn´t you tell me last night?" said Georgina.
"I think you were busy on the computer," said Jack.
"I´m sorry, I-" began Georgina.
"I gotta go," Jack hung up.
Not as materialistic as his wife, Jack knew he night be able to live on his one cheque from the Marines until he got something else.
But he was not certain if his wife could manage until he got another job.
"That darned computer. I knew there was a reason why I was not too fond of it," thought Jack.
"Everything´s on there now anyway, why do they need us,"
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