Tuesday

Jimmy Lane woke up, and it was tuesday. He saw the sleeping shape of his wife beside him and smiled, allowing himself a moment to enjoy the feeling of morning before he got out of bed. He got dressed and brushed his teeth the way he did every day, after which he went downstairs to make breakfast for the kids, who awoke to the smell of sizzling bacon. He dropped the two off at school on his way to work, making sure they had the bagged lunches with them that their mother had prepared. He clocked into the office right on time, diligently edited spreadsheets and forms for some eight or so hours, and made his way back home. He was met with the fragrance of a freshly baked casserole and the embrace of his family. Life was the same as it always was, and he was happy.

Jimmy Lane woke up, and it was tuesday. He saw the sleeping shape of his wife beside him and smiled, allowing himself a moment to enjoy the feeling of morning before he got out of bed. He got dressed and brushed his teeth the way he did every day, after which he went downstairs to make breakfast for the kids, who awoke to the smell of freshly cooked pancakes. He dropped the two off at school on his way to work, making sure they had the bagged lunches with them that their mother had prepared. He clocked into the office a few minutes late, though he knew his boss wouldn’t mind. He diligently edited spreadsheets and forms for some eight or so hours, and made his way back home. He was met with the smell of homemade bolognese and the embrace of his family. Life was the same as it always was, and he was happy.

Jimmy Lane woke up, and it was tuesday. He blinked at the sleeping shape of his wife beside him, feeling a moment of confusion before the brightness of morning pushed him out of bed. He got dressed and brushed his teeth the way he did every day, after which he went downstairs to make breakfast for the kids, who awoke to the smell of fried eggs and sausage. He dropped the two off at school on his way to work, and clocked into the office. He tried to stay focused on editing spreadsheets and forms for the next eight hours, but there was something bothering him at the corner of his mind. He made his way back home, and opened the door to the smell of meatloaf and the embrace of his family, forgetting all about the funny feeling that had followed him since the morning. Life was the same as it always was, and he was happy.

Jimmy Lane woke up, and it was tuesday. He blinked at the sleeping shape of his wife beside him, feeling a moment of confusion before the brightness of morning forced him out of bed. He got dressed and brushed his teeth the way he did every day, after which he went downstairs to make breakfast for the kids. Opening the refrigerator, however, he found he was not especially driven towards cooking anything in particular. His kids woke to the smell of toasted ham egg and cheese sandwiches. He dropped the two off at school on his way to work, only realising as he was pulling into work that they had forgotten their lunches in the car. Too late to go back, he clocked into the office. He found his mind wandering as he edited spreadsheets and forms for some eight or so hours, and couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d already gone through these the other day. When he brought it up to his boss, however, he was quickly dismissed. Still, he made it through the day. Opening the door to his house, he was greeted by the smell of grilled hamburgers and the embrace of his family, but for some reason he wasn’t all that hungry. His kids, on the other hand, were starving, and he and his wife looked on with some amusement as they wolfed down patty after patty. Life was the same as it always was.

Jimmy Lane woke up, and it was tuesday. He shot out of bed, the brightness of morning ignored in favor of an overwhelming sensation of wrongness. He threw on some clothes and brushed his teeth, after which he went downstairs. He told himself that this sensation was entirely in his head, that life was the same as it always was. He breathed deeply and collected himself. He made breakfast for the kids, who woke up to aroma of biscuits and gravy. He dropped the two off at school, reminding them to take their lunches, but decided to call in sick to work. He spent the rest of the day at home with his wife, who, while concerned as to why her husband had decided to stay home, was content to enjoy their time together. After he picked up the kids later that afternoon, the two cooked dinner together for the first time in a long while. Life was the same as it always was, and he was happy.

Jimmy Lane woke up, and it was tuesday. He saw the sleeping shape of his wife beside him and smiled, allowing himself a moment to enjoy the feeling of morning before he got out of bed. He got dressed and brushed his teeth the way he did every day, after which he went downstairs to make breakfast for the kids, who awoke to the smell of fresh hollandaise. He dropped the two off at school on his way to work, making sure they had the bagged lunches with them that their mother had prepared. He clocked into the office right on time, diligently edited spreadsheets and forms for around four hours, walked into his bosses office, and stabbed him in the eye with a pen. He watched as the older man screamed and clutched at his face, a stream of blood drizzling the aged mahogany crimson. Life was the same as it always was, and he was happy.

Jimmy Lane woke up, and it was tuesday. He saw the sleeping shape of his wife beside him and smiled, allowing himself a moment to appreciate her quiet beauty before deciding he would allow her all the rest she deserved. He got out of bed, got dressed, and brushed his teeth the same way he did every day, after which he went downstairs to make breakfast for the kids, who awoke to the smell of burning flesh. He made sure they ate their fill before he made them breakfast and dropped them off at school without any complaints. He clocked into the office right on time, and diligently began to address the concerns of his coworkers with the edge of a pocket knife for some eight or so hours. Making his way back home, he was met with the fragrance of rotting meat and the sound of buzzing insects. Life was the same as it always was, and he was happy.

Jimmy Lane woke up, and it was tuesday.