1614. The computer game

Keith was more than pleased that his wife, Zelma, was addicted to playing Candy Crush. She would come home from work and immediately begin to play the game on the computer.

“It makes such a difference playing on a bigger screen. The phone is so limiting.”

Keith always noticed that she was several levels ahead of where she was when she had left home that morning. Inevitably she was playing the game at work.

Why he was pleased with his wife’s obsession was because, to call a spade a spade, they had nothing to talk about. At least for the short time she was home, even though it drove him batty, she could talk about “Popping the bottles”, “Spreading the jam”, “Eating the chocolate” and “Getting the bear above the candy line”. It stopped them from having to face certain questions, such as why their relationship no longer worked.

The weekends were another thing altogether. Keith would hike off to his brother’s place, which Zelma didn’t mind because it gave her all the space in the world to play the game.

Last Thursday Zelma came home from work early. She had been sacked. She had no idea why.

Keith packed a bag and booked into a motel. Permanently.