Warren usually liked to get wasted on a Saturday afternoon, it was a hangover from his rock’n’roll days, before he had two kids and a missus. Jen never asked him to come along anyway. She screamed at the kids for a solid twenty minutes beforehand, ‘where’s your jumper? I thought I washed it,’ ‘you can’t wear those’, ‘I told you to finish your lunch, you can’t play on an empty stomach.’ When the door finally slammed shut, the silence was crystal.
One Saturday, though, he thought he should make an appearance, be a dad and all. He had a joint beforehand, just because he needed it. He hid out by the side of the house, beside the clothesline where the paving needed relaying. He hoped that Jen wouldn’t smell it on their freshly laundered clothes, she’d go ape-shit. He sprayed himself with deodorant, brushed his teeth with toothpaste on his finger and drove to the football oval in his own car, twenty minutes after they had left.
His boy Ethan had a difficult personality, Warren could neither reign him in, nor ignore him. Jen was sure that he had ADHD and sometimes blamed Warren for the cocaine he used to take. Warren blamed her for being on anti-depressants when she was pregnant. It was best to not talk about it at all. So they tried to get by, avoiding fluorescent lighting and red cordial and stuffing him full of fish oil tablets.
Ethan was a shambles on the football field. But what Warren noticed more than Ethan’s complete lack of coordination, was Jen on the sidelines, laughing with the Coach, Lewis’s father, divorcee, big shoulders, a thick jaw and ruffled brown hair. So this was the reason she wore those high heel boots to the football oval.
Warren found Gracie eating a hot dog by the playground. ‘Hi dad,’ she said. ‘What are you doing here?’
‘Come to see Ethan of course,’ Warren said. ‘He’s a shit player. Does your mum always talk to Brent like that?’
‘Yep,’ Gracie said, tomato sauce dripping onto her light grey hoodie. Jen still hadn’t seen Warren there. He hid by the playground watching her on the sidelines. When he’d seen enough, he went home.
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Love Potion
Short StoryFailed musician Warren discovers that his wife, Jen, is having an affair with his son's football coach. His friend Yuri tells him about a biochemical anti-love drug to kill unnatural sexual urges. He goes to a Doctor to get a prescription for Jen an...
