The Venetian Blinds

Short Story Day 42 of 365

Vanessa peeked through the cheap Venetian blinds on her door. She wasn’t fully dressed, so a peek was all she needed.

The back yard was gray and unattractive. It needed serious help. The wind chimes were playing slow and one-time melodies.

Grass needed to be mowed but that wouldn’t happen for another few weeks. If anything, it needed a lot of water.

The red-stained wooden fence was showing obvious wear and tear. Nails needed to be hammered in about every six or seven boards. A fresh coat of paint would certainly liven up the entire yard. But that would cost extra money, something Vanessa couldn’t part with right now.

White icicle lights dangled from the porch awning. It was three weeks before Christmas in Texas, and still a balmy 65 degrees outside. The icicles would have to be fake.

Vanessa took a bite of her toast and sipped her coffee.

Two squirrels played tag with each other on the fence and onto the branches of the single cottonwood, stopping at the large V near the root. Vanessa tapped the window pane three times and the squirrels stopped their play, and looked around to see where the noise was coming from. Another two taps sent them high into the tree. After they went up ten feet, Vanessa lost sight of them because the porch roof interfered with any meaningful view. They seemed to be happy, but with squirrels, who really knows?

She closed the blinds and leaned against the door, crushing the blinds.

It was all hers now. The house, yard, chimes, blinds, fence…

And the bills.