Iris and Donald

Iris and Donald were last seen at Lorene’s Packing Shed celebrating their 45th anniversary with tri-tip dinners and chocolate cake for dessert. Their waitress noticed they didn’t seem to be having too good a time. Don kept putting on and taking off his teal sport coat while Iris kept checking the thermostat on the wall behind their booth to see if it was set too low.

Lorene didn’t like it too warm cause she said it made the customers want to get done and get back to their own living rooms instead of stopping for an after dinner drink in the bar. She wasn’t too interested in the couples anyway. It was the singles who were likely to hang out on the tall barstools after dinner on the chance that someone interesting might drop by.

“You didn’t have to wear it,” Iris murmured every time Donald removed the jacket, followed by “It looks so nice” when he put it back on. She knew it was a risk, taking his old blue serge suit to the Goodwill and replacing it with a stylish sport coat and slacks. She was just tired of him looking like something out of a ‘50s Sears catalog. He used to be more daring, to care more about how he looked. She sometimes wished he still worked so that maybe the possibility of an office affair would make him pay more attention to his looks.