SandScript 2020

Rhea Stanley
Confined Affection
Drawing, 18”x24”
“We can’t keep going like this Joey.
It’s not working,” Lisa said, staring up at
him. Joey met her gaze for a moment,
quickly looking away when her stare
seemed to look into him instead of at him.
He’d worried this was coming for a while.
Lisa had been distant, ever since what
happened with Frankie. On the horizon past
the pumps, lightning flashed boldly. Joey
wondered briefly how far away the storm
was now.
“Something’s gotta change,” she
continued, bringing her cigarette slowly to
her lips. “I just can’t keep doing this.”
“We’ll get married, then,” Joey said. “A
big church wedding, like your ma’s always
talking about. And we’ll get a house, a real
beautiful place, and we’ll finally have a
home together.”
“Joey, I can’t.”
“We can start our family, Lisa,” he
continued. “A girl for you and a boy for me,
just like we talked about. Maybe I’ll open my
own service station, Lis’, and you can take
care of the home, like we’ve always wanted.”
“But I don’t think I want that, Joey,”
Lisa said. “Not anymore. And I don’t think
you want it either. I need you to respect
that. I need you to respect me.”
Joey felt the breath leave his lungs
and for a minute the world seemed to stand
still. He choked in a breath, threading his
fingers through his hair roughly. “Lis’, I
do respect you. You gotta know that,” he
said. “If this is about what happened with
Frankie, don’t you think you’ve let it affect
us long enough?”
“Us? This didn’t happen to us, Joey, it
happened to me,” Lisa hissed, turning to look
him fully in the face, her eyes narrowing
dangerously.
“I’m sorry. Look, I already told you he
was drunk,” Joey said, trying to fight down
the guilt that rose like bile in his chest. “He
VISUAL ART
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