I’m doing Pilates when I notice it, all the dust under the coffee table. Under the sofa too. And I’ve just swept, I think. The instructor continues ….pelvic floor… sit bones… but now I’m lying on my side wondering at the dusty sub-Ikea-table biome.
I blow, testing. Some dust scuttles. So it’s not impervious.
So this is what my Saturdays have come to. I roll onto my belly and, chin on my palms, watch the settled dirt for novelties.
Step your feet close to your bum and, with the weight in the balls of your feet, lift up. Careful to keep your knees together—
Movement—there’s an ant, all black chitin and gleaming like a shined shoe. He picks his way through the dust, settles on what might be a bit of old pizza crust. It’s probably ten times his size. Undeterred, he rears back onto his jointed rear legs and picks it apart with his arms, antennae fingering the starchy morsel.
About this time, a familiar foot prods my leg, a question: “What are you doing?”
I twist to my side and find myself answering my husband’s feet: “Watching an ant. There’s a ton of dust down here.”
He squats to take a look. “I don’t see it,” stands back up, “want me to get the broom?”
I wag my finger: No. Roll back onto my stomach to watch the ant finish his meal. He’s back on all six, rubbing a particle between his hands. “Hey,” I call after his retreating feet, “what’re you making for dinner?”
His feet stop in the doorway, a clear view of his loony wife’s behind flattened out against the hardwoods. I know he’s shrugging.
“Something easy…
“Pizza,” I murmur.
He shoots me a thumbs-up. I go back to my show. Pizza.
Content Writing Tip: Product Placement
A note about product placement from a storyteller’s perspective: Some people say you won’t hear a whisper in a noisy room. But you will, when you’re listening for stories. Won’t you?
As content writers in these uncertain times, all we can do to help is to tell stories that sweeten your day. Read other short-short stories by Give Me Articles Writing Service. They’re not all about product placement. Or pizza.