Steal Tomorrow Extra: Impure

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This flash fiction piece about Danny and Danica was written for Magpie Tales. Be sure to drop by Magpie Tales for more fun.

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Danica sat at the kitchen table watching the murky water drip through a filter of silk scarves. There were easier ways to get drinking water, but she and Danny didn't trust the street vendors. Besides, filtering and pasteurizing river water cost them nothing but time. Since the die-off, time was one of the few things they had in abundance.

At the sound of footsteps she sat up straight. Danny strode into the room as if intent on a mission, but stopped to give her an amorous kiss. She returned his affection but pulled away when his fingers groped for her breasts. "Wasn't this morning enough?"

"I can never have enough of you." He kissed her again.

Four months after first indulging their mutual longing, Danica still didn't know what to make of Danny's constant need to make love. Like his father, he seemed always to be burning at a white-hot heat, ready to take her wherever and whenever the mood struck him, which was often.

"How about after I get this water filtered?" she said, pushing him away.

With a sigh of frustration, Danny agreed and went to rummage in a cupboard.

Danica returned to watching the water drip. Her mind flashed back on Danny's parents, so different from her own, even though their fathers were identical twins. While her parents' relationship had been cool and dignified, Danny's parents seemed to live for lovemaking. Sometimes Danny's father didn't even take off his shoes and business jacket before whisking his wife off to the bedroom with no apologies to the children, who watched in fascinated wonder, as if catching a glimpse of movie stars. Danica had always been a little embarrassed by such behavior, but Danny, she now realized, had been jealous, seeing his parents' passion as a model for his own future.

The dripping water slowed and Danica stood and examined the sediment remaining in her improvised filter. It was funny how something as necessary to life as water could be so full of impurities. She glanced over her shoulder at Danny, struggling to open a dented can of beans. Love could be full of impurities too. She walked over and took the can opener out of his hand. "You can do that later." She put her arms around him and pulled him close.

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