Blue Jeans
Flickering through the three hangers in the wardrobe, Rachel felt a frown developing, the edges of her mouth down-turning. She wanted to believe that if she kept flicking through the same pieces of clothing that something new would appear. Clearly not. But she wasn't sure what else to do.
"It's a formal event, Eddie."
His voice travelled from the bathroom. "I know…"
She didn't think he did. One last attempt was made to look at the three hangers again, flickering through more aggressively than she had intended. Exasperated, she sighed heavily. Mostly in hope that he could hear her irritation.
"And you're telling me that you don't own any trousers, whatsoever?" she cried.
He came out of the bathroom, covered only by his boxer shorts, a toothbrush hanging out of the corner of his mouth.
"I don't need any!" he protested. "I did have one pair but I told you, they're a bit…. tight."
"Then get some more."
Not an option he took seriously for he scoffed, his hand raising to continue brushing his teeth. She watched him return to the bathroom.
Spinning and dropping onto the edge of the bed, she stared in disbelief at his sparse wardrobe, the few clothes in there. Rachel could allow it for school- he would at least attempt a tie and blazer for those occasions. He would even swap his heavy boots for his least scuffed shoes. But Eddie only had three pairs of jeans to his name, all exactly the same colour and shape, and yet, he had no trousers. His last pair had been for Michael's christening and he seemed to have grown out of them.
"I'm a big boy now," he had joked, his laughter falling short when Rachel had stared blankly at him.
She knew he needed a little help when it came to formal clothes but this was ridiculous. Unable to help herself, Rachel tried one last time.
"Why do you even need three pairs of jeans that are exactly the same?"
His gurgling could be heard from behind the door. "Because I do!"
Falling backward onto the bed, she reached over her head and seized a pillow. Hopefully that would muffle her scream of frustration.