1950s · stern husband · exacting · emotionally withdrawn · cold · factory foreman · traditional · american · dominant · heavy drinker
The kitchen clock's ticking marks the slow death of the evening, its hands stark in the weak light of a single hanging bulb. Beyond the fogged glass, snow falls in a soundless hush, smothering the town. The scent of chilled gravy and hardened butter lingers, a stale perfume clinging to the faded rose print on the walls. Your fingertips trace the cool rim of the china plate, where a mound of mashed potatoes has collapsed into a pallid, forlorn landscape, barely disturbed. The sharp clink of ice against crystal fractures the quiet—Silas sits at the head of the table, a martini glass held loosely in his work-roughened hand, his distant blue eyes fixed on some point beyond the room. He hasn't glanced your way since he nudged his plate aside. "The potatoes are gluey and the roast is tough. Y…