Clutched

It wasn’t until she reached the car park when she realized her clutch was missing. It’s where she kept everything when she went out on the town. Her phone was in there, along with all her identification,  makeup, bank cards and money. Her husband fussed at her constantly and begged her to get at least a small purse with a strap. He knew that she had a tendency to lose things, evidenced by a crushed phone left on the roof of the car that fell off into highway traffic; and by another phone she left sitting on a table at Hardee’s, unlocked. Needless to say, both of those phones were never reclaimed. David knew that it was only a matter of time until she would lose the clutch at a place where retrieval would be impossible. Like on top of the toilet paper holder in a public restroom. Or an airport. Or an amusement park. 

Jessica stopped short about ten feet from her car. She needed the key to get inside and has just realized that her clutch is gone. She was running late already and had to rush out of the party to try and make it home before David. Today is Valentine’s Day and she had a surprise in store for her husband. That is, of course, if she actually makes it home tonight. She was peer pressured into having a couple of drinks at the party. She was buzzing, but not drunk. 

She looked around the car park in confusion, as if the clutch would suddenly appear.  She blinked her eyes to focus her thoughts and in an attempt to shake away the inebriation. She had no idea where it was. There was so much going on in the party that it was hard for her to remember who she even talked to. She lowered her head, silently cursing herself for not keeping the clutch in her hand at all times. She looked at the car longingly before turning around to head back towards the party….