Chroma (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Frederick Barthelme
- First Published: 1987
- Type of Plot: Neorealist
- Time of Work: The 1980's
- Setting: American suburbia
- Principal Characters: The narrator, Alicia, Juliet, Heather
- Genres: Short fiction, Neorealist fiction
- Subjects: Love or romance, Sex or sexuality, Gender roles, Marriage, Friendship, Emotions, Adultery, Fantasy, Suburban life, Dating
- Locales: United States
The Story
The unnamed narrator explains that his wife, Alicia, is not home this weekend; she is with her boyfriend, George. As part of their “new deal,” Alicia spends every other weekend with him. The narrator is therefore spending Saturday with his attractive neighbor, Juliet, a fitness and health buff in her twenties. Juliet lives next door with her girlfriend, Heather, who is thirty-five. At a restaurant, Juliet tries to get the narrator to say what is bothering him, but he is unwilling to discuss it. She abruptly announces, “When we go back to the house I want to make...
[The entire page is 1663 words long]
