PseudoPod 116: Sick Day
Sick Day
by Michael Chant
As she leaves for work, my wife kisses me goodbye. It is love in the machine, passion stripped away on the assembly-line known as the workweek. Her car pulls out of the driveway, leaving me with more than an hour to kill before I have to go to work.
I empty a little plastic bag of capsules and gelcaps into my palm. These are all the vitamins a man my age should be taking. I wash them down with a glass of calcium-enriched orange juice, and then it’s time to shower. While lathering up, masturbation gets considered and rejected, the pleasure I would receive is found to be too fleeting to affect my mood. After rinsing and drying off, I pause to look at my face in the bathroom mirror. Seeing is believing — I look older than I am.
About the Author
Michael Chant
Michael Chant writes fiction, poetry, and reviews of books, music, and film. His work has appeared in Strange Horizons, Twilight Showcase, Quantum Muse, Electric Wine, The Chiaroscuro, Nocturnal Ooze, and GC Magazine.
About the Narrator
Elie Hirschman
“Elie Hirschman always wanted to be a voice actor, growing up watching He-man, ThunderCats and Voltron. After recording several e-Learning videos, scientific articles and commercial narration gigs, Elie discovered the world of audio drama and sci-fi podcasts, working with such groups as Darker Projects and Dream Realm Productions. 20 years and over 30 EA Podcast appearances later, still no guest spot on any of the He-man reboots, but who knows what’ll happen in the next 20 years?”
