I was scrubbing dried toothpaste from the sink when my inner monologue was interrupted by a yelp from my husband downstairs. I began to fill the space of silence that followed: We were being robbed. My husband fell. Our janky oven caught fire. Our cat Courduroy died. “What is happening?” I yelled, though my concern was not enough to unglue my feet from their place. I didn’t realize how truly terrible his response could be until I heard him say it out loud. “I got it! Today’s Wordle!” — the one that, earlier in the day, I had failed to solve.
Cris Puccia Van Grol is a lifelong creative and kitchen comedian. She performs daily in Rochester, New York, for an obliged audience of three.