Categotry Archives: Fiction
Come Hll or High Water
Old Man Matheson put on his galoshes in the mudroom. “Are you crazy?” His daughter hovered over him, wringing her hands. “Do you have any idea what it’s like out there?” “If I let a little bit of weather stop me, I’ll never get any exercise. It’s now or never.” He heaved to his feet. “A little weather?” He opened the door, then stopped. The front yard was completely under water. “That isn’t weather. That’s a hurricane!” His daughter pointed […]
Suzie’s House 477 : The Parts Vs The Whole
Emma clung to the microphone as the other members of her band came into the studio. The glass between the studio and the sound room wasn’t really a two way mirror, but it was definitely easier to see into the studio than to see into the sound room. Everyone had looked like shadows through the glass.
Working Conditions
“This way.” Ken jangled the keys as he walked through the storage unit. “You expect me to organize your storage unit for minimum wage?” Marge scowled. Her boss never knew where to draw the line. “I expect hazard pay.” “No, no, no. It’ll be easy. We’ll just slip in and grab the box of files then head back to the office. See, I’ve got this new shelving system…” He unlocked a unit and rolled up the door. A tower of […]
Suzie’s House 476 : Non-confrontational
“What are you doing?” Miranda looked from Blind Pete to the rest of the band. Only the singer stood in the studio in front of a microphone. “No wonder you’re so badly over budget! All of you need to get in there and record it all in one go!” Every face turned her way. Not one of them looked happy to see her.
Light Show
Deborah stopped half way up the stairs. The chandelier sent shards of light splashing all over the walls and ceiling. It was a light show she’d seen all her life. In the center of the cheerful display, the glare from a window revealed a form that left her cold. Her niece, dead now for nearly ten years. “Mom? What’s wrong?” “Nothing Dear,” she told her son. “Nothing at all.” If she told him, he’d have her locked up some place […]
Suzie’s House 475 : Working vs Not Working
“It’s jarring.” Miranda’s co-worker stooped to see what was on her screen. “Jarring’s not bad. Necessarily.” She sounded too hopeful even in her own ears. “You should just use the canned music. It’s cheaper anyway, isn’t it?” The guy gave her a pat on the shoulder before exiting her cubicle.
Quick Decision
Jane tiptoed away from the rest of the tour group. She should have used the bathroom at the previous stop. Now, if she wanted to go, she would either have to announce the need to everyone in the group, hold it on the bus while they rattled over who knew what kinds of roads, or help herself to the nice family’s commode. She considered the choice obvious. But where would the facilities be? She finally found a tiled room that […]
Suzie’s House 474 : Pulled Over
Jim pulled the blankets over his head and held very still. He was playing possum, but with so many people in the van, who was to say he wasn’t really sleeping? Maybe no one would even notice. “License, registration, and proof of insurance, please.” The cop’s voice, firm and grave -the way cops all over the country always sounded, came from right above Jim’s head. It felt too close, even through Jim knew the man stood next to the driver’s […]
A Stitch in Time
Becky pulled her chin up to look over the edge of the table at the noisy machine. “Are… are you sure?” “Yes,” her mother said. “This will fix it. Don’t touch that.” Becky yanked her hand back away from the pointy thing. The machine whirred. Mother snipped the loose threads. Then Teddy was back in Becky’s arms. “And what did we learn from this?” “Never put Teddy in the dishwasher. And.. and if you do, then don’t put in a […]
Suzie’s House 473 : In Need of Gas
Big Jim didn’t tell anyone that there was a gold watch in his pocket. Not even in the Van Family. He sat in the van with his legs dangling out the back door and tried to read a newspaper someone had tossed them while Boney and Rick stood in the road flying a sign on cardboard that said, “Help us Tom Cruise.” It was Rick’s favorite sign.
Sparks
“How much more you think?” Toby leaned over and looked into the bucket between him and Matt. The two of them sat on the porch and cut off match heads. After hours of work, they’d filled the bucked about half way. It didn’t look like much. “What? To blow up City Hall? No, man. We’ll need a lot more.” “I don’t care about city hall. I just want to see someone go boom!” “Hey! What are you guys up to?” […]
Suzie’s House 472 : Abashed Trash
“Winnow! What kind of a word is winnow?” Big Jim Zemple stood up in the dumpster. He waved a book he’d found that had “winnow” in the title. “Well, isn’t that kind of what we are doing? I think…?” Boney Bonny reached for the book.
Suzie’s House 471 : Baggage
“Really?” Drew gave Walter a long, hard look as they walked up the street to where he had parked. He could swear the old man had just said he killed his own best friend during the Viet Nam War, but he couldn’t be sure. There had to be more to the story.
Hive Minded
“There’s something wrong. Wrong, I tell you!” Matt swung his bottle of beer around dangerously. He nearly nailed a barmaid as she dashed past. “You always say that, Matt.” Old Man Matheson leaned back so he wouldn’t get clipped. “It’s just…” Matt shrugged. “The city’s got a sound. You know? A kind of buzz. Only lately it’s been a different kind of buzz. They say the North and the South poles are going to flip. Maybe they already did! We’re […]
Suzie’s House 470 : Last Laugh
“Sadistic bstrd,” Walter muttered to himself. “What?” Drew leaned forward a little, though the lower part of his shoulders still touched the back wall of the sound room. He gave Walter a concerned look. “What? Oh, no. I was just thinking.” Walter half way smiled in the hopes that Drew would let it slide. There was no way he wanted to explain what was going on in his head right then.
