Day: July 20, 2018

First Line Friday — Storm Clouds

Fandango9 Comments

B0F48CFF-AC10-481C-810A-C0F44DA1684B.jpegThe wedding loomed closer and all Tay could do was think of storm clouds. “This is a big mistake,” he said to his best man, Floyd.

“What are you talking about, Tay?” Floyd asked. “Are you getting cold feet?”

“I don’t know what I was thinking,” Tay said. “Who said love is better the second time around, anyway? What do they know?”

“Listen, Bud,” Floyd said. “You and Darlene were great together and then you fucked it up by having that affair with one of your students. You’re lucky that she’s even giving you a second chance.”

“We weren’t so great together,” Tay said. “Our relationship was very tumultuous at times. We fought like cats and dogs. Why do you think I felt the need to have an affair? I just needed to have some uncomplicated sex with no baggage.”

“But you’ve grown as a person since those days,” Floyd said, “and so has Darlene. You were both so young when you got married. But now you have a chance to put it all back together with the love of your life. You two were meant to be.”

“Yeah, you’re right Floyd,” Tay admitted. “It’s just going to be hard to break it to Samantha.”

“Who’s Samantha?” Floyd asked.

“Samantha,” Tay said. “was the student I had that affair with.”

“What does she have to do with it?” Floyd asked. “You’re not still seeing her, are you? That affair was years ago.”

“True,” Tay said, “but she and I had a kid together. I’m her baby daddy. I can’t abandon her and our son.”

“Storm clouds, indeed,” Floyd said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Written for today’s Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie First Line Friday prompt.

Time To Write — The Preparations

Fandango9 Comments

EA206B38-C62B-4220-A8F8-E916303C4EF8Emma looked at her watch. “We need to hurry,” she said to her brother, Liam. “Mom said she’s going to be getting here by around 6:30 and it’s already a quarter past six.”

“I’m almost done hanging this banner,” Liam said, “so go let everyone know that Mom and Grandpa will be arriving shortly.”

“I’m so excited,” Emma said. “Grandpa will be really surprised when he walks in and sees everyone from the extended family here to help celebrate his 100th birthday. There will be four generations of the family here for this occasion. He’s going to especially love seeing his cousins who have flown in from Ireland to see him.”

“Yeah, it’s gonna be great,” Liam agreed. That’s when he heard his mother’s car pull into the driveway.

Emma ran into the living and adressed the gathering of friend and family from near and far. “Okay, everyone,” she said. “Grandpa will be walking in any second. On my signal I want everyone to run out and shout SURPRISE!”

The front door opened and Emma gave the signal. The attendees all ran out and yelled “SURPRISE.” Grandpa, startled, looked at the crowd, smiled weakly, grabbed his chest, and fell to the floor.

Emma ran over to Grandpa and checked his pulse. She looked up at the group, tears running down her cheeks, and said in a hoarse voice, “He’s gone.”

Liam walked into the room carrying a sheath of papers. “Okay,” he said. “The plan worked. Mom was right, the old man’s heart couldn’t take it. So let’s get to the will, shall we?”

Written for Rachel Poli’s Time To Write prompt. We are asked to write a story where the characters are preparing for something.

Happy Anniversary

Fandango9 Comments

ABC15485-4D66-48CD-8F8C-89357D324357The first thing that impressed Ann when she and her husband walked into the posh, downtown hotel room were the beautiful lace doilies on the desk and the bedside tables. That was until Michael called her over to the window and told her to look out.

“Oh my God,” Ann exclaimed. “This is stunning. Look at the city with the twinkling lights from the skyscrapers peaking from behind the wispy, low-hanging clouds. This hotel is some discovery,” she said to Michael, squeezing his hand tightly.

“I wanted to surprise you on this, our fifth wedding anniversary,” Michael said, bending down slightly to give Ann a kiss. “And best of all, I scored great tickets for tonight.”

“Oh, Michael,” Ann squealed, “I’ve always wanted to see a Broadway show! Which show?”

“Well, it’s just a little off Broadway,” Michael admitted.

“Oh, off-Broadway,” Ann said. “Well, that’s cool. I understand that there are some very avant-garde shows that are off-Broadway.”

“Yeah, well it not exactly a show,” Michael said. “I got floor seats for the Knicks game.”

Ann looked at her husband and said, “You’re taking me to a basketball game for our anniversary? Seriously?”

“It’s my anniversary, too, you know,” Michael said.

“And your last one with me,” Ann said.

Written for Teresa’s two prompts, Three Things Challenge, where the things are discovery, lace, and basketball, and for her Worth A Thousand Words photo prompt. Photo credit: carloyuen @ pixabay.com.

#FOWC — Mirth and Melancholy

Fandango13 Comments

Case_study

Sometimes things just work out. For my One-Word Challenge today, I selected the word “melancholy.” It means “a gloomy state of mind, especially when habitual or prolonged; depression; a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause.”

I know the cause of my melancholy, but I promised myself I wouldn’t mention Donald Trump today. Oh wait. I just did. Dammit.

But back to my point. Another daily one-word challenge selected the word “mirth.” Mirth means “gladness or gaiety as shown by or accompanied with laughter.”

So, the two daily word prompts today used words that essentially are the exact opposite, one meaning sad and depressed and the other meaning happiness and laughter. I believe, in the nearly two months since those of us who have stepped into the gap left by demise of the WordPress Daily Prompt, this may be a first. Coincidence or serendipity?

Hmm. I wonder if tomorrow’s words might be “coincidental” (occurring or existing at the same time) and “serendipitous” (occurring or discovered by chance in a happy or beneficial way).

Written for today’s Word of the Day Challenge, “mirth,” and for Fandango’s One-Word Challenge, “melancholy.”

FOWC with Fandango — Melancholy

Fandango35 Comments

FOWCWelcome to July 20, 2018 and to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge (aka, FOWC). It’s designed to fill the void after WordPress bailed on its daily one-word prompt.

I will be posting each day’s word just after midnight Pacific Time (US).

Today’s word is “melancholy.”

Write a post using that word. It can be prose, poetry, fiction, non-fiction. It can be any length. It can be just a picture or a drawing if you want. No holds barred, so to speak.

Once you are done, tag your post with #FOWC and create a pingback to this post if you are on WordPress. Or you can simply include a link to your post in the comments.

And be sure to read the posts of other bloggers who respond to this prompt. You will marvel at their creativity.