“That means nothing to me. I am not a USO Girl and you’re not the military,” she said sternly. I’ve given you my response.”
“It’s no fair. I want this! No, I need this, and I want you to do it with me!”
“You want free labor to make your dream possible, and I’m not willing to entertain being a part of something I don’t want to do. I actually know you, which is one of the many reasons you don’t want to ask me, Jeremy. I don’t deal with your nonsense very well. Find someone else.”
She left the room quietly.
He plopped onto the couch, splayed out like a tired octopus. “She’ll never understand,” he bemoaned with a pinch of heavy sigh.
Jeremy mourned the rejection from Stella for a day or two and then he was back to trying to recruit another helper for his house remodel project.
But whoever he asked declined. It seemed that Stella had spread the news of Jeremy’s devious planning around and most people were pre-warned and were avoiding even talking to him.
Then there was a surprising offer of help from someone he least expected….
➰➰➰
Fandango’s part:
“Hey, Buddy, I hear you need a hand.”
Jeremy was standing on a ladder skim-coating the drywall in a small closet when he froze. The voice sounded familiar but he couldn’t immediately place it. He climbed down off the ladder, turned in the direction the voice had come from, and his jaw dropped when he saw who it was.
“Surprise, surprise,” said the man when he saw Jeremy staring at him.
“Dad?”
“None other,” the man said, an ear-to-ear grin on his face.
Jeremy’s face turned dark red. “You son of a bitch. You abandoned Mom and me a decade ago and neither of us has heard from you since. How the hell did you find me and what do you want from me?”
“That’s an interesting story, son,” the man said.
➰➰➰
I’m going to toss the baton over to the Sicilian Storyteller at The Elephant’s Trunk and I hope she’ll pick it up and run with it.
Marla, from Marla’s World, has created a writing challenge. The challenge is for multiple authors to write a single story. She will choose a story that she has written, or that another author has submitted for this challenge, and she will nominate the next person to continue writing it. Once that person has added their section, they will nominate the next author. It will continue like this until the story is complete.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Link to this post to add in your addition.
They were sitting in his car, windows rolled up, air conditioning blowing low. The conversation had been flowing smoothly, as it always did between them.
He was telling her about the most recent date he had been on, and how the woman was very odd, trying to cut his steak up for him while they ate. At the mention of meat, she suddenly became extremely hungry. Her attention went from his words to her cramping, growling stomach.
She was vaguely aware he had stopped speaking, and she became very self-conscious. In the silence of the Tesla, she knew that if she even winced at the discomfort, he would hear her. She focused on staying as quiet as possible, but she was sooooo hungry!
Her gaze drifted from his mouth to the pulse at his neck and her stomach growled again painfully.
“So about that steak?” She blurted out, trying to disguise the noise of her hunger, but she only managed to make it worse, the thought of that steaming hunk of meat, blood pooling beneath it.
“Well, the steak was delicious, the date not so much, you know she actually licked her napkin and wiped the steak juices from my chin,” he continued as if nothing else were the matter.
And just like that her stomach was at it again.
Steak. Blood. Hunger. Pain.
“I’m so sorry, I… I….” Without thinking of an excuse, she dashed from the car.
She had gone only a few steps that he heard him call her name. “Mindy!!! I know your secret! Did you think that being friends with you for so long, I wouldn’t know it?”
Mindy turned, reluctantly, slowly…. “You do? But how? Who told you?” She was firing questions rapidly not giving Charlie a chance to respond.
“I suspected that something wasn’t right when every month, on the night of full moon, you’d disappear for a couple of days. And then when I’d meet you, you’d be lethargic and pale. I did some research and I came to the conclusion…..”
Charlie continued talking and he said, “We both have inner conflicts and there is no reason for us to fight with each other, but if we do, only one of us is going to survive and that is the one who gets fed the most. When you accepted my invitation to enjoy a steak dinner with me in my car, I knew right away that you were the same as me. After you devoured that 72-ounce ribeye steak in 10 minutes and never touched your salad or the baked potato, I knew for sure that we are kindred spirits. We were cut from the same cloth which sounds oddly strange, but you run in my veins. I breathe what is yours, and you breathe what is mine. I have your scent, I’m on the hunt, and I’m after you. My mouth is alive, with juices like wine all running inside and I’m hungry like the wolf. We can hunt together, or you can follow me, as I will always be the leader of the pack.”
Mindy chimed in, “I really like your electric car, and this is the first time that I have eaten more than just a hamburger in one, so I must thank you for the scrumptious meal. I feel that salad is rabbit food, but I always enjoy a nice rabbit. I have been a lone wolf for a very long time, and I am highly aware of your potential, but I need my own space. I may succeed or fail, but when I get a setback, I will try again, and I will be happy to say that I did it my way. I enjoy thinking for myself and approaching issues from my own angle. I know what I want in a relationship, and I am not looking for romance, but I also understand your needs. I have a preference for solitude, and I don’t care for chitchat or do I have any desire for social engagements. If we do hookup, you should know that I am going to be the dominate one and if I find out that you are the kiss and tell type of guy, you will never see me again.”
Charlie rubbed his eyes and said, “Mindy, did you say something? Mindy? Mindy?” But Mindy didn’t move. Charlie reached over and shook her. “Mindy?”
Mindy opened her eyes, stretched, and said, “Oh Charlie, I’m so sorry, I must have fallen asleep. That pot we smoked before must have really knocked me out. I do remember having a strange dream where you were a werewolf or something like that. It was so vivid.” Then she paused and said, “Wow, I’m famished. Can we get outta here and get something to eat?”
“Sure,” Charlie said, putting the Tesla in gear and pulling away. Just a dream. Right! Charlie thought, a broad smile on his face.
I’m going to tag A.M. Moscoso from My Enduring Bones to take it from here. Let me know ASAP if you’re good to go or would rather I pass the baton to someone else.
I am honored to be giving the eulogy at the funeral of my good friend and mentor, Antony Bellomucci. For those of you who knew him, he was a strong and admirable man who could inspire each and every person he came in contact with. All of us who worked with him and who loved him, have tried, in our own ways, to aspire to be like him. But alas, as with everything in life, there comes a time when the baton must be passed and when new blood must take over. Let us all pray for our late Antony Bellomucci, whose time to expire had arrived. His will be big shoes to fill, but, alas, he now swims with the fishes and I have taken over as the new godfather.
Written for Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. This week, Dan Antion, from No Facilities, is subbing for Linda and he has given us the words “inspire/aspire/expire” and asked us to use one, two, or all three in our post.
Lenny sat down on the sand, took a deep breath, and let out a long, heavy sigh.
“Are you okay?” his wife asked, sitting down next to him.
“No, I’m far from okay,” he said. “The whole world is topsy-turvy, empathy and civility have disappeared, political and societal norms are fractured, our democratic institutions are crumbling, and everything we know and have trusted is being sabotaged by those in power right in front of our eyes.”
“I know, honey,” Lorraine said. “That’s why we’re here. To escape that nonsense, even for just a few days. You need to stop thinking about it, clear your mind, recharge your batteries, and appreciate the calm serenity of this place.”
“Unless we stay here forever, there’s no escape from what is happening to our country.” Lenny lamented.
“Lenny, when we were young, we were activists,” Lorraine said. “We protested the Vietnam war. We marched with Dr. King, we fought for environmental protections, we worked to support progressive candidates.”
“I know,” Lenny said. “We’re old now. We’re in our seventies. We need to hand over the torch to the younger generation. It’s their future, not ours, that is on the line.”
“Exactly,” said Lorraine. “We need to make the most of our golden years and pass the baton to our kids. It’s their problem now. They have a vested interest in turning things around and making our country and the world a better, friendlier, and more livable place.”
“Right,” Lenny said. “And our kids will look back at us and wonder how we screwed things up so badly. Our legacy will be that we destroyed their future almost beyond repair.”
Now it was Lorraine’s turn take a deep breath to and let out a long, heavy sigh. “You always have a way of ruining even the most serene moment, don’t you? Thanks a lot, you crotchety old fart. Now I’m in a bad mood.”
Lenny sat down on the sand, took a deep breath, and let out a long, heavy sigh.
Facts, Fictions & Fantasies 