Good morning and Happy Hump Day! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.
Chan finds himself stressed out by work, and wonders if he might be driving Evan away. See what's happening with them in this week's chapter of Super Trooper. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
Chan’s head throbbed, a pounding rhythm which made
thinking difficult at best. The numbers on the balance sheet sitting on his
desk refused to add up. As if that wasn’t bad enough, he was also acting as
head teller, as the previous one had abruptly quit one day and moved away from
Tucker Falls. Announced she was chasing her dream of being a circus performer.
Seriously? That meant he had to make sure the tellers each balanced their
drawers before leaving. And sometimes that was just easier said than done. Not
to mention one of the regular tellers was out sick, and one of the two savings
counselors was on medical leave for another couple of weeks. Altogether that
meant longer hours for Chan, but what could he do? He had children to provide
for.
He’d applied for social security on his siblings’
behalf, but that would take a little time to process. And whenever it did
start, he would set it aside for them, to go toward their future education. He
would provide for their needs without touching that money. Evan had agreed that
was the thing to do.
Evan.
Chan sighed and closed his eyes momentarily against
the pain. Evan was being so good about everything, he couldn’t be any sweeter.
But things at home were not going exactly smoothly. Not for lack of trying. The
children… well, they were children. And he wasn’t mad at them, he could never
be. They’d been through so much.
And yet, life would be much easier if they were a
little bit better behaved. And by they he actually meant Kamal. Laksha was
always a little lady. Maybe she was a little more quiet than usual, but at
least she wasn’t acting out like their brother. Madhu, on the other hand, was
worrisome. She spoke even less than before and he seldom saw her smile anymore.
Why was life so damn complicated?
Chan opened his eyes and glanced at the time on his
computer screen. Almost four. Normally, he’d be leaving soon, but he didn’t
think he’d be on time tonight any more than he had been the past few nights.
Evan should be headed home, if he wasn’t there already. What to do about
dinner? He could ask Evan what he wanted, and then take it from there.
A mere moment later, Chan’s cell began to ring. He
recognized Evan’s ringtone immediately, a song they both loved. In spite of his
headache, Chan smiled as he answered.
“Hello,” he greeted Evan. “I was just thinking of
you.”
“I like the sound of that,” Evan replied. “How’s
your day going?”
“Don’t ask.” Chan tried not to whine, but sometimes
he could hear it in his own voice, and he hated his weakness.
Chan heard a knock at his door. He barely had time
to tell Evan to hold on a sec when it opened and a young blonde teller’s face
appeared. Cindy was in her early twenties and had only been working at the
saving and loan for a couple of weeks. Her smile was both apprehensive and
apologetic. “I’m sorry, Mr. Basu. I hate to bother you… but…”
She didn’t have to finish that sentence. Chan knew
instantly what was coming. “I’ll be happy to help you balance,” he said softly.
“And please, it’s Chan.”
“Thank you… Chan,” she amended and made an immediate
withdrawal.
Chan returned to his phone call. “I’m sorry,” he
apologized. “I have to go. The new teller…”
“Don’t be sorry, it’s your job. Tell you what, when
you get off, why don’t we take the kids out for burgers? They love those.”
That was very true. While his mother had raised them
on many traditional Hindu dishes, they’d also eaten their fair share of
American cuisine and thrived on it. His family was very American in that
regard. Burgers, pizza… they loved it all.
“That’s a splendid idea, thank you.” At least dinner
would be taken care of, one less worry. At least for tonight.
“Call me when you’re on your way and I’ll make sure
they’re ready to go,” Evan said.
“Thank you. Thank you very much.”
“Don’t thank me, I love you, Chan. I’d do anything
for you.”
Chan’s heart swelled at his lover’s words, knew they
were true. “I love you too, Evan,” he said. “I’ll call as soon as I can.” Once
he’d hung up, Chan sat there for a moment, replaying Evan’s words, basking in
the glow of his love, albeit over the phone.
Oh yeah. Cindy. Work before play. He briefly
massaged his temple before exiting his office to help the young woman balance her
drawer so everyone could go home on time. Hopefully.
to be continued
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