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.
Ethan's twin sister Sarah is visiting for a few days, staying with them, along with her young son Alex. But at breakfast, Sarah drops a bombshell on her brother, and Vinnie nervously waits for the fall-out. See what's going on in this week's chapter of Rose and Thorne 6. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
I had to hand it to Sarah, she didn’t look the least
bit taken aback or thrown off by Ethan’s question. Not even the slightest bit
embarrassed, either. I could see something of her minister father’s
stubbornness in the set of her jaw, the way she held her head high. “Not long,” she said.
“How long’s not long?” Ethan persisted.
I nibbled on a crisp slice of bacon and wondered if
I should leave the room, give the siblings some privacy. I had a feeling Sarah
had more to reveal and Ethan just might not like what he was about to hear. On
the other hand, that was also a good reason to stay, namely to offer moral
support to the man I loved. That brought me to the age-old question—should I
stay or should I go? And since it’s easier to do nothing than something, I
stayed.
And maybe I was just a touch curious to hear the
answer, to be honest.
“We started talking about a year ago,” she finally
admitted.
That’s
not long?
Sarah’s cheeks began to pink, and her confidence
seemed to wane slightly. She turned toward Alex and began to fuss over him. “You
done eating? Oh my, such a mess. Let’s get you cleaned up, little man.”
Only then did I notice Benny hovering beside Alex’s
chair. And the next moment I knew why, when the toddler let slip another scrap
of food. Benny snapped it up before it hit the floor. Ever the opportunist,
that Benny.
“Sarah, I don’t understand.”
Sarah swiveled toward her brother with an exasperated
sigh. “What’s there not to understand, Ethan? James is Alex’s father. My son
has a right to know him, doesn’t he? And maybe, just maybe, I miss him. Love
him even. Love doesn’t die simply because someone makes bad choices. James wasn’t
ready, I get it. But that was almost four years ago. People change.”
I was listening to Sarah’s words, but my attention
was riveted on Ethan. I was afraid he might go ballistic, as odd as that
sounds. My Ethan is a quiet man, a very calm man. But when a situation involves
someone he loves, he can surprise me. Not now, though. Quite the contrary. The more she spoke, the
more stricken he seemed to be, and that alarmed me.
Sarah rose quietly. She pushed back Alex’s chair and
lifted the child into her arms. “Time for a bath, I think. You can play with
Benny after that.”
Alex squirmed
momentarily then smiled down at Benny with a knowing grin. “Puppy!” he
exclaimed, wriggling his fingers in what could either be good-bye or let me have him
now. Hard to tell.
Ethan scooted back his chair, which screeched as it
scraped across the tiled floor. He stood and I hastily followed suit. “Have you
forgotten how he abandoned you when you needed him most? The horrible things he
said? The suggestions he made?”
I had no idea what those suggestions might have been
but Sarah’s face turned alarmingly scarlet. What was going on here? I’d never
heard such angry words exchanged between these two, who were normally closer
than close. Frankly, I didn’t like it.
“Can you honestly tell me you’re willing to forgive
and forget?” Ethan continued relentlessly. “When he’s never been there for you?
Not emotionally, physically, or financially? Doesn’t Alex deserve better than
that?”
Sarah hitched Alex a little higher on her hip. “Down,”
he insisted, but she ignored his command.
“And you think Dad has been all of these things?”
she countered. “But we managed to turn out all right.”
I almost interjected with a comment about their
brother Joe being an exception to that rule, but decided this wasn’t the time,
even if I was right about him, so I kept quiet.
“Tell me something, Ethan,” Sarah said. I had a
sudden premonition that what she was going to say wouldn’t be pretty, but I
didn’t know how to stem her words, hoping and praying I was wrong and she could
never say anything to harm him.
“Are you angrier on my behalf or yours?” She flung
the words at him like a challenge, held Alex to her tightly, and made her exit,
headed toward the guest room she was occupying.
I didn’t know what she meant, but one look at Ethan’s
face told me he did, and she had just wounded him to the quick.
Shit.
to be continued
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