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 and his uncle Benny have a joyous reunion, and he introduces the love of his life to his uncle. See how things are going in this week's chapter of Rose and Thorne 6. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers to see what's up with them! Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
Beautiful blue eyes certainly ran in this family. As
did good looks. And killer smiles. Okay, not Joe Junior, but all the rest were
good-looking people. At least from the outside.
I hung back as uncle and nephew hugged it out.
Deciding I should make myself at least somewhat useful, I retrieved our
suitcase and set it on the floor.
“It’s so good to see you, Ethan,” his uncle was
saying. “You’ve become quite the looker, you have. Breaking all the hearts?” He
laughed at his own joke even as his curious glance took me in. I remained
silent, not sure what to say. Hello might have been nice, but words had
apparently deserted me.
His next comment startled me, as he set Ethan on his
feet, still glancing at me. “And this must be Vinnie, yes? Your Vinnie? Please
tell me I haven’t made some horrible mistake and this man’s going to shoot me
where I stand.” He laughed again, a most pleasant sound. How similar to Ethan
he sounded at that moment.
“How did you know?” Ethan sounded surprised himself.
“I mean yes, that is my Vinnie. My fiancé, as well as my partner.”
“You have great taste in men, Ethan,” Benny replied
before grabbing me in a big bear hug of my own. He placed me back on my feet
before he turned to Ethan and answered his question. “Your mother. She and I
have been in touch recently, playing catch-up, and she told me how happy you
are, and how you got engaged and everything. I’m so tickled for you both!”
As if suddenly remembering his manners, he waved us
farther into the room, which turned out to be a pretty decent suite. “Here I am
running off at the mouth. Shame on me. Would you like a drink? We can order up
some dinner. No, too early for that. How about lunch? Have you eaten?”
We ended up declining the drink, as we were on duty,
but agreed to burgers and fries. Ethan and I sat together on the couch, with
Benny facing us in a comfortable-looking armchair. I’d mistakenly tried to call
him Mr. Tyler, and he’d immediately corrected me with a no-nonsense “Call me
Benny, please.”
I agreed, but it still seemed strange, when normally
Benny referred to our little law-breaking Pekingese. The one with the bad habit
of stealing purses.
“So, tell me all about yourselves,” he encouraged
us. “I want to know everything. And don’t forget about my namesake. I’ve heard
about him too.”
He didn’t seem offended that we’d named our dog
Benny, and when Ethan pulled out his phone and showed him pictures of the
little rascal, he smiled. Having met Ethan’s uncle now, I understood better how
he’d decided on that name.
I left most of the storytelling to Ethan, because
that’s just how I am, and he understands that. Of course, he exaggerated some
details, mostly about me and how great he thought I was, and I couldn’t keep
from blushing. But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t an ego boost to hear him
talk that way. No doubt about it, Ethan Thorne was very good for me, in every
way.
Of course we had to show off our matching engagement
rings. Benny admired the princess cut sapphires flanked by small diamonds on a
platinum band. “Those are so beautiful,” he said before turning thoughtful.
"Things have come a long way, haven’t they? Guys like us can get married
now. We don’t have to hide who we love anymore.”
“We’ve still got a long ways to go,” Ethan said.
“Not everyone approves of the new marriage laws, and some are more vocal about
it than others.”
“Isn’t that the truth?” Benny let out a soft snort.
“How did your father take the news of your engagement?” He glanced between us,
but I let Ethan respond. His father, his answer.
“Surprisingly well,” Ethan said. “All things
considered.”
He’d already told the story of how I posed as his
girlfriend when we flew to Georgia after Ethan’s mother’s stroke, including how
Joseph Thorne had blown up when he learned the truth.
“He’s coming around, I think. Which is more than I
can say for my brother.” If Joe Junior’s continued bad attitude disturbed
Ethan, he didn’t show it. His voice was calm and cool as ever.
“Well, I suspect your brother has issues of his
own,” Benny said mysteriously. What did that even mean? If I didn’t know
better, I’d suspect he meant the strange triangle between Joe Jr, his wife, and
his father. But I didn’t see how Benny could know about that, not having been
around. Was there something going on that we didn’t know about?
Or maybe I was just being my usual paranoid self.
After we’d eaten, we settled down to coffee and
dessert. And then Benny cleared his throat.
“I guess it’s time I tell you my story,” he said.
to be continued
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