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.
Caught with four slashed tires and little to do, Vinnie and Ethan et al go to a nearby museum. See what's happening in this week's chapter of Bad Karma and the Family Plan. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
It wasn’t long before our most excellent Uber driver
dropped us off at the Visitors Center for the Museum.
“You’re gonna have fun,” she assured us in her soft
Virginia drawl.
“Can we request you when we’re ready to go back?”
Sarah asked, a notion we all seconded.
The driver gave us a rueful grin with a shake of her
head. “Sorry, no, unfortunately. But I’ll keep an eye out for y’all when you
put in your request and if I’m free, I’ll be happy to come back to getcha.”
That had to be adequate, what else could we do?
Once inside the Visitor’s Center, we paid our
admission fees to a friendly young lady behind the desk and began to look
around. At the moment, we were the only visitors there, so we had the entire
place to ourselves, other than the aforementioned employee.
“I’m afraid there isn’t a lot going on today,” she
apologized. “One of our slow days, so no one is around, including the
volunteers. But feel free to look around as much as you like.” She was engaged
in some kind of needlecraft, which she held inside a hoop on her lap, swiftly
plying her nimble needle. “Don’t hesitate to ask for help.” She pointed out a
rack containing a multitude of brochures that sat against one wall. We thanked
her kindly.
Gotta love Southern hospitality.
Once we’d thoroughly examined the various displays
in the Visitors Center, we wandered outside to see the rest of the buildings.
There were no organized tours, as such, everyone being free to wander about to
their heart’s content, go at their own pace. According to a sign near the barn,
at times there were wagon rides, but that was apparently not an option today.
Nor were any of the re-enactments available. We might have to make time to come
back someday.
Benny offered to carry little Alex, but it soon
became clear that he wanted none of that, being full of energy and ready to use
it. He set the child on his own two feet and took one hand while Sarah took the
other, conveniently sandwiching Alex in between. He seemed satisfied with that
arrangement, while Ethan and I walked side by side, bringing up the rear.
I felt a little more relaxed now. There had been no
other vehicles in the parking lot, other than the one no doubt belonging to the
girl behind the counter. If someone were stalking us, they’d have to do it on
foot, and it was very unlikely that was happening.
According to what we read, the restored farmhouse
and its nine outbuildings had been preserved rather than reconstructed, dating
back to 1897, while the school was from 1894. We learned about the Scotch-Irish
and the German settlers who once lived there. I found it very interesting, and
I know Ethan did too. Sarah was clearly in her element, as she told Alex
stories about what we were looking at. He seemed quite mesmerized himself.
Despite this respite, I noticed Ethan kept an eagle
eye on our surroundings at all times. I moved closer to him and dropped my
voice, although I was sure the others were too engrossed in checking out the
school house to notice. “Do you think we were followed?”
He bit at his lower lip thoughtfully for just a
second before he took my hand in his. “I don’t really think so, but I don’t
want to be taken unawares either, you know?”
I understood what he meant. Better safe than sorry.
“We’ll have to come back here sometime,” Ethan said.
“It’s too bad we missed the wagon ride. Could be romantic.”
I wasn’t sure how romantic riding in the back of a
wooden cart on wheels might be, especially if one had to share the pleasure
with other people… but I was certainly willing to find out. Hell, I’d do
anything that meant spending time with Ethan.
“You and me, always,” he said. Such a mind reader he
was. I felt my cheeks warm just before he kissed me, but before we could get
carried away, his phone rang. Such an annoying sound.
It was the tire store. Interlude over, back to
reality. Ethan thanked the caller than opened up the Uber app and requested a
ride. Time to get back on the road.
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