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.
Nothing on this supposedly easy trip has been easy. Now Vinnie has received an anonymous threat? And then Sarah makes a request, but can they do what she asks, realistically? See what's going on 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!
Of course we said nothing to the others, and we
didn’t behave any differently, but I could tell Ethan was on high alert. And so
was I, for that matter. I kept a close eye on vehicles that shared the road
with us, but noticed nothing even remotely suspicious. Not long after we left
Chattanooga, we crossed over into Georgia, and before we knew it we had reached
Imperial. Had a short drive ever felt so long? I didn’t think so.
But when we got to Imperial, we encountered another
situation which, in hindsight, perhaps I should have expected but didn’t. I
know that’s because I never thought in terms of family, but still, I should
have seen it coming.
It was Sarah who voiced what they were all probably
thinking. “Benny, are you going to stop by and see Mom? I mean, you’re already
here. And you guys are ahead of schedule, right?”
I didn’t know what to say. To be fair, the question
hadn’t been addressed to either Ethan or me, even though it concerned us both.
“That would be nice, but I’m not sure.” Benny
sounded reluctant, but I had a feeling that was more on our behalf and what it
might mean for us to do something outside of the scope of our assignment than
the actual visit. I also noticed she mentioned her mother but not her father.
Understandable. Probably still bad blood there. I’m sure if he knew what we
did, he’d have even less use for his brother-in-law, although I wasn’t entirely
sure what I knew, to be honest. I was just going by appearances after all, but
those seemed pretty damning, at least on the surface.
I stole a quick glance at Ethan. His face gave
nothing away, but even so I could tell he was conflicted. I knew how much his
family meant to him, and he had to know that his mother would love to be able
to see her brother again after being apart for so long. She was such a sweet
woman, even I didn’t want to disappoint her, and I wasn’t even her son.
I laid my hand on Ethan’s knee. “At the risk of
butting in,” I began.
Even as I got the words out of my mouth, Ethan was
shaking his head. “Don’t think like that, Vinny. You’re part of me, of us. You’re
family now.”
I should have known he’d feel that way. Hadn’t he
made that abundantly clear from the beginning, even before I was willing to
admit there was a connection between us? From the back seat, I heard Sarah and
Benny second his words. So emboldened, I continued. “Don’t you think we can
stop by briefly so Benny can see your mom? I mean, we’re almost to Atlanta now,
and we’ll just end up sitting in the hotel room for the next couple of days
with nothing to do but watch TV and play cards.” Damn, I think I forgot to pack
the cards.
“Give me a minute to think about it,” Ethan said.
Well, at least it wasn’t a flat-out no, which meant there was hope.
After a few minutes that felt a lot longer, he
finally replied. “Maybe that isn’t the worst idea. We can take that time to
regroup, touch base with Anderson, maybe get a handle on what’s going on.”
“Yes, and you can let us know what’s going on too,” Sarah piped up. I’m pretty sure Ethan
hadn’t meant for her to hear what he said, but he should have known better.
I watched as he glanced in the rearview mirror, and
I knew he was looking at his twin before he released a soft sigh. “You’re
probably right,” he said. “Do you want to call Mom and tell her we’re coming?
In case she isn’t home or something?”
“Gladly, brother dearest,” Sarah happily agreed.
I couldn’t help but wonder what other members of the
family besides Maureen we would have to endure? One could only hope…
to be continued
Don't forget to see what's up with the other Briefers!
No comments:
Post a Comment