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.
More trouble is brewing with our boys! What should have been a simple assignment has turned dangerous and confusing. Now their boss tells them to stay out of Atlanta for a few days. In fact, they need to stay put where they are and he'll send agents to watch out for them. How will the Reverend Thorne take to this? 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!
I understood Ethan’s reasoning, but I wasn’t sure
how he intended to accomplish the execution of said plan. What I did know was
that I trusted him completely, and I would follow him anywhere.
“Do you want me to tell Dad to come out here?” Sarah
offered.
Ethan shook his head. “I think he’ll feel more
comfortable in his study, to be honest. We better do this now, though.” He
turned toward me, and I sensed the unspoken question.
“You want me to come with?” I wanted to make sure I
didn’t misunderstand him, even though he hadn’t actually spoken the thought.
“Of course. He has to understand that he cannot
divide us, and that we stand united on everything.”
Okay, that made sense. I wasn’t afraid of his old
man… well, not much. I could do this. For now, though, I would simply follow
Ethan’s lead.
We all rose and re-entered the house. Maureen and
Benny were talking together while the minister was playing with Alex, who
seemed to be basking in his attention. I realized he probably saw his
grandfather on a fairly regular basis, since Sarah lived so close to her
parents, and for just a moment, I wondered what it would be like to have
grandparents. I would never know, as my mother’s parents had disowned her
before I was even born, and the other side of the equation doesn’t even bear
thinking about.
Enough with the pity party, back to the drama.
Sarah swooped in and claimed her son. “Bath time,
little man!”
That seemed to be Maureen’s cue. She rose, excused
herself to her brother and said, “Let me get out a towel for him,” before
bustling up the stairs. At the same time, I watched as Ethan leaned down toward
his father, speaking in a low voice. The minister seemed a little surprised,
but he quickly nodded without argument. He rose and headed from the room.
Ethan turned to Benny. “Sorry, Uncle Benny,
something’s come up. We need to talk to Dad first, but as soon as we get his
okay, we’ll let you know what’s going on. Mind hanging out here while we do?”
“Of course not,” Benny assured him. “Do what you
need to do. I’ll be fine.”
I noticed Ethan glance around the room, as if
ascertaining how safe it was to leave Benny here. He must have decided there
was minimum threat, because we hurried down the hall to his father’s study,
knocked briefly, then entered.
Joe Sr. was seated behind his desk. He seemed as
unruffled as his daughter had been. I guess he saved the explosions for the
pulpit…or for finding out his son’s girlfriend was actually a boyfriend. He
waved us into chairs. And didn’t this scene feel familiar? Hopefully, it would
have a different outcome than the last time.
I let Ethan have the floor, naturally. He was
definitely the most eloquent speaker between us. Plus, his father, you know. He
laid everything out for the minister in terms of what our job was, why we were
with Benny, and what had been happening in the few short hours since we left
Roanoke. He kind of skated over the part about Sarah and the baby daddy, made
it sound like we had her and Alex with us as a matter of convenience, not to
get away from her ex.
I still had my doubts as to the outcome of this
little discussion. Ethan’s dad listened intently, never interrupting.
“That’s why I wanted your advice, Dad,” Ethan
finished. “What do you suggest as our best course of action?”
At first, Ethan’s father said nothing. Oh oh, that
couldn’t be good. Maybe he was trying to think of a polite way to tell us all
to get the hell out of his house and take our troubles with us. Maybe he would
suggest a nice hotel or nearby bed and breakfast. The longer the silence
continued, the worse I felt. I was just
beginning to brace myself for his utter dismissal of our needs when he suddenly
said, “I think it’s best if you all stay here, as your supervisor suggest. We
can make this work.”
I think I just witnessed a miracle.
to be continued
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