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.
Looks like things are getting a little crowded at the Thorne residence, at least temporarily. Ethan's minister father suggested they stay there, which is what they were angling for. But how will this work logistically? And what will Ethan's less-than-pleasant brother have to say about it? 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!
“That sounds like a good idea,” Ethan agreed.
“Thanks, Dad. I’ll let Mom know what’s going on and see what we can do to help
her. I don’t want us to be any trouble to her.”
Ethan’s father nodded his approval to this
suggestion, for all intents and purposes giving the appearance of a loving and
thoughtful spouse, although I wasn’t entirely sure about that. But maybe this
leopard had managed to change its spots. And maybe nothing had really happened
between him and his daughter-in-law. I hoped that was true, for Maureen’s sake.
Or if it did, I hoped it was over now.
Sheesh, such a tangled web.
One obstacle gotten over, on to the next one.I still
couldn’t help but wonder how this house would accommodate everyone, what with
Joe Junior already being there. Speaking of which, I wondered what his reaction
would be when he found out we were staying for a few days. I suspected as
unhappy as he was to see us for just a few hours, he would be even less happy
to know we weren’t leaving right away.
Would it be awful of me to say I wanted to see his
face when someone broke the news to him?
We chatted for a few minutes with the minister
before heading out to talk to Ethan’s mother. I was surprised no mention was
made of the FBI position he was trying to talk Ethan into taking. Maybe because
he figured out nothing was going to split us up so he gave up? At least I hoped
that was the reason. Not that there was anything wrong with working for the
FBI. But we liked what we were doing. Not to mention, this job brought us
together. I wasn’t sure how things worked in the Bureau, but I suspected we
wouldn’t necessarily be allowed to be partners, and I never wanted to see that
happen.
Maureen was in the living room, having left mother
and child to bath time upstairs. We seated ourselves on the couch again and
Ethan began our tale. I was concerned how his mother might react to the news of
what was going on, but she was quite the opposite. Of course she was concerned,
but her concern was for all of us, not herself. Knowing that she would be there
with us, watching over us, probably gave her a sense of security that would
have been lacking had we been forced to go to a motel, as I’d thought we would.
But that still left the matter of sleeping
arrangements.
“Don’t worry, I can fit everyone in,” Maureen
assured us with a warm smile.
“Fit who in where?” Joe Jr had slithered out from
under his rock and just caught the tail end of the conversation from where he
lurked in the hallway. Looked like I was going to get my wish
“Come on in, Joey,” his mother beckoned. “You need
to know this too.”
He looked as though he would rather not have
anything to do with us, but he probably knew what would happen if he didn’t
listen to her, so he shuffled into the room and parked himself in his father’s
chair, poised on the very edge as if ready to make a quick exit if necessary.
“Ethan and Vinnie and Sarah and Alex and Benny are
all staying for a few days,” Maureen said smoothly.
I closely observed Joe Jr’s reaction and was
gratified at the wide eyes and gaping mouth as he took in her words. He
sputtered something that was not very intelligible, but Maureen had already
moved ahead with her next pronouncement.
“Now, because of that, I’m going to make some
adjustments for the short term as far as bedrooms and such. Sarah and Alex can
take the spare room upstairs.
“W-what?” Joey protested. “That’s my room. They
can’t—”
“They can and they will,” Maureen interrupted. “Your
sister has a child. Of course they need their own bedroom. As for you boys, you
can sleep in here. Pretend you’re camping out. That will make things easier on
Ethan and Vinnie to keep an eye on everyone.”
Joey was furious, of that there was no doubt.
“Goddammit, why can’t they stay in a hotel and not be a burden to us?” he
protested.
“That’s not an option,” Ethan responded. I almost
asked his brother why he didn’t go to a hotel then, but that seemed senseless
since I knew the answer. Plus it might come off as rude.
Ethan turned to his uncle, as if he anticipated his
brother’s next comment, forestalling it. “Benny, you go ahead and take the
couch. We’ll be good on the floor.”
“On the floor!” Joe Jr appeared apoplectic. “How old
do you think I am? Ten?”
“Sometimes I wonder,” his mother responded, which
produced snickers from the rest of us.
I didn’t mind sleeping on the floor. I mean, the
carpet was fairly soft, and I’d slept in far worse conditions when I was
homeless. It was the prospect of spending the night in close proximity to
Ethan’s brother that I found unappetizing.
I had a feeling this was going to be a long long
night.
to be continued
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