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.
After making a necessary excursion to the store for needed supplies, Vinnie and Ethan return to the Thorne residence to find... Troy and Brendan and Benny the pup! What is going on here? 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!
Has a night ever been so long?
At least Ethan had the presence of mind to remember
our purchases that were sitting in the trunk of our rental car. I’d been too
put off by the unexpected appearance of our friends to remember them. We put Benny on his leash for convenience sake
and divided the lot among the four of us and proceeded to the house. Ethan
carefully balanced everything on one arm so he could open the front door and
admit the rest of us.
Maureen and Uncle Benny were still sitting in the
living room as we entered the hallway. They immediately rose when they saw us.
“Thank you so much,” Maureen said, “for getting everything. How much do I—” Her
words cut off abruptly, probably at the sight of our two additional guests. I
couldn’t exactly blame her for being surprised.
“Mom, sorry to spring this on you,” Ethan said
apologetically, but his mother wasn’t having any of that as she turned toward
the newcomers and I saw all over again where Ethan’s manners came from.
“Nonsense. Any friend of yours is most welcome in
our home. I’m Ethan’s mother, Maureen Thorne, and I am very happy to meet you.”
The equally smooth and gracious Troy quickly shifted
his own bags in order to take her extended and make a quick bow over it. “Thank
you so much, ma’am. My name is Troy and this is Brendan.” He nodded to indicate
his better half.
“Very pleased to meet you, ma’am,” Brendan quickly
chimed in.
Maureen seemed pleasantly flustered by their
attentions, before indicating Ethan’s uncle beside her.
“Benjamin Thorne,” he supplied with a smile.
Brendan was
the first to make the connection. “Oh, you must be Uncle Benny, like the
puppy!” As if to acknowledge he’d been named for this man, Benny was hovering
at Uncle Benny’s feet, despite being anchored by the leash in my hand.
Everyone laughed as Uncle Benny stooped to pick up
the miscreant pup. “So Ethan thinks you look like me, does he?” Benny barked,
as if in affirmation.
Ethan must have realized we were standing there
holding a load of perishables as well as the items Sarah had requested. “We
should get these into the kitchen,” he said.
Maureen tried to pick up the items at Troy’s feet,
but he would have none of it. “No, ma’am, we can handle this.” He hefted them
himself and turned toward Ethan with a grin. “Lead on, MacDuff.” He followed
Ethan down the hall toward the kitchen, trailed by Brendan and myself. I
couldn’t help but mischievously, “Behave, or I might just have to mention you
know what.”
Troy set his bags onto the kitchen table before
giving me an inquisitive glance. “No, what?”
“You know. The Scottish
play.” I raised my eyebrows at him for added emphasis. Ethan just shook his
head, clearly used to my antics by now.
“Oh, that,”
Troy said with equal exaggeration. “Well, my dear Vinnie, I am not in the theater, I’m a movie star, if
you’ll recall, so you threatening to say Macbeth isn’t about to put my knickers
in a twist. ‘Fraid you’ll have to do better than that.”
“I’ll have to work on that then,” I promised him
with a grin.
Maureen bustled into the kitchen, and we helped her
to put everything in its proper place, except for Sarah’s items. “I’m so sorry
you missed dinner,” Ethan’s mother was saying. “But we have some apple pie
still, with a little ice cream or some whipped cream. I made plenty.”
Troy and Brendan exchanged glances. I suspected the
idea of homemade food sounded as good to them as it would to anyone in their
right minds.
“I don’t want to put you,” Troy began, but Maureen
saw right through his protests.
“Ethan, why don’t you all go sit in the living room
and I’ll bring it right out.”
“Sounds good, Mom,” Ethan said, before adding to
Troy, “No sense in arguing once she has her mind made up.”
We were headed back down the hall when I heard steps
from upstairs and then Sarah’s hushed voice.
“Guys, try and keep it down, okay? I just got Alex
down for the night and—” Her words ended abruptly, to my alarm. But then I
realized she had come down the stairs far enough to get a glimpse of the four
of us headed toward the living room. Well, one person in particular.
Her mouth flew open so wide she looked like she was
about to swallow something whole…or someone. Her cheeks turned bright red and
she had the distinct look of a deer in headlights. When she managed to find her
voice at last, she blurted out. “Oh. My. God. Troy McGarrett.”
Didn’t I call it?
to be continued
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