Dinner with a side of distress – Flash Fiction

by Allie P., posted in Short Fiction

My mind is still reeling from a weekend of holiday hosting duties, so instead of one of my usual essays, I decided to take another stab at writing some short fiction as prompted by the ever so handy dandy Writer’s Toolbox (you can find an earlier piece here).

For those not as familiar with The Writer’s Toolbox (affiliate link), it prompts you with a first, middle, and last sentence as well as a series of descriptions to include and a protagonist. I hope you enjoy it –

Dinner with a side of Distress - www.alliepottswrites.com
background image courtesy of http://www.pixabay.com

Dad gave me a wink like we were pals or something. Then again it could just have as easily been a bit of pollen or dust caught in his eye. It always took a while for the orbiters to get reacquainted with uncontrolled wilds of earth-bounding living again. Gazing up into the twilight sky at the stars above, I thought I saw a circling bat. They had no idea what they were giving up, living up there. He had no idea.

“Where is your sister?” he barked the question out between coughing fits.

So definitely the dust then. How silly of me to think he was actually trying to reconnect. “I haven’t seen her,” I replied returning my attention to the meal in front of me. It was the truth, but then again I rarely saw anyone outside of the lab. For some strange reason, people didn’t seem to think that my passion for paleoclimatology combined with my charming personality produced the most stellar party guest. It was also why I agreed to this open-air dinner in the first place. I bit into a slice of apple savoring its juices. At least the food was good even if the company was less than ideal. “Last I heard, she had her eye on some bartender from Seattle. Maybe she’s taking up stalking?”

This time, I suspected the resulting frown on Dad’s face didn’t have anything to do with his allergies. “This isn’t a joke, Bill. Your sister is listed as failing to report to the launch deck this morning and I only have so much influence I can spend.”

I fought the eye roll by focusing on the straggling cuticle on my right thumb. Dad could never resist the opportunity to remind any of us exactly why he was living in space while the rest of us were on the ground. As if I’d ever want to. “Well then, I don’t know what to tell you other than I haven’t seen her since last week.”

“And you aren’t concerned?”

I shrugged. “She can go off for a few days if she wants too. She’s an adult – unless you hadn’t noticed.”

“I’ve noticed. I’ve also noticed that she has started taking up a lot of bad habits. Habits I would prefer weren’t associated with the family name.”

I waved his concern aside. “Lucky for you, I’ve been using Mom’s name for years.”

Dad’s frown deepened so much I briefly wondered if it might cause his entire face to collapse into his crisp uniform. “Listen, I’m not trying to be combative here. It just would be better if I found her before command does.”

“What? Are you that really that afraid of what her AWOL designation might do to your reputation?” I snorted. “I’ve seen you smooth over worse.”

“No, I’m afraid because as much as either of you might not like to admit it, I am your father. And because I found this in the briefing room.” Dad shoved a piece of fabric at me featuring a vaguely familiar looking pattern.

“Have they taken up quilting?” I asked with a smirk, picking up the fabric. “Well, that’s a relief. That group really could use a hobby other than making the rest of us miserable.” I couldn’t help adding just to annoy Dad as I rolled the piece of cloth around in between my fingers. The jab wasn’t strictly necessary, as Dad knew full well what I thought of his cronies, but it was always fun to remind him that this apple had fallen far from the proverbial tree. As in two hundred and fifty miles, give or take a mile.

“Bill, for the last time, this isn’t a joke.”

“Fine. No jokes.” I replied holding up my hands before examining the fabric more closely. Where had I seen it before? “So what is this then?”

“Something that has no business being up in command if your sister is still on the ground. It’s from her dress.”

Was that really a bat circling overhead, or was it a drone? Did Bill’s sister get mixed up in a larger conspiracy or did she simply run off with a bartender from Seattle? And will Bill’s experience with paleoclimatology actually play a part in the plot, or is that a throw-away detail? Who knows!

 

30 thoughts on “Dinner with a side of distress – Flash Fiction”

  1. It was a bat circling overhead. Bill’s sister ran off with the bartender. Bill’s experience with paleoclimatology will play no part in the plot, but proves that you know amazingly long words. Any other questions? 🙂

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    1. HA! I have to admit I had to look up what a paleoclimatologist does day to day after I drew that card as I can’t say it was a career choice that would have immediately popped into my head.

      If there are paleoclimatologists reading out there, feel free to introduce yourselves. If I ever take this story any further, I’m going to need help with research.

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  7. Ooh…that’s intriguing, Allie. I do love your writing. That’s excellent. I love these two characters already. Something more from them??? And what a challenge. The beginning, middle, and last line? Nicely done.

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    1. I believe it is the career of those men and women who trek across glaciers in order to pull out a big cylinder of ice. On paper, it is the study of ancient climate changes. I really am hoping some real life paleoclimatologists might stumble on this blog and let me know all about what I don’t know.

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  9. I like the idea of the prompt, and I really really like your take on it! This story feels like it might have legs – we need to know what happened to Bill’s sister. Please tell me you’ll write some more 🙂

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    1. I’m pretty sure I will be adding to this story. I need to know what happened to his sister too! As luck would have it, I have a few hours of air transit begging to be filled in my not too distant future.

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    1. Thank you! I really do need to find time to write more short stories too as these sort of prompts are a ton of fun (and don’t force me to overcome my usual 30-40K word wall).

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