WooHOO — we’re entering the final stretch, here. I have to go shopping tonight, so flashing the funny tonight in my stead is the marvellous writer Carol Garvin, who will steer us through a roasted relationship.
Thank you, Carol!
A Ruined Relationship Rosslyn bent over, hands on knees, gasping for breath. Running regularly hadn’t rebuilt her stamina as her husband had suggested it would. She wanted to lose weight, to look better for Christmas, so each day she tried to run a few minutes longer, pushing her limits, but she hadn’t yet made it all the way ‘round the block. Half way there and her legs were rubbery. Sweat ran in rivulets between her breasts but she daren’t turn back. Richard would tease her relentlessly if she gave up.
He had ridiculed her earlier attempt at a fitness regime, especially the dieting part. He refused to eat what he called her rabbit food, so she kept preparing his usual rations. This afternoon there was a rib roast in the oven. She really needed to hurry. Richard liked his meat rare.
But her breathing wasn’t easing. The heart rate monitor. Oh! So far above the recommended target! Just a little rest. She reclined on the grass and pressed her fist into the relentless stitch in her side. There was no relief. Rosslyn reached for her water bottle but it slipped from her grasp and rolled onto the roadway.
As she lost consciousness, her last remnant of thought was one of regret for the rage Richard would express at the overdone roast.
Instead, when he learned the hospital hadn’t been able to resuscitate Rosslyn, Richard made a rich red wine gravy and invited their neighbour, Rita, to join him for dinner.
***
Carol Garvin writes fiction, non-fiction and the occasional bad poem from her rural home in BC’s Fraser Valley. In what is laughingly referred to as her spare time, she indulges her other interests which include photography, gardening, reading, a little painting and music, and all aspects of the purebred dog fancy, especially when it involves Labradors and Shelties. You can find her blog HERE, and she’s on twitter @CarolJGarvin and on FB as Carol.Garvin.96
***
For the month of December, my goal is to post a piece of festive flash fiction here to the blog every day. Twenty-five stories, each 250 words or fewer — a little fictional festivity to brighten the darkest month of the year. For readers, I offer these stories as a moment of peace within a hectic month of busy. And as you can see today, keep your eyes peeled for the odd flash of fiction from writer friends!
More soon…
~kc