Jim the Writer

a literary blog

love triangle

Forever Hold Your Peace

By

Tony shuddered when the tinkling started. He sat in a sparsely populated corner of the hall, far from the head table, closer to the keg, drinking beer out of a plastic cup. As the tinkling grew in volume, Tony kept his eyes on the wet rings his cup had made in the paper tablecloth. A cheer arose. He knew she was kissing him, and the thought ate him alive. It’s your own damn fault, he told himself. You had your chance to speak. What is there to do now?

After a minute, he got up and headed for the door.

I wrote this story for the 100 Word Challenge #342 at Velvet Verbosity.

Two Boys, a Girl, and a Fire

By

Paul and I drew water from the lake in plastic buckets and dumped it on the coals. Steam rolled skyward. From her perch on a nearby log, Susie clapped. Paul lifted his bucket as if to throw water on her. “Don’t you dare!” Susie darted away across the sand as he chased her with the empty bucket.

I guess that was when I knew. So it was no big surprise when she let him walk her home.

I carried the buckets back to the cottage. Behind me, on the beach, hope like some great bird flapped off into the night.

I wrote this story for the 100 Word Challenge #340 at Velvet Verbosity.