© Sarah Potter
Snowing again.
Tony took another sip of his bourbon. Perfect night for getting quietly potted.
His cat Merlin rubbed against his ankle and meowed.
“Hello, pretty one.” He took the cue and sat in his chair in the living room. Merlin immediately hopped up onto his lap and exposed his tummy for scratches.
“I’m glad I have you right now.”
Tony took another drink and felt the buzz increasing.
He’d buried both of his parents yesterday. They were both in their eighties and suffered so much near the end. Thank God his wife would be coming home from work soon.
Written for the 24 February 2017 edition of Rochelle Wisoff-Fields’ Friday Fictioners photo writing challenge.
The goal is to use the photo prompt above to write a complete piece of flash fiction no more than 100 words long. Mine is exactly 100.
You can find other stories written based on the prompt at InLinkz.com.
This story has some slight basis in fact. Without going into too many details, my parents are declining rapidly and the end for both of them may be nearer than I wanted. It’s a good time to consider who we leave behind and who is yet with us.
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This prompt has many of us worried about death. Yours is spot-on, so well-crafted. I will study it. 🙂
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Thank you. Studying a hundred words shouldn’t take long. 😉
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It’s harder to do in a hundred! You make me want to take mine down and try again. ❤
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I am so honored you should say so. Please keep in mind though, that we all learn from each other’s stories because they aren’t always alike.
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You capture the sense of loss so well, I was worrying about his wife out in the snowstorm.
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If you look at the photo, not that much snow had come down yet. We’ve had a pretty rough winter here in Southwestern Idaho and it has challenged driving, among other things, but except for a few occasions, it hasn’t prevented us from getting around in a timely manner.
Thank you for your kind comments, Jane.
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It looks like an awful lot to me. We don’t get snow here and I’m not complaining.
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We just finished the worst snow storm we had in almost 35 years here.
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If we had the kind of weather you have, I can’t imagine how some of us would survive. We don’t have cheap fuel and the housing stock is old and draughty. I’m shivering already.
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Actually the winters here are generally mild compared to the Eastern and Northern parts of the state. I have a friend at work who grew up in Eastern Idaho and he said they didn’t call a “snow day” from school unless the temps were -29.4444 C or below.
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We had -1°C one day this winter and I didn’t go out…
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Sorry to here this is part based in fact, James. It’s tough to see those you love decline and so quickly. I’ve been there myself, so I feel for you. You did such a great job here, drawing us into that small nest of domesticity before sharing why the character needs his comforts so badly. Brilliantly done
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I almost made it more depressing, but I decided to let Tony have an “out” on his depression/grief, Lynn.
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We all need that sometimes
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A cosy scene undercut by tragic circumstance, just as I was getting into that comfy chair with him. Good work.
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Getting into the comfy chair with him? You are the cat??? 😀
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Poignant.
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Thanks.
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hated to like that one. So well told.
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Oh, goodness, you completely set me up! I was not expecting that ending. But the writing was so very kind, in structure… It still hurts. But there is comfort.
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Life hurts but it also heals. My parents are approaching the end of their lifetimes, but I’ve got two wonderful grandchildren to play with. Someday I’ll pass and my children will be grandparents. As Kurt Vonnegut Jr. famously said in his novel “Slaughterhouse Five,” “So it goes.”
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Never easy burying our parents, but both at the same time? (Actually, my grandparents died 10 days apart, so we did hold a joint funeral…) Thank goodness he has a wife to keep him comfort (over and above the cat and bourbon)
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It’s impossible to return to a routine after a tragedy. I wondered a bit about his wife as well, having to return to work after burying her in-laws and not being home to mourn alongside her husband.
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I imagined her working at a hospital and not being able to set aside certain responsibilities. Also, I needed her to be gone so the reveal at the end was that she was returning. I probably could have done that better.
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Nice mood…evocative.
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At first a sense of comfort- then concerns. I hope his wife comes soon.
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And I was just thinking, “oh, how lovely”. Nice piece.
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Sad slice of life story written with utmost empathy. I look forward to all your future writings.
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Thank you, Neel. Same here.
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I’m sorry about your parents getting frail, James. When people close to you grow old, it brings our own mortality into sharp focus. Cats and dogs are a wonderful comfort. They always seem to sense when you need them to attend to you!
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Thanks, I appreciate that. Dad has always been so strong and stoic. I used to think there was nothing he couldn’t do (except draw). Now his close up vision is gone and his hands tremble.
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That’s so sad. How unutterably frustrating for him. I’m guessing that if he could do everything before, he must find it incredibly difficult being dependent on others for help.
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It’s always hard to let go of those who have always taken care of us.
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There is much sadness, but also comfort there. A realistic scene of life.
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Thank you, gahlearner.
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Lost both of my parents in the last 10 years, so I can definitely relate. Dad was 95 and Mom 93. Both had lived full lives and been in good health most the time (Dad developed dementia toward the end). Grieving (at least for me) involves some quiet, private time to reflect. Good post, James.
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Thanks, Russell.
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I was drawn into his loneliness, so I was surprised when you introduced his wife. Nicely done
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I didn’t want him to have just a cat. Thanks.
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Your story reminds me of the old poem:
Backwards, turn backwards, oh time, in your flight, and make me a child again just for tonight; Mother, come back from the echoless shore…
Once they’re gone you think of all the things you wanted to ask them.
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That also seems to apply (pretty literally) to my subsequent story “Youth”.
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Wow! I could see this happening in the story. So vivid, James. Life captured.
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Thank you.
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My sympathies for your impending loss – it’s a long drawn out grieving when parents near their end. Until I read you personal comment I wondered whether your character had hastened the end of his own parents, but perhaps not.
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Not sure how impeding it is at the moment, Elizabeth. At first, the news sounded pretty grim, but I got a call from Mom and Dad today. She’s been moved into rehab where she’s expected to undergo about four weeks of physical therapy. Not sure what shape she’ll be in at the end of that time or what the test results will be on my Dad, but I’ll progress one day at a time and see.
Thanks.
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Poor guy, that would be really difficult for him to experience with his parents and to lose them both at the same time. I’m glad he has the cat, pets are a lot of help and hopefully is wife isn’t long. Very vivid.
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I’m sure she’ll be along any minute. Thanks.
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Cats have a way of knowing when one needs soothing.
A difficult things to accept … aging parents declining and death. One consolation is that we can see the pain they are feeling all through their bodies and are grateful when they’re no longer in that pain. Nicely expressed ….
Isadora 😎
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Thanks, Isadora. Much appreciated.
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