PHOTO PROMPT – Copyright – Jan Wayne Fields
“You bastard. You’ll pay for this.” The door slammed shut behind his wife, Eloise, and the kids. He stared out into the empty courtyard.
Running to the front door he shouted after her retreating figure “Come back Eloise, please come back.” Only Jack, the younger of his two children, glanced backward. Defeated he returned to his place at the window, alternating his focus from the cold stark yard brightened only by the red geraniums he had planted in the spring to the empty plates on the table.
“Dam you Eloise” he shouted into the vacant space “Dinner’s cooked and you know I detest waste.”
This 100 word flash fiction response to the photo prompt is for Friday Fictioneers
About Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist
I began my working career as a reluctant potato peeler whilst waiting to commence my training as a student nurse. On completion I worked mainly in intensive care/coronary care; finishing my hospital career as clinical nurse educator in intensive care. A life changing period as a resort owner/manager on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu was followed by recovery time as a farmer at Bucca Wauka. Having discovered I was no farmer and vowing never again to own an animal bigger than myself I took on the Barrington General Store. Here we also ran a five star restaurant. Working the shop of a day 7am - 6pm followed by the restaurant until late was surprisingly more stressful than Tanna. On the sale we decided to retire and renovate our house with the help of a builder friend. Now believing we knew everything about building we set to constructing our own house. Just finished a coal mine decided to set up in our backyard. Definitely time to retire we moved to Queensland. I had been writing a manuscript for some time. In the desire to complete this I enrolled in a post grad certificate in creative Industries which I completed 2013. I followed this by doing a Master of Arts by research graduating in 2017. Now I live to write and write to live.
Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist) 
Liked this – what a petty man! Unhappily for the children.
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It is always the children that get caught up in these things.
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The end line made me laugh. Serves him right, the twit! Though I do feel bad for his family having to have any further dealings with him.
http://hickswyliedna.blogspot.com/2015/01/vague-fears.html
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I’m glad you found it amusing.Was it easier to focus on his wasted food than his wasted marriage?
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The photo and text meld perfectly. I felt I wanted to join him!
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Thanks Barbara. At least if you had joined him Barbara the food wouldn’t have been wasted.
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He seems to have dubious priorities. Tough on the kids!
(Damn?)
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Either that or is it his way of transferring the pain to something more tangible that he is comfortable expressing emotion about?
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I DO like these 100 word “essays”. I hope his dinner was cold.
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I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m just starting to dabble my feet into fiction and these short ones suit me. I hope is dinner was cold also.
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That last line either damns him for a trivial, unloving person with screwed up priorities or is a feeble attempt at diverting attention from what he just said. I think the former, but…
janet
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Janet, I don’t know. I think it is open to your own interpretation. Cheers Irene
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Dear Irene,
No wonder she’s leaving him. Guess he’ll have to get a dog. Then he won’t have to worry about waste. I’ve never known a dog to leave anything. Nicely done.
shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks Rochelle. True but I don’t know that he deserves a dog.
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What a cold-hearted man. Sounds like he deserves to be alone.
Claire
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Or else he is doing what men do best – hiding their true emotions. Thanks for dropping by and commenting Irene
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This is a great take on the challenge. Your last line really sums up the man’s priorities. No wonder she left with the kids. Close to home… Loving your writing my friend ❤
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Thanks Sherri. I am really enjoying these forays into fiction. It took awhile for the creative juices to flow and I find the pictures are a harder prompt than Charli’s word prompts. Probably for a similar reason to why I think television robs you of imagination so do to the photographs to an extent so I am constrained by what you can see. It’s all good practice though. 🙂
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