He sat in the bright orange room and took in, rested in the moon chair where he liked to read and took a sip of his hot, unsweetened Earl Grey tea with a splash of milk. The glow of the sun warmed him on the cold day that start with snow and ended in sun. The wind blew flakes against the nearby window, which mesmerized him for a moment before he picked up his copy The Living Sea by Captain Jacques Cousteau from the nearby red Ikea table and settled in for a day of reading and happiness.
Posted in flash fiction
Tagged art, beauty, design, entertainment, fiction, flash fiction, interior design, Jacques Cousteau, kitsch, life, literature, new room, orange, people, photo, photograph, photography, photos, pictures, reading, snow, Snow day, The Living Sea, writing
Judy sat holding the frail, limp hand of her long time husband of fifty years. That’s when Julianne burst through the door.
“Mom-mom! What happened?”
The elderly woman shifted in her seat, replaced his hand by his side and collected herself.
“He took a turn for the worse, as they say. He probably won’t last the night.”
Her grandfather had been in the hospital for over a week now, but this morning when she visited him he was wide awake; they even played a game of cards. She won, but had the odd feeling he let her win. Tears began to form, which frustrated her because she’d purposely promised herself she’d cried her ducts dry in the cab so she could be strong for her grandmother.
“I don’t understand. He was fine this morning.”
“You shouldn’t have made a fuss, I know you had plans tonight with your friend and that man.”
She’d confided in her mom-mom that she had a crush on her friend’s personal assistant ever since he shared his ideas on how he would redo the cityscape one night when his boss was passed-out drunk. He’d offered to show her some of his designs but had yet to actually make the move and ask her out.
She shook her head; this was no time to be thinking about him. She walked over to the other side of the bed and looked at her grandfather’s aged, sleeping face. It broke her heart to see him like this, but it was even worse to look at her grandmother trying to be strong but Julianne could see right through her façade.
“Go back to your friends, Julianne. He’ll be okay.”
“I’m just as worried about you, mom-mom. We’re all we have. I’m here for you, you’re my family. Want me to stay and you can go home?”
At that a male nurse entered the room. “Time for his meds and bath,” he said to the two women. Julianne stood.
“I’ll wait outside.”
“Honey, just go home. It’ll be okay. I’m fine. You need a good night of sleep. Fashion Week is coming, I know how busy you are right now.”
Jul looked at her watch and knew she should be working on some touch ups. She’d planned on leaving Bobby’s right after she ate, but then all this happened. But could she possibly get any work done while her grandmother slept on an awkward hospital chair waiting for her husband to die?
She grabbed a blanket gave a stern, no-backing-out look to her mom-mom. “I’ll take a quick nap on the bench in the hall. Come get me when he’s done.”
If you enjoyed this story, stay tuned for more stories of connection! Will it be the orderly, or someone totally new? Come back soon to find out…
Posted in flash fiction, Stories of Connections
Tagged architecture, art, beauty, couples, dating, death, design, designer, dying, family, fashion, fiction, flash fiction, friends, friendship, grandfather, grandmother, hospitals, life, love, marriage, people, relationships, romance, sad, writing
“Ziggy, what the hell kind of personal assistant are you? The chicken tortilla soup container cracked and soup is all over our dinner! Plus now Jul doesn’t have her soup! You couldn’t go back and get another?”
He gave his boss a look that could kill but quickly hid it; intelligent people don’t make nasty faces at a heavyweight champion like Bobby Rox. He breathed once before answering. “I stepped on this little dog…I didn’t even notice that the container opened until I was on the elevator here. I was more worried about the dog.”
“Was the little guy okay?” Jul asked from the leather couch with obvious concern.
“Yup, he was fine, barked once and then ran off yelping.”
“All I know is that this is Jul’s favorite soup, and now she doesn’t have any!”
“It’s not a big deal, Bobby. Really.”
The gargantuan looked at his personal assistant and shook his head. At that Jul’s phone rang and she went into the kitchen to answer it. She came out crying a moment later and rushed over to the closet to grab her coat.
“I have to go…emergency…sorry guys!” she yelled as the door slammed behind her.
Bobby looked at the closed door. “That was weird.”
“Yeah. Again, I’m really sorry.” The smell of Jul’s perfume still hung in the air, and Ziggy enjoyed the scent once more before it was gone and all that was left was the smell of sweaty shoes that Bobby seemed to emanate at all times. All of a sudden he realized Bobby had been talking to him for a while.
“…and then pick them up. Okay?”
Ziggy nodded as if he’d heard. He’d have to figure out a way to get the instructions again later. “What do you think made her run out like that?”
Bobby looked at him and laughed. “She’s out of your league, man. She makes clothing for goddamn stars to wear to the Oscars! Think she’s going to date a personal assistant?”
Ziggy looked out the window at the cityscape that he loved so much and wished he could find a job in architecture, his major in school. His love for buildings and drawing them took over a little as he rearranged the view in his mind. He smiled at its beauty.
“HEY!” Bobby’s yell made Ziggy jump back to reality.
“What?”
“I said I need that suit now. It’s down at the 49th Street Cleaners.”
Ziggy grabbed the tag from the counter and slammed the door behind him a little too hard.
If you enjoyed Ziggy, please click on the “Stories of Connections” category on the right and read the others. Each story connects to another in some small way. Thanks for reading!
And find out what happens to Jul in the next Story of Connections, coming soon!
Posted in flash fiction, Stories of Connections
Tagged architecture, art, beauty, boxing, connections, couples, dating, design, dogs, fashion, fiction, flash fiction, friends, friendship, heavyweight champion, life, love, Mexican food, people, perfume, relationships, romance, writing
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