Harold

I started hearing them when I was two.

Mama called it a gift. I always considered it a curse. The dead are noisy and sometimes intrusive. I never had privacy, even in my head.

Harold was the pushiest, most irritating spirit. An attention seeker, he invaded my thoughts regularly. A real pain in my ass.

Until today.

I awoke to his relentless voice, heavy with urgency. “STAY!”

His anxiety flooded my body, making me dizzy.

“Fine, Harold!” Change of plans. Back to bed.

When my 8:15 train slid off the icy tracks, killing fifty…I wasn’t on it. Thanks to Harold.

PHOTO PROMPT © Liz Young

Happy Friday! This is written for the weekly flash fiction challenge, Friday Fictioneers. Check out the other 100-word gems of flash fiction here. Many thanks to our lovely host, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields.

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If We Were Having Coffee… 4/22/17

Happy Weekend! Come on in and let’s grab a cup of a steaming hot beverage. It will definitely be a hot beverage since it is cold and rainy here. Our warm weather has taken a temporary vacation.

I had a very busy week at work, trying to catch up from having two days off. My presentation on Friday went well and I’m glad it’s over. I have no other presentations on the horizon, thank goodness. Public speaking is not something that I enjoy. Also, we had someone accept the counseling position so I am finally getting some help! I will no longer have to do the work of two people. She starts in two weeks.

The school year is starting to wind down with about a month left. Both girls are taking MAP tests this week. My older daughter was chosen for All Stars (which is similar to student of the month). My younger daughter brought home reading evaluation results and she made great progress this year. This is huge for her and I am so proud of her hard work.

I finished my last lab evaluation with the physical therapist for the low back pain study. I also found out that I was randomized to receive another physical therapy session. My back pain has been minimal lately (knock on wood), for which I am thankful.

Catch me up. What would you tell me if we were having coffee?

Thanks to Emily at Nerd in the Brain for hosting the Weekend Coffee Share (created by Part-time Monster)! Stop in and have a cup with our other participants at the linkup here.

Femme Fatale

Roger couldn’t believe it was ending like this.

The night had been going perfectly. When the leggy redhead came on to him at the bar, he was dumbfounded by his good fortune. Drinks flowed and she draped on him like a cheap suit.

When she led him somewhere private, he went willingly.

So how did he end up flat on the ground looking up into the barrel of her pistol, her lace-up high-heel boot grinding into his chest?

He knew there was a price on his head. He just never thought his hit-man would be the woman of his dreams.

 

 

PHOTO PROMPT © Magaly Guerrero

Happy weekend! This is written for the weekly flash fiction challenge, Friday Fictioneers. Check out the other 100-word gems of flash fiction here. Many thanks to our lovely host, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields.

If We Were Having Coffee… Easter Sunday edition

Thanks for stopping by to have coffee with me this morning. If you celebrate, happy Easter! We changed up our locale this week, as my family is currently taking a quick holiday weekend trip to South Carolina to visit family. We went to the beach yesterday. We went to Isle of Palms…

It was nice to see those Palmetto trees again. We also spent some time boating on Lake Murray and it was just magical… but that’s a post for another time. We have been having fun here in the warm, sunny weather… enjoying the water, taking in fresh air and of course, visiting loved ones.

In other news, my beloved St. Louis Cardinals have hit a tailspin. They are currently 3-8 and in last place in the NL Central. This is bad, folks. I would say our offense is hit and miss (get it?), but we’ve scored well in several of the games we lost. I think our main problem is the bullpen. Our pitching kills us every time. Anyway, we’ve come back from worse starts so I am not losing faith. The St. Louis Blues, on the other hand, are leading their playoff series 2-0 so I am happy about that.

I have a busy week at work coming up. I am off Monday as we are traveling back home. Any short week for me is a busy week. I also have another presentation on Friday morning (at 7am, yuck!) and I haven’t started on it yet. So it will be another week of stress.

Catch me up. What would you tell me if we were having coffee?

Thanks to Emily at Nerd in the Brain for hosting the Weekend Coffee Share (created by Part-time Monster)! Stop in and have a cup with our other participants at the linkup here.

Pizza For One

“Come on, it’s just pizza.”

“I just want to talk.”

“I miss you so much.”

Ella knew that meeting him was not just about pizza. He would try to worm his way back into her life. John would beg for forgiveness. Again.

Yet here she was, standing outside of the cafe deciding whether or not to grant his request.

Maybe I should forgive him. I mean, we had some good times. Before.

Then images paraded through her mind like a bad slideshow. Broken promises. Lies. Disappointment. Fear.

Be smart. Don’t fall for it again.

She walked away.

Pizza for one.

 

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

Happy Friday! This is written for the weekly flash fiction challenge, Friday Fictioneers. Check out the other 100-word gems of flash fiction here. Many thanks to our lovely host, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields.

If We Were Having Coffee… 4/9/17

Good morning! It is so nice to see you. Please ignore the messy hair, pajamas, bleary eyes and dark circles. The theme here today is: exhausted. It is pretty warm here today so maybe we will forgo hot coffee for a cooler beverage. We could even sit outside, though it is windy today.

How was your week? Anything exciting happen? Catch me up.

I had a long week. I spent most of the week stressing about my genetics presentation (Inheritance Patterns) which took place on Friday at 7am. It was for our maternal-fetal-medicine fellows (post-residency fellowship). I get so intimidated because they are doctors. Specialists even. I worried about making the material too easy or too difficult, I aimed to make it relevant for them. What I always forget is that while they are budding MFM gurus, their genetics knowledge is pretty basic. Afterwards, they told me that my level was on point and that the presentation was very helpful. It was a hit. I have to give them another lecture in two weeks so it is time to start stressing about the next one.

Friday afternoon, I took my daughters to a women’s college three hours away for a Girl Scout STEAM event. STEAM = Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math. We stayed in a hotel Friday night and the event was 10am on Saturday. It was fun day with demonstrations and hands-on activities. One of their favorites was a biology lab where they got to use microscopes and touch some critters (frogs and snakes, mostly). My younger daughter even held salamander eggs (which are trapped in a big ball of jelly goo). We also did a genetics workshop so that was right up my alley! We also had perfect weather to walk around the beautiful campus. As a woman of science with two daughters it was definitely a day of girl power. I may write a separate post about it.

We drove three hours home last night, arriving here around 10pm. Combine that with the super early morning on Friday and that explains my bleary eyes and dark circles. We have another busy day today so I need to get to it.

Oh, and I wrote my Friday Fictioneers piece this morning. Check it out here.

Have a great week!

Thanks to Emily at Nerd in the Brain for hosting the Weekend Coffee Share (created by Part-time Monster)! Stop in and have a cup with our other participants at the linkup here.

Like Riding a Bike

 

Dear Diary,

It happened again. I know I said it wouldn’t, but sometimes the shadows stir inside me and I have to feed them.

He had it coming… the lying, cheating bastard. Married men should know better. I did his wife a favor.

I can still see the shocked look on his stupid face as his lifeforce drained out. Swimming in a crimson pool. I cut off his finger – wedding ring and all – and kept it as a souvenir.

It had been so long since the others. I thought it might be difficult. It wasn’t.

Just like riding a bike.

 

PHOTO PROMPT © Jellico’s Stationhouse

A nice little macabre story for a Sunday morning, no? This is written for the weekly flash fiction challenge, Friday Fictioneers. Check out the other 100-word gems of flash fiction here. Many thanks to our lovely host, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields.

If We Were Having Coffee… 4/2/17

I know, I know… I’m late for coffee. The linkup has already closed. That’s okay, we can still grab a quick cup before Sunday fades away.

Exciting news… baseball season opened today! And my beloved Cardinals just beat the Cubs! Couldn’t have had a better team to beat for the home opener. Suck on that, Cubs.

Our girl scout troop volunteered at an Autism Awareness 5K run/walk yesterday morning. It was early and chilly, but we showed up to support this cause. These are the community events that I love to be a part of. The 5K wound up raising $3,000 for local schools/programs that provide services for individuals with autism.

We saw Beauty and the Beast this afternoon. It was everything I hoped it would be and had some visually stunning parts. Good job, Disney. We also rented Arrival last night. This one had a slow segment in the middle but at the end when I finally figured out what was going on… wow. Very timely message, that one.

Friday night, I walked into my daughter’s bedroom to find this little gem…

That is TWO cats on the bed… side by side, content and happy! This made my heart do a happy little flip. That is Charlie the Tabby and Precious the White as Snow. Who is missing? The problem child…

This is Gracie the Torti (also known as Doesn’t Play Well With Others). She is making progress, too but she is not as accepting as her two sisters.

If we were having our quick cup of coffee, I would lament about my busy week ahead. I have a Reproductive Endocrinology fellow starting a two week rotation with me and I have a presentation for the OB/GYN fellows on Friday. At 7am. Presentations at 7am should be illegal. My daughters have a STEAM event on Saturday at a college three hours away.  I fear that I may be late for coffee again next weekend but I will try my best to make our date.

I participated in Friday Fictioneers again this week. Check out Adrift.

So, catch me up. What would you tell me if we were having coffee?

Thanks to Emily at Nerd in the Brain for hosting the Weekend Coffee Share (created by Part-time Monster)! Stop in and have a cup with our other participants at the linkup here.