Wednesday's Brief

-->

Weds Brief

The prompt for next week is: "Yesterday, you said..." or use the alternate prompts: Use: blessing, blacksmith, blunder or "When did you become such a ....?" or use some sort of dance in your story or use: trail, whisper, divine or "Maybe next time we can...."

“Yes, Mr. Long, I know you and your wife have been waiting for almost four weeks, but like I explained to you this home is a foreclosure and banks can take a while to get back to you.  As soon as I hear something I’ll be sure to give you a call.

“Yes, I know, and I’m anxious for you to get moved into a new home too.  Yes, the moment I hear something, you’ll hear something.”  Ben hung up the phone.  “Sheesh.” He shook his head and took a sip of his Starbuck’s coffee.  

“Problem client?” Steve, one of Ben’s co-workers, asked.

“It’s the Longs. I must have shown them over fifty homes and we finally found one they both agree on and it’s a foreclosure.  I told them at the get-go how those work, do you think they listened?”

“Noooo.”  They answered in unison and then laughed. Steve was a good guy; he always saw the bright side of things.  He was one of those guys if you were down, he’d be able to bring you back up again.

“Maybe next time we can flip a coin and you can get stuck with the clients from hell.”

“Oh don’t even go there, Ben.  Have you forgotten the Novogratz’s?”

“Oh shit, yeah, I remember now.  How many homes did you show them?”

“I lost count after one hundred. They kept nit-picking about everything. They didn’t like the location, not enough bedrooms, bathrooms were too small. And what the hell does it matter if the house has brass fixtures? “

“And wasn’t the wife the one who saw some show on HGTV about a house that had a fireplace in the walk-in closet and thought that might be a good idea for her home?”

“Oh brother, yes.   I had to tell her she’d have to build it herself. Her husband nixed that idea in the bud. He’s such a tight wad, he makes Scrooge look like Diamond Jim Brady.”  Steve laughed. 

“I just remember how happy you were when they finally went to closing and all the I’s were dotted and the T’s were crossed and you could close the books on those assholes.”  Ben was only too glad he’d never had a client that difficult; Steve had his complete sympathy.

“Never mind them. I wanted to know if you and Tom are coming to my party on Saturday.”

“We were, but he has to work.”

“Oh? Yesterday you said he had off.”

“Well, you know how it is in the fire department. He has to cover for one of the guys.  He’s in the hospital recovering from smoke inhalation, so Tom has to fill in for him.”

“Wow, that’s rough. I have to admire anyone who works in emergency services.  I know I couldn’t do it.”

“Neither could I.  I’m so proud of Tom.”  Ben couldn’t help the smile that broke out on his face. He had told all of his co-workers and some of his clients about what his man did for a living.  Firefighters and police officers were practically revered around there.

“Oh well.”  Steve lived alone; he’d lost his wife a few years ago.  They never had children.  Every few months, especially in the nice weather, he’d have a party, invite a few friends over, and go swimming in the backyard inground pool.    Ben suspected he got lonely and wanted the company.  

“Maybe next time we can have you over, maybe go to the movies or go to a concert.” 

“Sure, sounds like a plan.”

The rest of the weekend was pretty quiet without Tom around. On Sunday, Ben busied himself with getting the garden ready for fall and planted some bulbs that would bloom next spring.  It was always sad when he had to take down the vegetable garden, although there were still some root veggies that would be coming upover the next few months before the frost and snow came.

“Ben?”  He heard Tom’s voice calling to him from inside the house. 

“Out here, Tom.”  Ben looked at his watch. He hadn’t realize he’d been working all morning.  Tom must have just gotten off work.

“Hi, babe.” Tom reached out and planted a kiss on Ben’s lips, then wrapped his arms around him.  “Gosh I missed you so much.”

“Mm, missed you too honey.” 

“I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“You do!”  Ben’s smile lit his face.  He loved when Tom surprised him; he was like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Yeah, well, I hope it’s one you’ll like.  I know I didn’t talk it over with you.  I mean I know I should have but…” Ben’s index finger stopped Tom’s blabbering.

“Will you stop yammering and show me the surprise? We’ll worry later about whether I like it or not.”

“Well, okay.”  Tom sighed and took him by the hand and took him inside.

There was a plastic bag sitting on their kitchen table from Petco, which started Ben wondering.  Then he spotted a cardboard box on the floor.  He watched while Tom knelt beside it. He reached in and brought out a grey and white kitten.   “I rescued him from an abandoned house.  Someone had set fire to it. At least that’s what the arson squad thinks happened. They’re still investigating.  Anyway we found a litter of kittens inside.  There were four of them. Two were already dead but we managed to revive him and his sister. The shelter’s already crowded enough and the woman at the pound asked me if I could foster this little guy for a while until we find him a forever home.” 

Ben was looking at the cute kitten snuggling against Tom, then at Tom’s face.  He couldn’t decide who had a more pitiful look on their face—Tom or the kitten.

“I was hoping we could keep him.” 

Ben’s heart melted.

“How can I say no to my hero?” 

TBC

To my readers,  would you like to help name this kitten, it's a male?  Just leave a comment.  Thanks.

my fellow flashers this week

Nephylim    m/m

Tali     m/f

MA Church     m/m

Elyzabeth VaLey     m/f

Julie Lynn Hayes  m/m