This flash fiction was written for Friday Fictioneers. Thank you to Rochelle!
PHOTO PROMPT© Sandra Crook
Hanging by a Thread
Why does everyone view weddings as dating opportunities? The romance in the air? Cake squashed in faces? The drunken relatives? The questionable playing of “Every Breath You Take” as a love song?
While Joe and I are still friendly, I don’t want to watch him say “I do”—not to her, yet here I sit, a thundercloud among happy sunflowers until minutes later when I’m the lone, happiness-quenching cloud.
Joe slides into the pew next to me.
“What happened?” I ask.
“She gave me an ultimatum I couldn’t refuse.”
“Oh?”
“You or her.”
“Yeah?” Who knew thunderclouds could grin?
end
Sascha Darlington
I’m not sure I’d want a guy who waited until his wedding day to choose me. How crappy is that for the bride?
I wonder why a bride would wait until the last minute to ask… 😀
I wondered the same things
ut oh. Is this one bad? Honest opinion, Neil. I depend on you for that! 🙂
No, it’s not bad. But we don’t know enough about either bride or groom to understand their odd behaviour
Dear Sascha,
hey, perfect timing. The minister’s already there. 😉 It is a bad time, though, for him to decide. I’d say the bride is a smart cookie though. Better now than after “I do.” Nicely done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
And hopefully he was paying for everything. 🙂 Thanks, Rochelle!
Better now than a divorce later. The bride must have had pretty good instincts, after all.
Yes, I think so. Thank you, Linda! 🙂
Why is this on the bride? She loves him; he’s the one choosing someone else. (Bad or good, this piece has stirred emotions!)
I guessed that. 🙂 After I read your reaction, I thought about the ways in which readers bring their perceptions to what they’re reading and how that influences them and their read. It can be quite different from what the author intended. 🙂
I like the way the two stories combine. A really great job. Works perfectly.
And thank you so much, again! 🙂
This guy should lose both!!
Love is complicated and who knows what tore them apart in the first place. Better stop the wedding now than divorce later. The narrator remains a bit of a mystery though.
Probably the right decision if she was going to be making demands like that all through their marriage!
Thanks, Iain!
I like this one! Twist ending 😀
Thank you! 🙂
My pleasure ^ ^