Another in My String of Bad Choices

I was going for it today. Hiking in the National Park away from the marked paths we were passing a two-person untended gravesite when my watch alarmed.  I knelt down, opened the ring box, sun shining off the sparkler.
Tiff, mesmerized by the two graves, kept inspecting them and asking questions not hearing a word I said.
Disheartened, I packed up and led her back to the car. As we were driving she asked what I was saying at the graves and I told her to look in my backpack.

“This is how you propose?” she asked, tears falling.

Paul Beckman was one of the winners in The Best Small Fictions 2016!  And has been nominated for 2018. His latest collection of flash stories, "Kiss Kiss" available at Amazon http://bit.ly/pbKiss paperback  http://bit.ly/KisseP e book  Some places his stories have been published: Literary Orphans, Matter Press, Spelk, The Lost Balloon, Playboy, Gravel, and Pank. He curates the monthly FBomb NY flash fiction reading series at KGB’s Red Room.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

100-word challenge

Image
Entries for the 100-word challenge can be sent to worthingflash@gmail.com  at any time. The winner will get a copy of the cheerfully entitled "Murder from Beyond the Grave" signed by Derek and Angela McMillan. They also get the kudos of winning the challenge! 100 words is the upper limit but entries can be fewer than 100 words if you so desire. There is no restriction as to subject or genre. You do not have to live in Worthing to enter. "Normal" stories for #worthingflash are still welcomed of course. The upper limit is 1000 words and there is no lower limit. Any genre or subject is welcome. 73,000 people have visited the blog so plenty of people will read your work.
Read more

40 Units

  “ You take forever to order just like with everything else, you haven’t changed at all have you?” A familiar voice with an unfamiliar face calls from behind. A long-lost friend welcomes unfamiliar emotions. We stare at each other in silence because I don't want to have small talk. I know her life ain’t easy, and at the same time, I still fall into the same small talk I desperately want to avoid. Cause just looking at her I know it’s not easy. Taking care of four kids by herself while working at Church's chicken ain’t nothing to even smile about. But I still ask her “How's everything” because I have no clue what else I should say to you. I want to make a joke, cause you know me as a class clown but life is no joke, and I know that better than anyone. Life's not fair in the slightest and I’ve always known that from being in foster care. Yet even I didn’t think life could be so cruel to just steal Rufina’s life from her. You tell me about how tough things ha
Read more

Childcare

Image
Originally published in https://fiftywordstories.com/2023/12/27/derek-mcmillan-childcare/ Tom was a very badly behaved lad. Dick was frankly a demon. Their parents were careful to keep quiet when they were in the cradle. Harry’s parents were forever playing their Rod Stewart records. He was a very well-balanced child. Perhaps if you spare the Rod you spoil the child. Derek McMillan is a writer in Durringon in the UK. His editor is his wife, Angela. He has written for print and online publications in the UK, USA and Canada. His latest work is the cheerfully- entitled audio-book "Murder from Beyond the Grave" which is available on eBay. Check it out. Click Here
Read more