Worthing Flash

Fail-Safe Menu (Word count: 100) by Marcelo Medone Flaunting my status as a refined and solvent man, I invited a gorgeous woman to the most expensive and exclusive restaurant in town. “I suggest an aphrodisiac menu,” I said, winking at her. I recited the options: roast sirloin with figs, honey and cinnamon, clams with red asparagus and black caviar, prawns marinated in olive oil, mustard and mango, black truffles with blueberries, and Egyptian dates stuffed with blue cheese and grapes. All washed down with a well-chilled late-harvest rosé wine. “At your age, I suggest a little blue pill for dessert,” she said, laughing. I think she meant it. BRIEF BIO Marcelo Medone (Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a Pushcart Prize and Best Small Fictions nominee fiction writer, poet, essayist and screenwriter. He received numerous awards and was published in more than 50 countries, including the US. He currently lives in Montevideo, Uruguay.

THE TALK By Linda S. Gunther Theresa and I saw politics the same way. We shared our views every month when I had my hair done at her salon. “How much shall we cut today?” “An inch?” Theresa nodded. “Guess where I’m going next week?” She grinned. “Trip to Europe?” “No. To Washington DC, just before the 250th anniversary. Can’t wait.” Silence. “You don’t think I should?” “I love D.C. but I would not choose to head there in this political climate at this particular time.” “Well…where would you live if not the U.S.?” Her tone, confrontational. “I didn’t say that I don’t love my country.” Author Bio Linda S. Gunther is the author of six published suspense novels: Ten Steps from the Hotel Inglaterra, Endangered Witness, Lost in the Wake, Finding Sandy Stonemeyer, Dream Beach, and Death is a Great Disguiser. Her memoir titled A Bronx Girl (growing up in the Bronx in the 1970’s) was released in 2024. Her short stories and book reviews have been published in a variety of literary journals acr...

Bum Luck Lavina Blossom lavinadblossom@gmail.com He swivels the rearview mirror to see his cowlick, palms it down, feels the bump. A squirrel? A cat? Soon the tire starts to limp. Maybe a nail in a chunk of wood. He curses, already late. If he gets there before the tire goes flat, he can change it at her place, show he is a handy guy. When he arrives, she's waiting outside and goes over for a closer look. "You have a damaged rim," she says. "You had better get it towed before garages close." She smiles, turns away, mumbles "dim wit." Phantom  Lavina Blossom lavinadblossom@gmail.com   She puts the romance novel she just finished into the box to trade with her neighbor, although she is nearly ready to quit. So little actual romance in them now, although a lot of sex. The back of her wrist tickles as from a light touch, and she recalls that this was the very place her late husband, moving to kiss the back of her hand, pretended to miss. His mouth pr...