I’m participating in this week’s edition of Trifecta‘s weekly challenge. The point of that is, using the third definition of the week’s selected work, you are to come up with a story between 33 and 333 words (a tri-, of course, corresponding to 3 of something, you can see the actual definition of trifecta here.) I was able to come up with it within the time limit – I believe there are about 4 hours left now, and I started editing at 6 hours. This is what I was able to write yesterday afternoon.
Ugh! Titles! I’m not sure this is the best I could do, but I think it’s really got a double meaning knowing where this story is, and where Michelle is in her mind. There is more to this snippet, that ends up being only hinted at. I knew where I wanted to go in the greater scheme of things in my mind, and I was happy to find I could fit it into the Clifton Saga.
Once Michelle simmered down, she called Phillip.
“It happened again,” her voice was shaky with some lingering anger and a bit of fear.
“Where are you? What’s taking you so long to get home?” He wasn’t listening.
She sighed heavily. “The Check Engine light came on again.”
“Oh, that,” he said, surprised, then said spoke to someone else, saying something she didn’t hear.
“Where are you?”
She looked out the rain streaked window at the buildings around her. “Lincoln and 5th,” she sat back and watched the light from the street lights bead on the windshield. She fought to keep her anger for Phillip from beading up inside her.
“Come help me?” she asked, her voice cracked at the end.
He moaned in response. “But Mom and Lee are here.” His rose in his characteristic whine.
“Great,” she snapped “They can be with the girls while you come get me.”
He was quiet a moment, sulking.
“But they just got back from their trip. I want to hear about it.” His whine made her angrier, but she breathed deep to stop herself from yelling at him. She took so long he had to make sure she hadn’t hung up. “Michelle?”
“I know tonight’s their first night back,” she replied, sounding calmer than she felt. “And I want to hear about it too. That’s why I tried to take a shortcut home.”
“Oh,” he laughed, his whine gone. “I wondered how you got where you are.”
“Yeah. Please come get me? I’m sure they’d love time alone with the grandkids.”
Phillip said something to his mom, then said he’d come to her, and they’d try to jump the car.
It had become steadily harder to start the car. It took so long tonight that her boss stopped and asked her if she needed help before he left. The car started just as he asked, so the anxiety she felt at the idea of being alone with him at that hour died off.
Don’t forget to go over and check the rest of the entrants over at the Trifecta site! And check out the rest of the Clifton Saga, as well.
Oh, this was good! I’m off to check out more in your wonderful Clifton Saga!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I enjoy writing each and every one of them!
I’m glad she was able to convince him to stopping his whining and helping her (:
I don’t think it was so much convincing as some sort of relief on his part finding out where she is so he could go help her. He’s not usually this whiny, but then we don’t really see him interacting with his wife very often. I have to admit, I was working on what little information is retained in my brain when I wrote this, I wasn’t at home to “fact check” as it were with my characters, but I’m sure I got it about right, and I’m going with what feels right with the Saga. I guess all men are little boys at some point (not guess, know).
A nice chunk of a story here. I hope you build more on it.
Thank you for linking up. Please remember to return for the voting!
Already voted 🙂 And this is part of the Clifton Saga – it could get edited even further if, when I look back, I find it’s got some details wrong (I do see this as further than a few recent installments of that), but I would like to see how much further Michelle’s story goes, as I have a very distinct idea of where the wealth of information for her story will come from.