Janet Flash: Together

by Michael Seese

The Duchess Of Yowl, the feline queen who dismissively refers to Janet Reid as "Thumbs" discovered there was a new movie about cats. 

 
Big cats. In Africa. I imagine you get it. So in honor, Janet created the Purrfect For Your Weekend flash fiction contest. 

Our mission...

To use: 

lion
king
scar
pride
rock
 
And to compete for the Steve Forti Deft Use of Prompt Words prize, you had to use the PHRASE: "demented serenity."

I wanted to do something different with "lion," so I searched up words ending in "li" that I could put before "on." I found a lot of cool words, which gave me some ideas. But then I hit upon "annuli," and "Together" fell into place.


I knew, more or less, what I'd find when I got there.
 
The heat up "way too high," Dad’s <i>de rigueur</i> kvetch.
 
Lester Holt, talking to an empty couch.
 
The dining room table, once host to countless Sunday dinners, now a bed-sheeted ghost.
 
An unwashed crockpot sullying the sink, evidence of Dad's oft-stated hatred of scrubbing.
 
Finally, the two of them in his car, hands clasped, dashboard lights glinting off the scratched—but never tarnished—annuli on their fingers. Dad remained bravely beside his "pride and joy," even through her demented serenity.
 
I turned off the ignition, and dialed 911.


So sad. I actually know someone who did that.

On a happier note, my family and I ran the OROC 5K today. I placed 11th in my age group (old guys) and 317th overall.