Welcome to the Wednesday Briefers
flash group. The short stories have a maximum of a 1000 word count plus links
at the bottom to the other flashers. The prompts for this week are:
"survival of the fittest"
or use: tarragon, root, energy,
or "Please pass me the..."
or "One plus one equals..."
or use:
redemption, salvage, spice,
or use a joker in your story
I’m using one plus one equals…
All That He Desires #3
He laughed slightly as
the wind carried the young man’s words to him. “Guardian Angel, my ass. Oh,
little one, that’s the last thing I am.”
Soon the one he’d
marked would know that. All he needed was for Jules to cash in the winning
ticket, and the deal was sealed. The lovely human would be his for the taking.
“Soon,” he whispered as
he got in his car.
*
* * *
The next morning, Jules
reread the instructions on the back of his ticket. He’d been too tired and much
too excited to make sense of anything last night, and the wine coolers probably
hadn’t helped. He signed his name, and just to be safe, planned to make a copy.
According to the ticket, he had ninety day before he’d have to claim his prize,
but he didn’t intend to wait. Frankly, he needed the money too badly.
“Oh God, this is it!”
His hand shook as he picked up the phone. He’d grabbed a quick shower and
something to eat earlier. He was ready, by God. As unbelievable as it was, thanks
to a stranger his life was going to take a turn for the better. He wondered if
he’d ever find the guy who stopped by the gas station last night… and did he
want to? It still worried him why a person he was unfamiliar with would do
something like this.
“Maybe there really are some good people left in this
world.” Shrugging it off, Jules made the call to find out what he needed to do
to claim his winnings. Maybe one plus one really did equal two.
Over the next several
weeks his life took a dramatic turn after he filled out the claim form. He knew
the only reason he was announced as a winner was because of the ‘stranger gifts
young man with winning ticket’ angle, and sure enough the local news did want
to do interviews. The amount he’d won wasn’t that big in the grand scheme of
things. And what do you know—even some friends he hadn’t spoken to in years
came out of the woodwork wanting something. He’d been warned about this, so he
was prepared.
But what he wasn’t
prepared for was who else came out of the woodwork. His parents had the nerve
to call him and demand the money back they paid for his first year of college.
It was with an unholy delight he told them to get, ah… get lost. In so many
words.
Jules paid for his last
semester, found a better place to live, and bought a decent vehicle. What was
left of the money, he put in the bank. And, oh yes, he quit one of his jobs.
Two months had passed
since that fateful day.
*
* * *
“So?”
“So, what?” Jules asked
his best friend Miles. They were at his apartment, it was Thursday night, and
they were having pizza. It wasn’t that long ago that ordering a pizza was a
special treat and he made sure to remember that. Jules bit into the delicious pie,
a string of cheese running from the pizza to his mouth. He washed the bite down
with a frosty Coke. That was another little pleasure he insisted on… real Coke,
not that bargain brand.
“Oh, come on, dude. You
have enough to get that new gaming system. It’s only a couple of hundred
dollars. And, well, we’d need some new games too.”
“There’s nothing wrong
with this one. So what if it’s not the greatest and latest.” Jules rolled his
eyes at the sad puppy dog look he was getting from his friend. “Stop that, man.
What I have left has got to get me by until I graduate and get a job. I’m not
blowing any of it on some stupid gaming system.”
“Spoil sport.” Miles
picked up the controller. “But I guess I don’t blame you. It’s not like you have
parents to help out.”
“Yeah.” Jules munched
some more pizza. “I wish…”
“Don’t stop there.”
Miles waves a piece of pizza around. “Go on.”
“Aw, well, it doesn’t
really matter what I wish, now does it? They hate me and that’s never going to
change. I do wish they didn’t live in the same town as me, though. I ran into
Mom at Walmart a few days ago and she wouldn’t even speak to me. That was…
awkward.”
“Awkward? I’d say that
totally sucked.”
“It wouldn’t be so bad
if it wasn’t a possibility I’d bump into her or Dad every time I ran up to the
store to grab a fucking carton of milk or something. That’s what sucks.”
“Well, after we
graduate, we’ll blow this place, move to the big city, get jobs that pays the
big bucks, and party like… what are we gonna party like?” Miles grinned
suddenly. “I know, we’ll party like it’s 1999!”
“1999?” Jules snorted,
reaching for a napkin. “Really, dude? Your taste in music is horrible.”
Miles leaded back on
the couch, a grin lightening his face, and winked. “It’s an acquired taste.”
“It’s something all right.
Just not sure what.”
Suddenly Miles grew
serious. “I am sorry, though. It must be tough. I can’t imagine my parents
turning their backs on me for nothing more than my sexual preference. That’s
just whack.”
“It is what it is, but
yeah, you’re lucky. No one should have to go through that.”
Miles held up his Coke.
“Then here’s to them moving!”
Jules shook his head,
but still clinked his cup against Mile’s. “It’ll be a cold day in hell before
they moved from here. Just saying. But thanks for the thought.”
“You just never know,
Jules. Stranger things have happened. Look at you.”
“Yeah, look at me,”
Jules said as he sipped his drink. Miles didn’t know the half of it.
TBC
Don’t forget to visit the other briefers!
Chris
T. Kat m/m
Tali
Spencer m/m
Victoria
Adams m/f
Elyzabeth
VaLey m/f
Nephylim m/m
