“The End of Luke Sorsfield”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: Tripod.

“Luke, did you bring the tripod?”

I freeze. The tripod. I forgot the tripod.

Heather’s going to absolutely murder me. She gave me one job, just the one, and of course I screwed it up.

“Honey? Did you hear me?”

“Er, yes, of course dear, it’s in the trunk.”

I scramble to grab my car keys. It’s a seven minute drive home and a seven minute drive back. If I tell her I need to change and use the washroom before getting the tripod, maybe that’ll give me enough time to run back home.

Heather appears around the corner as my hand is halfway back to my pocket.

“Here, give me the keys, I can go get it while you get changed,” she says, holding out her hand to me.

“No!” I exclaim, stuffing my hand in my pocket. Her eyes narrow with suspicion, and I add, “I mean, no, it’s fine. I can do it. You just focus on getting everyone all lined up. You know it’ll take the kids ages to get organized.”

She’s not convinced. Uh oh. This is the end of me. Say good-bye to Luke Sorsfield. Loving–but forgetful–husband. Killed out of rage by perfect wife, Heather.

A scream from the other room saves me. Heather glances back as another scream joins the first.

“Okay,” she says, already backing away toward the other room. “Just hurry up.”

“Give me fifteen minutes,” I say. “I’ll be right with you, I promise.”

She takes off running and seconds later, I hear her barking orders at the kids.

I leave at a full-on sprint. Within seconds, I’m on the highway.

Final Comments: Ran out of time for this one, but surprisingly the plot came really easily. Maybe I’ll finish it some other time, because I did have an idea for later on in the story.

Overall Rating: 🙂