“Hello?”
“Sorry to wake you.”
“Joey?”
“Listen. I need you to get over here. It’s Pop.”
I sat up. “I had a dream about him!”
“Yeah, well. This ain’t a dream. I need you to come to the house right away.”
“What happened? Is he okay?”
“I––I can’t tell. He’s sitting in the kitchen. He’s crying, Tony. Like a little kid.”
“Jesus. Why?”
“He won’t tell me. Came home from the restaurant at midnight and had a glass of wine like usual. Then he started sobbing.”
“Did something happen?”
“Maybe. Listen, my other line is ringing.”
“I’ll be right over.”
thank you for the photo prompt. I think Dad must have done something he shouldn’t have.
Never borrow money from the mob. Thanks for reading.
A sense of hurtling dread. Whatever happened, it’s bearing down quick. Excellent story.
Dear Josh,
Seems we both wrote emergencies in the middle of the night. What a cliffhanger and very well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
No, not fair. You can’t end it there!
Loved the voices, great story.
Pop either did it, or knows exactly who did and why – but will he say anything to the authorities. I suspect not.
That’s definitely the beginning of a story. Don’t stop.
All sorts of possibilities here! Nice one.
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Wow, you’ve really set the scene up now. Now the kids will want to investigate what the hell dad has done to bring him to such a low state. Gripping Josh
Great way to set up the intrigue. Well done.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
You are so mean to just leave us there like that!
Well done!
Oh my, so many possibilities. Good cliffhanger :)
I wonder what’s up? I guess we’ll never know…
Ah, I thought he’d fired it for the insurance. I see the mob did it for revenge. Good one.
Goodness, yes I would like to know more. I am full of guesses.
Nice use of dialogue to move the story. Makes the reader want to go right over too, find out what exactly is going on.
My guess is that the pesky mob burnt Pop’s restaurant. Nicely done, J Hardy. Leaves a lot to the reader’s interpretation.
I love how you’ve set us up to wonder about who is on the other line. Great writing!
Thanks!
Don’t know whether I should laugh or fear or be anxious or feel foolish. Your writing is so open-ended for any of it@
Wondering about Pop too. Great story.
There are so many possibilities here… really good.
Loved how you set up the scene. This is a cliff hanger and i am definitely intrigues and so are all others who are reading this. You can now go on and lead us by the tail. Excellent writing, Hardy, and thanks for the lovely picture, too..
Really wonderfully told story – I wonder who is calling? Nicely done!
It has to be serious to make that man cry. From your reply I’d say that’s serious. The mob don’t play. They make examples. Good writing Hardy. Thanks for the great photo that made all the good stories possible. —- Suzanne