“Am I waking you up?”
“I had to get up anyway, Dad. The phone was ringing.”
“Ha. Listen, I need you to do something for me.”
“Name it.”
“I need you to come over and shovel the walk.”
“Now?”
“Yes, now. Before your mother wakes up.”
“It’s four in the morning.”
“I know what time it is. I need you to do it. If your mother wakes up and sees I haven’t done it, she’ll think all kind of things.”
“Dad.”
“The doctor said I can’t shovel. Something about the bones.”
“You’re going to have to tell her.”
“Not yet.”
Dear Josh
Your last line added a whole new chapter to this one. Note-my mom used to say, “I had to get up to answer the phone,” too. Tight and compelling.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks! There’s another story this week that seems almost to be a companion piece! It’s flat-out spooky when that happens! ;-)
I sense this story does not have a happy ending. :(
I think he needs to man up and tell her. The conversation conveyed the whispered urgency of the purpose. Nicely done.
The reveal is very very clever
v creative thinking! no reblog option?
Maybe on February 15th.
That is going to extreme lengths to deny her the truth. Better all round if he just tells her. Nice take.
Good tale. I can just imagine certain people behaving like this. I like the way you tell it, too, all in dialogue, with good, crisp exchanges that move the story forwards. And an excellent reveal.
well done
Poignant ending. Good story.
Hopefully mother won’t read this story! Nice one
Aw. What started as a sweet and curious conversation between a father and son, ended on such a sad note. Very nicely done, Josh.
AS others have said, Josh, a well written, tight story, believable too. I think he should tell the truth to his wife soon – not only for honesty’s sake but also to let his son sleep!
The (semi)reveal at the end took the story to a different plane. Nicely done, J Hardy.
Very nicely done. His son is super patient and will probably cause him to tell the truth sooner than later.
Great twist at the end. At first he seemed like an unreasonable father and ended up being a loving husband, but he’ll have to tell her one day…