Wednesday, April 4, 2012

In The Closet

www.apartmenttherapy.com
She rarely got home before he did. And once she realized he wasn't home yet, a slow smile crept across her face.

She quickly put her stuff away and crawled into the closet. She knew she shouldn't, he repeatedly warned her that one day she'd give him a heart attack. Yet, hiding to surprise him was her favorite way of greeting her dad.

It was such fun to see that look on his face. It kept her laughing for hours. If only she knew living alone with her dad would be such fun, she would have begged him to move in years ago...

"As soon as they get divorced, we're going to live with dad!"
"-Deal."

She should have known her sister would back out... "I just can't do that to mom!" was her response when years later the big day finally came. "But what about dad? Have you seen his apartment? Lawn furniture in the living room? She didn't even let him take any dishes!" Her sister asked her to stay "Things'll get better, I'm sure of it." How could water ever blend with oil? She knew, she was different from her sister, and worse yet a constant reminder of her dad...

"You're just like your father" What did that even mean?

The jab in her back brought her back to reality. "What the heck am I sitting on anyways?" She fumbled with shoes, boots and boxes until she found what was poking her. "What the hell? Why would he keep an anchor in his closet???"

She heard his keys jingling. Finally he was home. Then giggling. Giggling? Why was he giggling? More importantly - who with? His routine was always the same. Always. Come in the apartment, drop his keys on the shelf by the door. Walk to the living room, put his briefcase on the table, then drop the mail on top. Turn the radio on (She never thought he'd be the kind to call into those talk shows. Until moving in with him she didn't really know her father at all.) Then he'd go to his room and hang his jacket in the closet before mixing a drink.

With her eyes closed, she always knew where he was and on cue could hear the radio then count his steps to the closet... But everything was different today. First there was the giggling. Then instead of the radio he put a tape in and went straight to the kitchen for a drink. She heard the ice cubes clinking, then another handful of ice cubes. And more giggling.

She'd been hiding for so long her legs were numb and she had no idea what to do. Should she crawl out and sneak to her room? Should she stay hidden? He obviously had company, but who was it?

Before she had time to come to a decision the door suddenly opened and she was engulfed in bright light. And he wasn't alone, but his guest was the last person she ever expected to see "What are YOU doing here?"

**********

This is a Studio 30+ writing prompt: It wasn’t what I was expecting. Please come and join the newly re-built writing community! Also... not sure where I was going with the anchor. An anchor in a closet? I guess I wanted to leave an option for a follow-up story maybe, not sure. We'll see.

16 comments:

  1. Oh I kind of hope it's her mom and they are working things out.

    Well done.

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    1. Hey! I think I was reading your prompt as you were reading mine. I love it when that happens... Yeah, I'm not sure who I wanted it to be... that's why I left it open for the reader to decide for me. Ha! Typical...

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  2. oy what a cliff hanger....you def have my head spinning though with who it could be...so you finishing it or leaving us bothered...haha

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    1. Better to leave people bothered, that way they may come back for more... answers.

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  3. It would suck if it was her sister.

    No, not like that!

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    1. Oh I agree. My thoughts were the drinks he made in the kitchen were of the alcohol kind, so to me that rules her sister out. I'm thinking mother? A teacher? I'm so excited, I have no idea who it is really...

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  4. My mind is going all sorts of places with this one. Dad giggling, an anchor...me thinks he is dating Cap'n Jack Sparrow. hehe

    Ps did you know you have captchas turned on? A little annoying if you dont mind me saying

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    1. I had it turned off a while ago and got the meanest nastiest comment from what I guess was an internet troll (what are those things anyways?) so I turned it back on. But never thought of it, I just turned it back off. I know its one of those things WP users hate about blogger (that and the need to log in to leave a comment). Thanks for letting me know!

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    2. Thank you sweet. Wasn't too bad until blogger made it double captchas and I have been trying really hard to not say anything because I adore you so much

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  5. WOW!!! SUCH a cliff hanger. :D

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  6. Strangulated screaming.... ok, not really, but cool.
    Just blog hopping.

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  7. Thanks for leaving us hanging! It is a cliffhanger....

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  8. Replies
    1. Your uncle Louie is hanging out with my dad? 0_o hahaha! How did you know it was him?

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