Meghan Davis

Flash Fiction #3


Erinn pulled into the driveway and turned off the car. She reached into the back seat to get the bags filled with the ingredients for lasagna that she bought at the grocery store. Something different, she thought. She closed the door and walked into the house through the garage entrance. She emptied the bags and put the food onto the kitchen counter. It was 2:30 in the afternoon. “I’ll start cooking around 4:00,” she said out loud to herself.

Erinn thought Gary would be watching television in the living room but the house couldn’t be quieter. Before she left she told him she’d be out until at least 4:00 because on Saturdays she usually went to the coffee shop a few blocks away and read for a few hours but today she wanted to do something nice and cooking Gary’s favorite meal was what came to mind. Assuming he went to the gym or to visit his mother, Erinn walked up the steps to lie down for an hour before beginning to cook, something she was not good at and didn’t enjoy. That’s when she noticed something strange.

At the top of the steps was an earring that did not belong to her. She picked it up and examined it closely because it looked familiar to her. It looked like an earring she saw before. After a minute, Erinn remembered seeing the earring on her best friend’s ear. How could she forget? The simple diamond heart was one she complemented a dozen times before. After getting over her initial shock, Erinn felt a sense of desperation. She knew what she was about to see. She walked down the hallway, trying her hardest not to make a sound. ‘How could this be happening again? Why did I think he’d stop? My best friend.’ These thoughts raced through Erinn’s head. As she got closer to her bedroom door she could her best friends voice; her husband’s voice. “Stop, Gary! That tickles! I mean it, stop!” She poked her head into the door that was cracked open about an inch and what she was enough. The image of her best friend and her husband rolling around in the bed that she made so perfectly that morning was enough. She walked back down the hallway just as quietly as had walked up and went back down the stairs. She picked up her purse on the kitchen table; made sure her keys were in it and walked out the garage door. She got into her car, pulled out of the driveway and drove to the coffee shop.

She had to be home by 4:00 to cook lasagna.