The four of us
Here's another episode in what began as a connected flash fiction experiment. This may be the last one I post in this series. I'm getting the urge to collect the ones I've posted so far and rework them and see what kind of shape the project takes next. I'm inclined to pick one point of view to run with, and I'm wondering whose voice would be the strongest. Any ideas?
The Four of Us
By Laura McHale Holland
The kids, Chloe and Drew, knew we were a family from day one. Carly and I took longer to see we were like four ice cream flavors blending into one scrumptious shake on a sweltering summer afternoon.
Now, our friends and family are whooping and laughing as we dash across the dance floor. We're nearing the exit, one man, one woman, one boy, one girl, hand in hand in hand in hand.
The social worker caught Carly's bouquet of white roses. Carly insisted on inviting her. "She kept us apart," I protested when I saw her name on the list. "She brought Drew into your life," Carly countered. Then there's the kidnapper. He runs the maintenance crew for Carly's housing community. A little while ago he leapt up higher than anyone to catch the garter.
He and the social worker are dancing together now, looking retro, like Uma Thurman and John Travolta in Pulp Fiction. They'll probably dance long into the night while the four of us fly away.We're going to the land behind the waterfall. My people aren't dead like I was told long ago; they're hiding from the metal monsters that once spewed death down from the sky. Now a metal monster is bringing me home, along with my wife and children. I hope our lives all become entwined, the old and new, giving and receiving, without causing undue harm
The prior posts in this series, in the order in which they were published are: Back pocket wishesCascading to the seaRight through the heartAway today?A dime a dozenShe doesn't know themOn the seatA pillar of the communityHe needs a friend Double rainbowThe one he always wants to hearGive it some timeIt gives my life meaningSmilesExtenuating circumstances