Photo by Vishnu Mk on Unsplash
“I know he’s up to something. He best not have snuck out to Hi-Jinx again,” Irene muttered as she scurred from the house. She stopped just shy of the door to the garage door. “He had better be in there. He’s worse about sneaking off than the kids ever were.”
She stood there listening for a few seconds before a voice from behind her said, “Checking up on me?”
Irene jumped, spun around, and slapped Gene on the arm. “Oh, you gave me a fright. No, I wanted to see if you were hungry.” She couldn’t look him in the face.
Her husband, Gene, scowled, “Fibber.” Then he broke into a big grin. “Come on. I’ve got something to show you.”
She looked at him warily as he steered her by the elbow towards the open door. “The last time you did that, you tricked me into spending an hour helping you finish building a bookcase.”
“Not this time. Promise.” Gene had a sparkle to his eyes that had been gone for months.
Inside was a freestanding black wall with an orange pipe poked through it at a downward angle. “Okay, you stand down here with your hands under the pipe like you’re going to catch something.” She raised an eyebrow and put a hand on her hip. “Come on. All you have to do is catch this.” He held up what looked like a small ball of paper.
J K Metz 