Jeff stared at his foot, not knowing whether to laugh or throw something.
What a dirty trick. They’d waited until he slept deeply following the surgery, a combination of pain, shock, and anesthesia.
They’d painted his toenails. Bright, red/orange. And because of other injuries, he couldn’t reach his foot to wipe the stuff off. Couldn’t pull a sock over his foot to hide it.
Well, their time was coming. He had several months in which to plot his revenge.
“Mother, you need to hire someone to clean up this mess in the garden. Aren’t you embarrassed to have it look so dismal?”
“No one looks back here, Ella. I don’t have the money to hire anyone. I do what I can. . .”
“What is it now, Mother? Arthritis? Your eyes? Knees? There’s always something. You should see a doctor.”
“There’s nothing they can do for me. I’m old. You can’t cure that.”
As Ella dressed for her mother’s funeral, her daughter stood at her door. “Mother, can’t you hurry up? You’re more like Grandma every day!”
(I’m heading to the hospital in about ten minutes. Having a cataract removed this morning. That mean I have drops in my right eye that blur my vision, and my left eye is far-sighted. So? So I’m probably not seeing what you’re seeing!)
Zing and Zang had gone invisible. What they saw outside the cafe doors was enough to scare them into invisible mode.
The park across the street was full of blue-coated soldiers, all carrying rifles upright on their shoulders.
“Zang, should we teleport home? It looks like things are getting really ugly here in America. I don’t want to be collateral damage.”
“Not yet, Zang. I think they’re just drilling, not actually going into battle.”
“This is tragic. Such a beautiful country, with such a record of incredible success. I hope they can settle this without bloodshed.”
“Me too, Zang. Me too.”
Bennie stopped at every corner, peering around buildings and watching the people.
He knew he was lost. He was a brave little boy, though, and he wasn’t afraid. He would find Mama, and she would be looking for him.
He didn’t know other eyes were watching him. They were unfriendly eyes that followed him as he wandered.
“Mama?” called Bennie. He paused, waited, then moved to the next street.
When a strong hand clamped down on his shoulder, he was afraid for the first time. He knew it wasn’t Mama.
“You will come!” demanded a harsh voice.
Just Writing! 