The Wrong One

/ roughwighting

suitcase, lost baggage, flash fictionI was exhausted, angry at Bob for not picking me up at the airport, and regretful of the argument I’d had with my parents as I left their Florida condo to return to Boston.

It was 10 p.m. when the taxi stopped in front of my brownstone on Commonwealth Ave. The driver pulled out my suitcase and waited for his fare. He’d not spoken a word the short trip from Logan to my place, and now he just held out his hand for the $20 I placed there. With no thanks for the $5 tip, he got back in his yellow cab and sped off.

I picked up my bag, which seemed lighter than I remembered from this morning, and walked into my unlit second story studio. So, Bob didn’t even bother to come to welcome me home. Well, as far as I was concerned, Bob could go to hell. And once I’d had a good night’s sleep, I would tell him that. I’d wait for dinner tomorrow to officially break up with him. This one-year relationship had turned into six months of disappointments. I didn’t know why I’d held on so long.

As I pulled my suitcase up on my bed and unclasped it, I acknowledged to myself that I did know why I’d waited so long. Bob was gorgeous. He was wealthy, and he was my parent’s best friends’ son’s former Harvard college roommate.

Thus, now another reason for my parents to be disappointed in me.

Too bad.

I yanked open the suitcase.

My mind wouldn’t grasp what I was looking at. It surely wasn’t my pearl silk blouse and gray slacks, nor my jeans and pink cotton shirt.blue nightgown, boyfriend, flash fiction

No, it was a women’s flimsy nightgown of diaphanous blue, a man’s black silk robe, a shaving kit, and a box of chocolates.

And that was it.

I closed the top and stared at the anonymous brown bag. Not mine. Looked like mine. But not.

box of chocolates, See's, flash fictionAnd now what was I supposed to do? I opened the top again and pulled out the chocolates.

The box was unopened.

SO FAR . . . .

88 thoughts on “The Wrong One”

  4. I agree with the others, the chocolates are finished now! Who could resist them?
    Now, please do go on, cliffhangers should only last that long. 🙂
    All the best
    miriam

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  9. Oops wrong luggage but hey she can try to find the owner and maybe he’ll become the “suitable’ suitor. I don’t like suspense but I hope that you’ll continue with “Mr. Wrong.” However, I don’t think you finished some of the other flash fiction that you have posted here unless you are now turning some or one of those stories into a book.

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    • I hadn’t considered finding out what happens after the ‘So Far,’ but you and others have convinced me that I should allow my pen to flow on and give us some answer. Tune in next Friday – and thanks SO MUCH for enjoying my flashes of flash fiction. xo

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  13. What a dilemma!! I mean it’s no problem to pick up the phone and say you got the wrong luggage, but what excuse could you find for the chocolates to have been eaten – because you know they will be! At least, if they’re a good brand, they will be. Just be sure to wipe the chocolate off your chin when they come to get the suitcase. Good story,.

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  14. Pam, I like the pun in the title, which unfolds much later…strange that the cab driver didn’t even thank, quite unlikely…looking forward to the fate of the ‘the wrong one’!

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    • Ummm, have you ever driven in a cab in Boston? If so, you wouldn’t find it unlikely that the driver is a bit brusque. ;-0 Perhaps this driver just needed some chocolate to sweeten him up. 🙂
      Yes, stay tuned next week to find out what happens with that WRONG one…. ❤

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    • Ugh, Gerlinde! I’d much prefer a box of See’s than dirty underwear. To prevent such a suitcase switch, I keep a pink bow on my suitcase handle. How many people are brave/girly enough to tie a pink frilly bow on their luggage? 🙂
      YES, See’s is my favorite candy for sure. Every time I go back to the SF Bay area, I buy a box and savor it for weeks. Talk about will power….!!!

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  23. Oh how intriguing Pam! I hope they are really chocolates and not a pair of socks in a chocolate box (like my dad got at Christmas from his mother – to the extreme disappointment of us six children waiting all morning for him to share his ‘chocolates’ with us). 😀 I can’t wait to hear how this one ends xxxx

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    • Oh now, Dianne, that’s a funny story! Socks in a chocolate box? That’s almost down right torture. What a tremendous disappointment! I have a feeling the next flash of this fiction will be less disappointing…

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    • I’m going to email you with my publisher’s info – must get to the bottom of this!
      I think next week’s installment of The Wrong One may answer a few questions, and raise a few more. ;-0

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      • Thank you, Pam. It’s disappointing that your book doesn’t seem to be readily accessible from Australia. I saw your email, and hers, come through this morning. Will get to it as soon a I’ve responded to comments. 🙂

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    • You make me think philosophically, Andrea. Probably because your posts are so philosophical and poetic. But there are silver linings in many different endeavors and challenges in life, aren’t there? Let’s see on Friday if this character finds one.

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  33. After a day like that, I’d open the chocolates before contemplating the next move…

    Pam, I’m hooked from the start where you easily managed to introduce the character, her mood, the fight with her parents and disappointment with Bob as well as the location! Very well done…just one snag….I / we all want more!! No pressure. haha! 😀😃

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  35. I have just been munching on Moser-Roth 70% dark chocolates reading this cliffhanger . . . we do deserve a follow-up soon, you know!

    Also this morning, ordered Birds of Paradise for grand-daughter Jenna’s birthday. It been a great day so far.

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