Copyright Janet Webb
It’s exhausting, pushing a trolley with a wonky wheel.
My sister, who unerringly picks the smooth glider, normally seethes at ‘Seasonal Goods’ while I’m still negotiating the corner between ‘Deli’ and ‘Organic Produce’.
She’s usually vitriolic.
“If it’s not a wonky wheel,” she’ll complain, “it’s one needing a good shunt up the backside to get it going”.
I’ll recognize, as she intends I should, the analogy to my choice of partners.
But today she’s beside me, distracted, thoughtful.
“Everything OK at home?” I say, cautiously.
She stops by ‘Canned Vegetables’.
“Not really,” she says, “I think the bloody wheels have fallen off”.
This week’s Friday Fictioneers prompt is from Janet Webb, a former regular at Friday Fictioneers. Lovely evocative photo, Janet. Thanks once again to the lady in aisle 5, Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. Long may she supervise the clean-ups there. 🙂
castelsarrasin 
Haha! Lovely Sandra. Love how you’ve describe the sisters and their relationship through trolleys and the type of goods they buy. Love how they’re near ‘canned’ goods as we learn the sisiter’s life is not as smooth running as she might want folk to believe. Great tale.
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Canned goods is as good a place as any to admit that things have gone off track. 🙂 Thanks for reading Lynn.
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My pleasure and a pleasure to read your story, as always 🙂
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Love the analogy!
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Thanks Claire. 🙂
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Your observation and description of the human condition are unmatched, Sandra.
And your analogies are brutally funny.
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Thanks CE. You and I do brutality each in our own way. 🙂 Only joking, I look forward to visiting your slot each week, in that kind of ‘omg how’s this going to end’ way.
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Dear Sandra,
What can I say? I laughed out loud. I can only imagine.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I have to stop doing this ‘sister’ thing, Rochelle. I haven’t even got one. 😉
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I did wonder if you had?
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Brilliant.
I also had to pat myself on the back for knowing, from the first line, where this was going and for not being disappointed. Brilliantly played.
(Oh, and also… Hi!)
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Well Hi to you too. Long time or what??? Lovely to see you back, and thanks for reading. 🙂
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It’s been a while. Change of job, irritating 2 year old, lack of motivation, tired bla bla bla bla… 😉
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A two year old? Irritating? Hell’s bells … 😉 Good to see you back, and off to read yours now.
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Love the analogies…you are a great observer of character, Sandra
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Thanks Sue. My husband says I’m an embarrassment when we’re out anywhere – always watching and listening to others… 😦
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Ooooops! I’m sure you do it discretely….
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Writer’s quirk. Listening to conversations. Another way to know is when you lie to your diary.
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Another beautiful character study, color me impressed. Loved it!
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Thank you! 🙂
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Perfectly wonderful.
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Many thanks
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Marvelous take. Just like the cart is reflected in the water, their carts reflect their relationships.
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Astute observation – I hadn’t noticed that.
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I always wondered why so many people stop at canned goods.🙂🙂🙂
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That’s where reality hits home, where you finally see it like it is. I avoid canned food like the plague. 🙂
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I agree, lovely analogies and a great take on the prompt. Another fine tale.
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Thanks Graham. 🙂
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I do have TWO sisters and you caught the balance and counter balance beautifully.
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Flows easily. So constructed a life story can be read into it.
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I just had a visit with my sister and can say this has a true to life feel to it.
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Haaa!
I love this story, so true of life and relationships.
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Sandra, you always write about relationships so convincingly. I always look forward to reading your posts. 🙂
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Lovely story …makes me want a sister 🙂
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Your observations on human relationships are always a treat to read 🙂
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100 words too few. The old axiom, “Leave them wanting more.” You did it! I keep imagining Nigel Lythgoe saying this, “Sandra, you’re an inspiration to us all.”
I love the idiom of the “trolley with the wonky wheel.” 😀 Your dialogue is so realistic and the structure …. WOW! Nailed it!
Five out of five “don’t forget the breads.” (that’s a local joke around KC, I’ll tell you later what it means).
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Perfectly done. Life is all about pushing that trolley 🙂
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Like how she still manages to make an analogy that the sister will understand, but anyone overhearing will be in the dark. 🙂
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great treat as usual. enjoyed it very much. 🙂
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Oh dear! Love the analogy and great dialogue.
I usually get the trolley with one completely jammed wheel 😦
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Terrific last line. Change in behaviour singals something more. A great showing of sister relationships
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Sisters – a pain in the arse but there when you need them!
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I never had a sister, and can’t say I want one now. There have been two or three shopping carts I’ve admired from afar, though I’m hesitant to reach out and start a conversation. I guess I’m just shy.
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Interesting; like another commentor said, great that the sisters could find a code to communicate but I don’t get it.(Romance isn’t an area I’m informed in, but that’s out of the scope of this project ; perhaps another photo will prompt a story inspired by those experiences.)
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nice metaphor!
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Very clever. The sisters’ relationship rings true, even though I read that you don’t have one. I don’t either, but I do have two daughters, and watching them in action is nerve-wracking – and an education in keeping my mouth shut. I love how you used the trolley image.
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That story is somewhere between funny and sad but leaning toward funny. Great comparisons, Sandra. The sister’s marriage must really be in trouble if the wheels have fallen off. Good writing as always. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Great! Love the relationship with the sisters and the way the dynamic shifts when the sister who is normally prodding is struggling. Fun piece on a serious topic.
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Superbe!
You lead us to compassion in that last line. Wonderful.
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