Making a living cleaning other people’s houses is bad enough; having to shift so much junk before you can even start the job is the icing on the frigging cake.
“It all means something special to me,” the old girl would whine.
It meant a whole lotta ass-ache to me.
So I thieved a piece each week; different stuff, nothing she’d miss, stuff from the back shelves. And the job got done quicker.
She said she’d remember me in her will.
Sure did – left me the rest of the junk.
“Because I know you coveted it…” she said.
Eagle-eyed bitch.
Click on this link to join the party.
Finding it hard these days to strike a different note with the Friday Fictioneers submissions – there’s been a same-ness about the themes, the ‘voice’. After all, I’ve been doing this for 10 years now! So a different voice this week – not a particularly pleasant one, but there you go. 🙂 Many thanks to Rochelle, our leader, who never seems to find herself without inspiration.
She who laughs last ….
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Thanks for reading, Neil.
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Dear Sandra,
Oh, I love the voice in this one. And truly, a housekeeper could make away with some things and I’d never notice. 😉 What a great ending. Poetic justice.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks for the photo, Rochelle, inpirational.
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I love the voice in this one. And the fact the old lady knew all along 😉
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Thanks for reading, Dale. 🙂
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This is terrific 🙂 I love the bitterness in the voice of the MC, and thoroughly enjoyed the old lady’s last laugh!
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I like a just ending. 🙂
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Hahaha, thanks for the chuckle Sandra, perfect in tone and delivery 🙂
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Thanks, Iain.
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You had me laughing out loud, Sandra. The voice, the story itself, and the perfect comeuppance at the end too. I don’t envy people cleaning our house. I generally tell them to just ignore the ‘display’ shelves. I mostly like to display dust.
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Looking around my bare dusty surfaces I sometimes think it might be an idea to have more ornaments. But then I remember my mother’s house… Thanks for reading, Jen.
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Imagine!
Now she’ll have a lifetime to clean & then of course create her will & leave it to someone who covets it! 🙂
The Missing Girl – Anita Sabat
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Thanks Anita.
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This is a little gem, Sandra. Your choice of words is absolutely precise. Whine, ass-ache, thieved, eagle-eyed bitch.
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They seemed to fit perfectly with the personality. Thanks for reading, Penny.
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Oh dear.
She did not see that coming.
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Thanks for reading.
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Candid with a keen awareness of human nature at its ugliest. Good writing.
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Many thanks! 🙂
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You’re welcome 🙂
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it’s really hard to trust folks nowadays. installing security cameras can help keep them honest. 🙂
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Thanks for reading.
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That old girl was a smart one. Fun voice although I have to say that I never tire of you ‘other voice’ either.
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Ah thanks! It’s funny how you can slip into a ‘voice’ and then it takes a monumental effort to swing the pendulum the other way. Inevitably it goes too far. 🙂
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You’ve brought both characters to life in this. I love the narrative voice, and had to have a big rethink about ‘the old girl’ when I reached the end. She’s sharper than we first realise. Fantastic story.
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Thanks for reading, Margaret. I think we sometimes overlook the perspicacity of our older relatives.
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Oh, groan. Wonderful story and true, which is why I am forced to pre-clean for her. And the heirs are grateful that then needn’t deal with all the stuff. 🙂 Well done, Sandra.
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A very insightful write about the value of things for some.
A trash item for one is a treasure for another. I think the inherited items
might wind up at a thrift store. LOL
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A pleasantly unpleasant voice and it played out in my mind! Excellent!
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Great turn around. The tone and sentiments were perfect.
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Teehee!
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So pleased that you made me smile,
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Love the twist at the end
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You made me laugh. I feel for the cleaning lady. I know what it’s like to have to move stuff around to dust every week just to put it back to collect dust for next week.
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This is brilliant. I love comeuppance tales!
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this story is especially satisfying to me.
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