“Why don’t you take out the trash, Marvin?”
He dragged the bin to the roadside.
“Why don’t you mow the lawn, Marvin?”
He pushed the edger beside the sidewalk.
“Why don’t you clean the gutters, Marvin?”
He stopped and inspected his work. He hung the ladder back on its hooks.
The toothy grin spread across his face the way mold takes a rotten squash. Marvin had an idea.
~~~~~~~~~~
Welcome to “Flash in the Pan”
This one comes in at a minimal 70 words against the 150 upper limit for July. Here’s hoping next month when it drops to 100 words, the stories will still stimulate the imagination.
If you would like to join in the Flash in the Pan, take this week’s word, follow the word count and link back to this post. The word for this flash fiction: Idea.
What do you think Marvin’s idea is? Who is asking him the questions? Do the questions give you any ideas? Is this the beginning or the middle of a story?
Laurie
/ July 15, 2012I think it’s a naggy wife, close to the beginning but not so close nothing else happened before………..I think his idea is to clean up a little bit more and stop the nagging……maybe invest in a wood chipper….or maybe my imagination is just a bit dark this morning..
Red
/ July 15, 2012I LOVE the idea of the wood chipper!
Carl D'Agostino
/ July 15, 2012Marvin oughtta change his name.
Red
/ July 15, 2012LOL! Do you think she will sound less whiny if he name was Harold or Bob or something?
Raymond Alexander Kukkee
/ July 15, 2012Marvin is being so cooperative because he’s starvin’…not having had breakfast yet. He wants a breakfast cookie. or two and has earned them. Cuppa, too. “:)
Raymond Alexander Kukkee recently posted..Gone Fishing
Red
/ July 15, 2012LOL! So that is why he is moving so slowly. *giggles*
El Guapo
/ July 15, 2012Well, Marvin’s persona flips from obedient husband(?) to sinister character in those last two sentences, doesn’t it?
Wonder if he’ll dump next week’s trash/grass clippings/gutter crap in her(?) bed…
El Guapo recently posted..Friday Foolishness – Kelvin edition
Red
/ July 15, 2012LOL! That is a good solution! When I wrote the second to last sentence, I giggled for about ten minutes.
prenin
/ July 16, 2012Hmmm… Maybe Marvin is planning a new rose bed – six feel deep and four feet long… 🙂
Love and squishy hugs!
Prenin.
prenin recently posted..Sunday – we move the furniture.
Red
/ July 16, 2012I think you might be right, Pren! {HUGZ} Red.
Soma Mukherjee
/ July 16, 2012Marvin may be working for a school or facility for special care and may be he is slow in understanding instructions,needs to be told his job time and again
I think someone is going to end up in gutter ..the lady giving instructions better have a spare cloth in her bag 😆
oh man i do have an evil mind
Soma Mukherjee recently posted..if a=4 and b=5 then what is zzz ?
Red
/ July 16, 2012ROFL! I love it!!
Deb
/ July 16, 2012I think Mavin’s idea, being that he got that tooth grin, is to put that work Nazi on a hook next to the ladder.
Hugs xx
Deb recently posted..Fraz On His New Sled
Red
/ July 16, 2012I think you might be right, Deb! {HUGZ} Red xxx
MJ Logan
/ July 16, 2012Marvin’s been looking for the perfect way to end the nagging, get himself a pound of flesh, and render poetic justice at the same time.
I think right now, I’d hate to be the one who’s been telling Marvin what to do.
Shades of Lizzie and her hammer.
MJ
MJ Logan recently posted..The Bay
Red
/ July 16, 2012Yes…I am thinking the hooks are important.
Valentine Logar
/ July 17, 2012It is only the voice in his head.
Valentine Logar recently posted..Cartoon of the Day
Red
/ July 17, 2012I love this idea!!!!