‘Meet me at our favourite spot,’ she wrote two weeks ago.
Today was the appointed time. She sat by the river watching the water rushing along, mirroring the tumult in her heart.
Here they had first fallen in love, before circumstance and war had torn them apart.
She lay on the grass, listening to the birdsong, and waited.
***
He stood with his chilli dog and coke looking round the stadium.
This was their favourite spot, where they had first met, watching the Mets beat the Yankees.
No sign of her.
Still, the ball game was about to start. He took a seat.
Written as part of the Friday Fictioneers challenge hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields (more details HERE). The idea is to write a short story of 100 words based on the photo prompt (above).
To read stories of 100 words based on this week’s prompt, visit HERE.
My new novel, ‘A Justified State,’ is now also available from Book Depository as well as Amazon in Paperback and on Amazon Kindle.
‘a first class read from start to finish’ – reader review
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A lovely comedy of errors, Iain
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Thank you Neil
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Sad, but obviously they had different ideas on their favourite place!
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Women are from Venus, Men are from Mars…and so on 🙂
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So I understand………….. we’re all aliens and just passing through Iain!
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Oh, that was brilliant and clever! ‘Nuff said. 🙂
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Thank you Susan, much appreciated.
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I think that story’s fantastic. It is funny but also cuts to the heart of many situations where two people just think entirely differently. 🙂
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Thank you Kristian, glad you liked it 🙂
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This made me laugh.
Assumptions, eh?
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Let’s be honest, men need to be given explicit instructions when it comes to things like this. Thanks CE
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That anguished cry of “but you must KNOW I want” haunts this story. Great stuff.
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Yes, I’ve heard that cry before! 😉
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hahah Not what I expected. I love to be surprised!
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Glad you liked this one! I couldn’t bring myself to write a straightforward sentimental bit of romance!
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Dear Iain,
I find myself wanting him to catch a fly ball with his head. 😉 Loved this.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks Rochelle, I suspect he won’t know what’s hit him once she catches up with him 😉
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Lol! Funny and entertaining. You capture them so well, each oblivious in their way.
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Thank you 🙂
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At least he’s not in the living room!
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That may be his only defence when she finds him!
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Uh oh! Looks like the universe and fate have work cut out for them if they want these two to be together!
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Maybe they’ll laugh about it…!
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So sad but yes, man and woman do have different favorite places but to confuse between where they first met…funny and sad both. Nicely done.
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Thank you, I was going for funny!
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And you did.
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That’s a sad bit of miscommunication.
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I was going for funny mishap over sad. Hopefully they can laugh about it later… once she’s calmed down.
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If she ever decides to see him again. 😉
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Did we do a time warp here, or is he really that clueless? My word. I wonder how long she waited. We know HE waited until the game was over 🙂
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Perhaps she rather enjoyed the quiet afternoon alone with nature in the end!
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The art of communication! She should have been less ambiguous in her note – definitely her fault on this occasion!
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We’re men, we need things spelled out for us, otherwise it’s bound to end in disaster 😉
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Ah well, sometimes you just have to spell it out for them. Made me grin.
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Thank you Sandra, nice to spread a bit of a smile 🙂
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Oh, Snap!!! Communication breakdown…
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Yep 😉
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Great story. A flash of truth made funny. 😀
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Thank you so much Oneta 🙂
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It seemed such a good idea when they arranged it! Oh dear. I’m in Glasgow this weekend meeting my newly hatched granddaughter and I was wondering if you could organise some nice weather for us!
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I will try, although the forecast does not look good! I am working all weekend, so if you see the big BBC Scotland building beside the river, I’ll be inside there. Congratulations on the new arrival! 🙂
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A funny story to tell on their 50th wedding anniversary. Happy Thanksgiving Iain!
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Thank you Janet, hope you have a good Thanksgiving weekend.
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Lack of communication is the culprit behind many misunderstandings (and breakups, too). I really like what this says about perspective, and about how we can never know what someone else holds dear… at least, not without asking them.
And yes, the twist gave me a giggle.
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Thank you Magaly – that was exactly what I intended to show, including the giggle! 🙂
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Yay!
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World’s apart. No!
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Bridges need to be built it seems 😉
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Silly woman: you always have to tell the guy exactly what you mean/want. Unless it’s stated outright, we are clueless. Clueless, I say.
Oh, and I looked at this differently on a second read: Two different time periods; two different couples. Still stands as a good read.
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You were right first time with my intentions, nothing as fancy as different time periods, just 2 people getting crossed wires – but I like both ways of looking at it, so I will take all the credit 😉
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Oh wow Iain. I love this. What a great demonstration of the importance of clear communication, that each of us has our own unique perspective — Forgiveness and perception checking are such keys to bridge this. Can I share this post for #ForgivingFridays? If yes, it would be great if you can link back to my post from last week. And if not, no worries. Blessings to you Iain!
(Note that I may not do a post this Friday b/c of the Thanksgiving holiday.)
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Thank you, I’m happy for you to share it and I will put a link on your post. Happy Thanksgiving 🙂
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Great Iain – yay!! 🙂 Happy Thanksgiving and blessings.
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Laughed at this one and had to share it with my wife. I wonder if I would know where to go if she sent me that letter! Well done Iain, great little story.
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🙂 Thank you
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Hahaha. Good lesson on giving explicit directions. Nicely done Iain.
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Thank you Jo
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Ha ha ha, Mars and Venus clash again! And by the way, many congratulations on the book launch Iain, hope it takes your name to great(er) heights my friend 🙂
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Thank you, do give it a look if you get the chance! 🙂
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i guess they weren’t meant for each other.
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Perhaps opposites attract?…
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Haha, oh dear! He’s such a bloke… 🙂
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There’s no denying we think about things differently!
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Shame – she didn’t know him as well as she thought!
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It appears not!
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Oh Dear. I guess it would have been wiser to say, “meet me by the river” or “let’s meet at the stadium.” I wonder how long each of them will wait before they realize that they got their wires crossed? Great read, Iain 🙂
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Exactly, I wonder if they won’t both end up enjoying their time anyway, both doing what they enjoy! 🙂
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I hope they do. And then have a good laugh about it afterwards.
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A doomed relationship, for sure.
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Some relationships work best if they spend most of their time apart 😉
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Oh nooooooo miscommunication of the worst kind. Well told Iain 😊
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Yep, and they both think they are right!
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Serious communication gap! Are these two people waiting at different places expected to meet or are they waiting for different partners?
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Waiting to meet each other
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Looks like i missed the party doing the turkey yesterday. Agree with all of the above. Its funny because its so familiar and believable.
As for the points on clear communication: I’m convinced this message was an email or text!
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Thank you 🙂
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That’s why they they details matter ! Unless mentioned there can be no same favorite place ! What a tragedy 😉
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Thank you – yes, the details are important! 😉
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I enjoyed their different perspectives and the comedy of error. I hope they find each other in the end (a bit of a romantic). =)
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I think they will too, and laugh about it 🙂
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Two people with their own idea of a place dear to them. Wonderful and sad.
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I prefer to see the wonderful and funny in it – but you are not alone in seeing the sadness of it.
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Yes it’s funny too. But I keep seeing that missed opportunity.
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I really liked the subtle way you revealed the mis-match between their remembered experiences, by implication – very believable, and well done.
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Thank you so much 🙂
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I can see it happening! She really should be more specific though. Great read!
btw – I wanted to say thanks for your comment on my story. I’m not sure how, but I deleted it while replying. It’s somewhere in the WordPress wormhole now, and I can’t get it back.
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Thanks Russell. Never mind, that was one of my best comments too! 😉
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Oh dear, dim, insensitive and unthinking, he’s going to be in trouble. (Been there.)
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Haven’t we all! I prefer to have exact instructions written down so I don’t go wrong 😉
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Iain, this was fantastic, even if rather tragic for the participants. I’d imagine a lot of couples could face this confusion. Hope they meet up.
Best wishes,
Rowena
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I like to think it has a happy ending of reconciliation! Thanks Rowena
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I hope so.
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Oh dear! I’d say he’s going to regret watching the ball game! Good stuff Iain
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Thank you
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Haha…this is great!
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Thank you Dawn 🙂
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Haha! They’re not quite in synch it seems 🙂
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Not by a long shot!
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👍
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Ha! They didn’t know each other as well as they thought they did. Brilliant story.
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Thank you 🙂
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Hahah 😂😂 Brilliant!
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Thank you Dahlia
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