Iain Kelly

Fiction Writing

IRRECONCILABLE

We had our differences. For most couples they would have been irreconcilable, but we always muddled through.

It’s all about compromise. Sure, his job kept him busy, away from home a lot. Maybe that helped. We weren’t living under each other’s feet for forty years.

Then I found out it wasn’t his job that kept him busy on the road so much. It was more the second wife and the other son and daughter he had.

Well, he’s on the road again now, what remains of him. On his way to visit them again. Hope I got the address right.

Copyright Ted Strutz

Written for Friday Fictioneers 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.

Also linking to Fandango’s One-Word Challenge for today: Irreconcilable.

A collection of my short stories, ‘Collected Sketches’ is FREE today (Wednesday) on AMAZON kindle.

AMAZON UK     AMAZON.COM      SMASHWORDS      KOBO     BARNES & NOBLE

Iain Kelly

, , , ,
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

80 responses to “IRRECONCILABLE”

  1. Mister Bump UK Avatar
    Mister Bump UK

    brilliant!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  2. Sadje Avatar
    Sadje

    Really wonderful story

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Sadje 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Sadje Avatar
        Sadje

        You’re welcome 😉

        Liked by 1 person

  3. neilmacdon Avatar
    neilmacdon

    That’s crisp and neat and satisfying, Iain

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Neil

      Like

      Reply
  4. ceayr Avatar
    ceayr

    Delightful, Iain!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you CE

      Like

      Reply
  5. Sandra Avatar
    Sandra

    Oooh, there’s something satisfying about this.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Sandra

      Like

      Reply
  6. joanne the geek Avatar
    joanne the geek

    Nice! 😁

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks so much 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  7. Dale Avatar
    Dale

    Another cracker. I just laughed with Sandra’s and read yours immediately after. The laughter continues. I mean, poor her and all that but what a great way to be done with him!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      I’m glad you found the humour in it 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Dale Avatar
        Dale

        Hard not to. 😊

        Liked by 1 person

  8. Tannille Avatar
    Tannille

    Hahaha wonderful. There might be a return to sender?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      She’d be brave to try that!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  9. J Hardy Carroll Avatar
    J Hardy Carroll

    Funny stuff. Literal dead letter office!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks J Hardy 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  10. may hem Avatar
    may hem

    Brilliant, though I’d love to read the sequel, perhaps the recipient (also a victim?) will return to sender? Or the next title… ‘Unwanted remains”. Great that you can, with a few words send the reader on a journey

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Perhaps they end up the best of friends after all! Thanks so much.

      Like

      Reply
  11. Liz H Avatar
    Liz H

    A late Valentines gift? 😳
    Uffda mayda!!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Not a Valentines I would want to receive!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  12. Bernadette Braganza Avatar
    Bernadette Braganza

    Oooh, someone’s about to get a nasty shock.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Not the sort of mail you want to get, for sure!

      Like

      Reply
      1. Bernadette Braganza Avatar
        Bernadette Braganza

        Agree

        Liked by 1 person

  13. Fandango Avatar
    Fandango

    Oh snap!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  14. liz young Avatar
    liz young

    Brilliant!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Liz

      Like

      Reply
  15. granonine Avatar
    granonine

    That’s a great twist. An example of “what goes around comes around” 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Karma has a way of doing that! Thanks Linda

      Like

      Reply
  16. Danny James Avatar
    Danny James

    Don’t mess with her.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Good advice, thanks Danny

      Like

      Reply
  17. Dora Avatar
    Dora

    Iain, A perfect tale of dark humor.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks so much Dora

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  18. msjadeli Avatar
    msjadeli

    Is it wrong that I’m cackling so loudly right now? Special delivery indeed!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Not at all – the perfect reaction 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  19. pennygadd51 Avatar
    pennygadd51

    Teehee! Great humour, Iain. You turn that story around very nicely.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks so much Penny 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  20. rochellewisoff Avatar
    rochellewisoff

    Dear Iain,

    Sounds like she’s sending karma to the other wife’s door. This made me laugh out loud. Brilliant.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks Rochelle, always pleased to raise a laugh 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  21. plaridel Avatar
    plaridel

    for his sake, i hope she got the wrong address. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      He’s not that lucky I’m afraid.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  22. magickmermaid Avatar
    magickmermaid

    And I thought getting bills in the mail was annoying! Super story, Iain!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      A new kind of junk mail! 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
  23. Susan St.Pierre Avatar
    Susan St.Pierre

    Cold, calculating, karma. Love it!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you Susan 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  24. joyroses13 Avatar
    joyroses13

    Oooh this is good! LOL!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks so much 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  25. theministryofshrawleywalks Avatar
    theministryofshrawleywalks

    Oh thats great, what a twist, wasn’t expecting that! Brilliant

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you!

      Like

      Reply
  26. draliman Avatar
    draliman

    Ha, love it! Your classic double whammy, revenge on him and the other family in one stroke.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      She takes no prisoners 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  27. Keith's Ramblings Avatar
    Keith’s Ramblings

    I’m guessing she didn’t keep half of the ashes for herself! Nice one Iain.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Oh no, definitely didn’t want him lying around the place! Thanks Keith

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  28. Bear Avatar
    Bear

    Now, that’s just plain cruel. Great story.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  29. Laurie Bell Avatar
    Laurie Bell

    Ha! I shouldn’t laugh I know but there is some great dark humor in this one. That poor first wife. What a horrible man he was to have two families. Wonder how the second wife will react at such a gift!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      My guess is she won’t be too happy! 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  30. Brenda's Thoughts Avatar
    Brenda’s Thoughts

    Excellent story! I loved this, Iain, because it’s not what I expected at all.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you Brenda, much appreciated 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  31. oneta hayes Avatar
    oneta hayes

    Unexpectedly funny! 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you!

      Like

      Reply
  32. Inside the Mind of Isadora Avatar
    Inside the Mind of Isadora

    I must admit I snickered a bit at the end of your story, Iain.
    I could just see the look on the 2nd wife’s face when she receives the package.
    Great write … Have a wonderful weekend,
    Be Safe 😷 … Isadora 😎

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you so much, happy it gave you a chuckle 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  33. Eugenia Parrish Author Avatar
    Eugenia Parrish Author

    This is just fantastic! I thought it would be sad, and then got a big laugh. As I said in my offering, I never noticed what was in the box until after I wrote my story! Thanks for the chuckle. Years ago Reba McIntyre had a song that went “Does he love her like he loves me?” In the video, we see him setting out to sea with his ‘other woman’. Reba is standing on the cliff watching and looking so sad. Then the boat blows up, and she grins. One of my favorites!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thanks so much Eugenia. Like the sound of that video 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  34. subroto Avatar
    subroto

    Looks like she went postal on him then 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Indeed!

      Like

      Reply
  35. tedstrutz Avatar
    tedstrutz

    So perfect.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Thank you Ted

      Like

      Reply
  36. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    I think that there is more to this story, can I have first refusal on the film rights😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      How much are you willing to offer? 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  37. Na'ama Yehuda Avatar
    Na’ama Yehuda

    Well then, the answer, my friend, is ‘blowing in the wind’ … 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Ha! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. Na'ama Yehuda Avatar
        Na’ama Yehuda

        😀

        Liked by 1 person

  38. Unishta Avatar
    Unishta

    Wow ! Poor guy must have worn the soles of his feet thin running between two homes …..

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. Iain Kelly Avatar
      Iain Kelly

      Haha, I often wonder about people like this have the energy and the time! Thanks so much for visiting 🙂

      Like

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: