The left-handed spin on the bowling ball curves it around the remaining seven-pin. He returns to his seat with a lackluster plop. “Mark, what’s wrong with you?” Les shakes his head. “You left the first two frames open. You don’t leave that many open in an entire set.”
Mark grimaces, looking down at his left hand, “I took off my ring this morning.”
“Your ring?” then an epiphany strikes Les, knocking the foolish out of him. “Oh, that’s right. It was almost a year ago …” He trails off, not wanting to say it.
“Exactly one year ago today, the police knocked on my door. Their faces gave me shivers. I heard them say I’m sorry before blanking for a while. When I regained consciousness, Jenny was there. The best sister ever helped me through the night. The next morning, she told me of the terrible accident taking my Michelle away.”
“And today is the day to remove your ring,” Les is trying to comfort.
“Jenny told me yesterday it was time because Michelle would insist on it for my happiness.”
Les stares at the empty left ring finger, “It takes a lot of guts to move on.”
“It’s hard to believe one little gold band can affect the spin of a sixteen-pound ball.”
“It explains the two open frames.”
“Yeah, I’ll be alright in a few days after I get used to it not being there,” Mark nods in agreement.
Les places a firm hand on Mark’s shoulder and then stands to start the third frame.
A fine bit of flash fiction. I have bowled and set pins, so I can relate.
When my twin brother lost his college sweetheart to divorce after 18 years. It took him a long time to feel comfortable even dating again. But then, he met a woman that matched him perfectly and they spent just short of 25 years together when she fell to her death right in front of him and her daughter from a 2nd floor balcony and died. Roger did seem to be upset and started dating again right away.
I Made My Boy Out of Poetry is a powerful literary vision of rare scope, beauty and emotional intensity composed of stories and poems that flow in and out of each other like the most lucid and articulate of dreams. These are portraits and studies of
As deafness, illness, and demonic forces close in around him, Ludwig van Beethoven must summon his faith and genius to complete the Missa Solemnis—a sacred masterpiece he believes could bring divine light into a darkening world.
