Hello Flash Friday!
That’s right, today is the happy
happy day! Can I get a T.G.I.F.?
I’m here with the talented Mr.Brazil and we are ready and oh-so-willing to flash for you again… Why?
Because we love showing our goodies.
So Lee made the rules quite easy
for me (especially since following rules is not on my resume lmao) The flashes
are to be 500 words, not 501...not 499 - 500 hits the mark.
Enough idle chatter? Well if you
say so...but I personally say I never can get enough...*smirks*
Here is the wonderful picture chosen
by yours truly for our flash today. :)
The Most Valuable
Commodity
copyright
© May 2015 Havan Fellows
The sand was crystalized grains of
lava beneath Chad’s feet.
“I hate the beach.” He boldly
proclaimed.
Aaron gingerly hopped over
numerous shells to stop in front of a small, delicate looking conch. “Oh my
god, look. It’s perfect.” He smiled, holding the find up between his fingers.
“It’s absolutely impeccable. Now
can we go back to our lounge chairs and save my feet?”
“Impeccable? That’s the lawyer in
you.” Aaron laughed as he juggled the shells he’d found on their short stroll
down Sanibel Island beach. “You promised to relax this vacation, unlike our
trip to Napa Valley when Lexi emailed you those depositions.”
While Aaron ribbed Chad, they
headed back to their reserved gazebo on the hotel’s private beach.
Chad draped his arm over Aaron’s
shoulder. “Well, now that the firm approved the three extra attorneys in my
department they’ve guaranteed me uninterrupted vacations.”
“Ha!” Aaron laughed. “We’ll see.”
He lowered his voice before addressing Chad again, “Are you disappointed I
wanted to go to Florida? I know you had your heart set on somewhere a little
more exotic, but I heard about all the great shelling here.”
They reached the gazebo and Chad
fell back on a chaise lounge. His flip-flops—the ones he forgot to put
on—taunted him from the corner of the shaded area.
“What’s there to be disappointed
about? I’m alone with you”—he flicked one of the shells in his lover’s hand and
it tumbled to the sand—“well you and a few thousand shells. You know, pictures
of them would be easier to take back home.”
Aaron snorted. “You can’t get the
true feel of a vacation from pictures…it’s your memories that stay with you
long after the picture fades. Anyway, I wanted to try something new at the
gallery, an exhibit centered on art made from natural materials, hence the
shells.” Aaron’s face lit up as it always did. “These, though”—he picked up a
handful of daintier shells, including the conch he risked blistered feet
for—“are for something far more important.”
Chad leaned over and kissed Aaron
soundly on his desirable lips. “Oh really? What are those for?”
“These are to prove to you that
memories are the most valuable commodity in life.”
***
Thirty-nine
years later
“Uncle Chad, Uncle Aaron wouldn’t
want you out here on the porch alone. He’d yell at you and order you to get
your ass back inside and celebrate his life, not mourn his death.”
Chad looked at Brian, his
sister-in-law’s eldest son. It seemed like just yesterday he’d passed the bar
and Aaron threw him a party for getting hired at Chad’s firm.
“I’m not mourning his death…” Chad
smiled softly, spinning the gold band around his left ring finger. “I’m just
enjoying my memories.”
The chimes hanging between them
fluttered in the breeze, a miniature conch shell the center of the decorative
artwork, tinkling together to create the most perfect and delicate sound Chad
ever heard…except for maybe Aaron’s laugh.
*****************************************
When I wrote
this a friend stated how sad it was…and I was honestly taken back by that
reaction. I hadn’t intended to write a sad flash…but a celebration of a
lifetime of love between two people that were not only able to find each other
in this mess of a world but make their lives better for it.
I’d love
for you to leave a comment letting me know how you interpreted this flash. :)
Don’t
forget to hop on over to Lee Brazil’s blog and partake
of his goodies also…I know for a fact they are marvelous! <3
Such a sweet, sad post. <3 Great work Havan :)
ReplyDelete