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The Workshop, by Jim Bartlett

11/6/2021

 
As Kyle rounds the corner of his parents’ house, he sees his dad standing atop a ladder, hanging the pipe chimes they made back when he was, what, ten? He smiles, then, dancing between his mom’s potted plants, continues across the deck, grabbing hold of the ladder to help steady it.

“Well, look what the cat dragged in. Thought you and Maggie were taking the kids out to pizza tonight.”

“Maggs had to work late, and the boys are doing a sleepover at their bud’s house.”

Stepping off the ladder, he chuckles. “So having been abandoned by everyone, you had to settle for your old man’s company?”

Kyle takes in a long breath. “Actually, I need some advice.”

“Shoot.”

“You remember my teens, and maybe my early twenties...”

His dad’s eyebrows raise. “How could I forget?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I guess I wasn’t exactly the best son. Or even a good person.”

His father puts a hand on Kyle’s shoulder. “We all make bad choices now and again. I know I sure did. You turned it around, that’s all that matters.”

“But, for some reason lately it’s all I think about. I know I’m a good dad and husband—“

“And son...”

“Thanks. But I just die when those days steal my thoughts.”

His father nods. “Follow me.”

They cross the deck dropping down to the side entrance of his dad’s massive workshop. As the door is opened, and the lights thrown on, Kyle is taken aback. He’d forgotten how big the shop really was. Standing in the doorway, he can’t help but stare. Tools of every imaginable kind line the walls, while woodworking and metal-shaping machinery fill the floor. There’s an array of winches and lifts for working on cars taking up the middle, and a paint booth to the back. He remembers painting his first car - a Datsun clunker that barely ran. Candy apple red. Though his father said nothing at the time, his face clearly spoke for him.

“Money down the drain.”

They stop at a workbench to the front, a tall shelf just behind filled with the toys and projects they used to make together so long ago. That is, until he became a teen...

His dad motions Kyle closer, then points out into the shop. “Okay, got pretty much every tool known to mankind here, tell me which one you need.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Gotta be something in here that we can use to wrench out those bad memories.”

“Well, no...”

“Right answer. The past is past. Not one thing here, or anywhere else on this good Earth, can change a single minute long gone. It’s all dust in the wind.”

“Kansas.”

“Yup.” Smiling, he pokes Kyle’s forehead, then his chest. “Look here, my wayward son, if you fill your head and heart with yesterdays, you’ll never have a stitch of room for today. Or for that lovely wife and those great boys. Let yesterday go. We kinda like having you around today.”
David
11/6/2021 03:28:32 pm

Touching father and son moment. I love how the character of the father comes alive through his dialogue. Always a treat to read your stories, Jim.

Jim link
11/6/2021 03:45:41 pm

Thanks ever so much David. Appreciate your kind comments!
Take care
Jim

Pamela Kennedy
11/6/2021 03:57:12 pm

Absolutely wonderful!

Jim link
11/6/2021 04:49:17 pm

Thanks, Pamela! So glad you enjoyed it.
Take care
Jim

marjan sierhuis
11/6/2021 05:05:24 pm

I always enjoy your stories, Jim. Especially those that touch the heart and leave a lasting impression.

Jim link
11/6/2021 05:14:09 pm

You are too kind, Marjan. Thanks ever so much.

Take care
Jim

michael McCarthy
11/6/2021 05:16:09 pm

the story is skillfully set and an instantly recognizable bond revealed.
not many words needed or wanted by father or son but the message is clear.

Jim link
11/6/2021 05:56:16 pm

Thanks, Michael. Appreciate your kind thoughts and insights.

Take care
Jim

Angela Carlton
11/6/2021 10:29:47 pm

Great slice of life story! I love the musical references ;)

Jim link
12/6/2021 02:23:40 am

Thanks, Angela. So glad you enjoyed it.
Take care
Jim

Krystyna
12/6/2021 04:59:56 am

What a beautiful story, Jim. So fortunate Kyle has the present to be able to share time with his dad.

Jim link
12/6/2021 05:13:28 am

Thanks so much, Krystyna!
He was indeed fortunate.

Take care
Jim

Sue Clayton
12/6/2021 08:10:57 am

A great moral lesson for all who care to look around this word workshop. Great work, Jim.

Jim link
12/6/2021 03:09:26 pm

Thanks Sue! Much appreciate your kind comment!
Take care
Jim

Sandra James
13/6/2021 05:52:58 am

That is a very, very special story, Jim!
I know someone just like the son. Unfortunately, he's not a fiction reader but I do wish he could hear that message.
Thank you - I really enjoyed it...Sandra :)

Jim link
13/6/2021 03:09:33 pm

Thanks ever so much, Sandra. I think a lot of us carry around a little too much of yesterday in our head or heart. Giving the message is the easy part, following it a little tougher. So very glad you enjoyed it and thanks for the wonderful comment.
Take care
Jim

Mike B
14/6/2021 03:31:02 am

Some things are better left in the past for sure. I enjoyed everything about your story Jim, father and son, big shop, lots of tools, the music references, and of course a Great life lesson. Very heart warming…

Jim link
14/6/2021 04:10:03 am

Thanks so much for the kind words, Mike! It's good to cherish memories that warm our hearts, but too often we let our hearts and minds slip into the fog of regret, when, really, there is not a thing we can do with that past except learn and grow from it...

Take care
Jim

Doug
15/6/2021 04:22:19 am

Good life lesson. Nicely done Jim.

Jim link
15/6/2021 05:02:16 am

Thanks much, Doug. Really appreciate the read and comment!!
Take care
Jim

Padmini Krishnan
19/6/2021 08:44:05 am

Wonder what makes Kyle so ashamed of his teenage. But the most important thing is that he has learnt and moved on. A brilliant story and liked the description of the workshop.

Jim link
19/6/2021 03:41:16 pm

Flash fiction - especially 100 and 500 words stories - is a two-edged sword. On the one side, because of the limited wordage, the reader gets to "fill in the blanks" with their own version of what may have happened. On the other, and maybe (for me) too often, we're left wondering. Why did he or she do that? What might he or she be referring to in the past. Or coming up in the future? But in the end, it's all fun stuff. Thanks for the read and comments, Padmini!
Take care
Jim

Sarah Blum link
21/6/2021 06:28:06 pm

Another great flash fiction Jim. You do great dialogue and this was perfect for Father's Day. I love the wisdom of his dad and his simple way to understand life. I believe he is correct as well.

Jim link
21/6/2021 07:38:23 pm

Thanks ever so much, Sarah. Sometimes giving wisdom is the easy thing, taking it a little harder...
Appreciate your kind words.
Take care
Jim


Comments are closed.

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    Friday Flash Fiction is primarily a site for stories of 100 words or fewer, and our authors are expected to take on that challenge if they possibly can. Most stories of under 150 words can be trimmed and we do not accept submissions of 101-150 words.


    However, in response to demand, the FFF team constructed this forum for significantly longer stories of 151-500 words. Please send submissions for these using the Submissions Page.

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    One little further note. Posting and publishing 500-word stories takes a little time if they need to be formatted, too.
    ​Please note that we tend to post longer flash fiction exactly as we find it – wrong spacing, everything.

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