Daily Flash Fiction Challenge

Jerilyn taps her ruby talons on the granite counter. “I knew this was going to happen!"

“I forgot you were clairvoyant,” says her long-suffering husband.

“Tom, is that necessary, considering the urgency of this catastrophe?”

“Everything is a catastrophe with you!” Tom dashes out of the kitchen. “I’m going to get changed.”

“Go ahead, run from trouble! Leave the problem at my doorstep! You always do!”

“I bought potato salad,” he calls from the hallway. “That could work. No one will ever know what happened.”

“Oh, that will solve everything! NOT.”

Jerilyn, now alone in the kitchen, has some decisions to make. Guests will be arriving in fifteen minutes. Her intention was to show her neighbors what a superb hostess she is. What a disaster!

All-day, obstacles cluttered her path to the perfect dinner party: Tom forgot to buy half the items on her list, making her improvise; Tom tracked mud through the living room as he carried in wood he chopped for the cozy fire Jerilyn envisions; Tom bought the wrong wine; the wine glasses Tom promised to hand wash sit on the counter, water-spotted from the dishwasher.

Jerilyn stands at the oven door staring at the deflated souffle. Moments earlier, Tom thoughtlessly let the kitchen door slam as he carried in the flowers he picked up from the local florist. She dumps the once-elegant souffle into the trash.

The panicked hostess opens the refrigerator, looking for an emergency substitution. The container of potato salad catches her eye.

I’ll scoop it into Grandma Ivy’s crystal serving bowl, sprinkle on smokey paprika and place a parsley sprig in the middle. I’ll swear Tom to secrecy. Desperate times call for drastic measures.

“TOM, GET OUT HERE. I NEED YOU!”

“YES, DEAR. COMING.”