In A Heartbeat

A Flash Fiction Story - A Twist In The Tale

In A Heart Beat

Hello my name is Michael, I run a bed and breakfast from my home in the country.
Running a B & B is hard work; people seem to think that we lounge around enjoying the ambience as much as the guests. Let me tell you, cooking, changing linen, dusting and vacuuming does not leave me much time to enjoy the effect I have created at The Loft.

Never the less, I do enjoy working for myself and I meet many interesting people. Some of them are famous too. They come looking for a quiet, clandestine setting and my cottage, situated in the hills of Victoria provides them with the privacy they seek.

Not everyone who comes has a good time though and while every endeavour is made to ensure guests are relaxed and comfortable, occasionally I have the unpleasant task of asking guests to leave. Yes, that’s right! I’ve had fighting married couples who were disturbing the peace and for the sake of the other guests, I’ve had to throw them out in the middle of the night. Luckily that doesn’t happen very often.

Tonight I have two couples staying and everything is going well. The beginnings of a glorious summer are already evident in the late sunset and warm breeze fanning alluring fragrances in from the gardens.

The phone rings: I pick up the receiver and announce myself. In a state of shock I take notes, a phone number, muttering inadequate condolences.

Two of my guests will be leaving in a few minutes, their idyll shattered. Indeed, their whole world. I have the grim duty of telling them that their only son has just been killed in a car accident. In anguish I wonder ...Where do I begin ?


290 words