One Day Soon

Flash Fiction

One Day Soon

“This doesn’t sound right,” Janice said, holding the part for step three in her hand. “Will you read it and see what you think? Number three…”

Jason picked up the papers and looked up number three. “Attach the homulator to the red end of the fifth disk.” He looked up, “What’s a homulator?”

“I think it has to be this…” she held up a pipe sort of thing. It looked like a brand-new handle, except one for a giant. Ttwo people could easily hold it without even touching one another. “What does a homulator do?”

“I have not idea. I don’t remember ever hearing that name before.”

“Well, lets try it.” he started counting the disks. But there were only twelve.

“Well, that’s probably the problem!” Janice said “Somehow, we got out the wrong pieces. Look in the box and see if you can find something else that could be a homulator. I’ll go make us some coffee.” Jason sighed, but started going through all the things still in the box.

Back at the hardware store, Mr. Lorance yelled over to Fred, “Hey, where did you put that pack of junk we collected yesterday? I need to take it to the back.”

“I left it on the floor at the end of the table.”

“Well, it’s not, here, somebody must have brought it up already. Back to work… and that was pretty smart gathering all that junk into that old box. I’m going to start saving more boxes just for clean-up!”

Fred smiled.

Janice and Jason did not. They eventually gave up trying to put the tool together and just wrapped it in birthday paper for Dad.

Dad still had it, thirty-five years later. And was still determined to put the blasted thing together… “One day soon…”