The Chase Begins

A family learns where their hearts truly lay

"What does everyone want to do tonight when— "

"Chase the bitch!" The answer was immediate and enthusiastic. In the Ericsson household, the game of Hearts had become an obsession.

=-----=-----=

A couple of weeks before, my eldest daughter, Emily, came moping down the steps into the living room where I was watching one of Gordon Ramsay's many shows. "Dad, the computer doesn't work," she whined. "I'm supposed to game with Marie and everybody in ten minutes!"

"Well— " Before I could finish, my son Darin came in looking down at his phone.

"Dad! The wi-fi's down. I was playing Fortnite with Jeremy and it just— " He shook the phone in frustration.

"Alright, guys. Chill out." I went to the wireless router in the kitchen and saw the red light was flashing. "I'll call HiConnect tomorrow."

They both began to whine and complain. When our TV stopped working when I was nine, my brother and I were similarly distressed. Instead of getting irritated with us, however, my father had gotten out a deck of cards. Now, I decided to do the same. I looked at Emily. "Go get your sister. I'm gonna teach you all how to 'chase the bitch!'"

Soon all four of us sat around the small dining room table, and I taught them the deceptively simple rules of Hearts. Just like I was as a kid, they were hooked within minutes, and that first night we played for two hours, hunting and dodging the queen of spades, laughing like lunatics.

We've been playing every night for two weeks now, after the evening homework is done. The computer is working just fine; so is the wi-fi. But there's only one game happening in our house now, and we all get to play it together.

Thanks, Dad.

NOTES: ▶︎

Word Count: 299
Submitted for "Daily Flash Fiction Challenge" 
Prompt: Use the phrase "The computer doesn't work"