Apologies for hitting you with two posts in one night, but I simply couldn’t resist either of these two stories.
My second offering comes from Candy Korman, and includes her signature ‘twist’ at the end. I give you ‘Nightwatch’ –
Harriet’s commute was already too long, but the Beltway traffic in and out of the district was turning it into a marathon drive — even when the weather was good. A little rain or, heaven forbid, snow and the hour and ten minute trip grew to two hours plus.
….Yes snow is on the way! We’re expecting anywhere between five and ten inches before the storm passes up the coast. Of course, there’s a chance that it’ll hit a holding pattern and dump even more than ten on Fairfax, Prince William, Stafford and Fauquier counties in Northern Virginia and D.C. …
John shut the sound off on the TV in the conference room.
“You up for staying here tonight?” John was Harriet’s boss. His question wasn’t exactly a question. It wasn’t an order, either. Orders weren’t John’s style, but unless she had a compelling reason to say ‘no’ she knew that saying ‘yes’ was the only option.
“Sure, no problem. I’ll just run out and pick up a few things.”
“I’m sure you can find anything you need in the gift shop — a tooth brush and…”
“John, if I’m stuck here over night I’ll need more than a tooth brush. I’ll need a change of underwear and…”
“Yes, yes… of course. Run out and pick up a pair of pajamas, whatever you’ll need…” John rolled his eyes.
Harriet took a deep breath and then smiled. John was basically a good guy, but that was the fundamental issue in their working relationship. He was a ‘guy,’ a man’s man and had little or no understanding of the more than 50 percent of the hotel’s workforce that was female. With evidence to the contrary, he still thought their business travelers were primarily male and was shocked that the expanded spa was such a success.
You can find the rest of NightWatch at this link :
http://www.candysmonsters.com/nightwatch-a-contemporary-ghost-story/#respond
Goodnight all!
Meeks
Authors' favourite books
NANO 2012
May 19th, 2014 at 12:27 pm
Sounds like this story of Candy’s will suck me in too. They always do 🙂
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May 19th, 2014 at 3:23 pm
Candy’s stories never disappoint in delivering what I don’t expect.
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May 20th, 2014 at 10:12 pm
-giggles- Yes! What a great tag line.
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May 20th, 2014 at 10:11 pm
Mwahahaha! I haz clever friends!
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May 16th, 2014 at 12:45 am
Nightwatch was a great read and I’m truly sorry Candy hasn’t a ‘like’ button or anywhere to compliment her on her skills on the blog page.Even a tweet or Facebook button might be helpful. It’s difficult to let her know how she’s appreciated.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
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May 16th, 2014 at 9:10 am
Are you listening Candy!?! I tried to leave a comment but it wouldn’t let me. 😦
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May 15th, 2014 at 9:09 pm
Thank you so much for sharing NIGHTWATCH. I hope you continue to enjoy the short fiction I’m posting on my Candy’s Monsters blog.
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May 16th, 2014 at 9:06 am
The more I read, the more I realise that your trademark style is ‘subtle with a twist’. Love it, and I’ll keep nagging about that anthology. 😀
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