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101 Word Short Stories

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Spiced Latte

August 25, 2022 19 Comments

By John Holmes

I hadn’t written too much about myself online. However, minutes into our first meeting, I opened up like a ripped bean bag.

I talked about Mother’s health, the second wife issues, Alan’s problems at school, my attempts to find employment, the debts and the unfortunate fight with the neighbour.

Clare had listened carefully, nodded compassionately, and reached across and placed her hand gently on mine. I felt the warmth of a woman who would always support me. A second meeting was arranged.

I have been sitting here for 30 minutes, sipping at my cold latte and pondering why she might be late.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. David says

    August 25, 2022 at 3:42 am

    Ha, ha. Perfectly done. And I liked “opened up like a ripped bean bag”.

    Reply
    • John Holmes says

      August 25, 2022 at 11:08 am

      He’s certainly ‘bean’ suffering!
      Thanks for the comment.

      Reply
  2. albert Norman katz says

    August 25, 2022 at 7:08 am

    A complete, clever and convincing story painted in so few – beautifully written- words. Great read to start this Thursday. Well done!

    Reply
    • John Holmes says

      August 25, 2022 at 11:09 am

      Happy Thursday. Glad it hit the spot.

      Reply
    • Richard Temple says

      August 31, 2022 at 11:01 am

      Haha perfect

      Reply
  3. Derek says

    August 25, 2022 at 7:15 am

    I like the story and the way it is written. Now let me tell you my problems.

    Reply
    • John Holmes says

      August 25, 2022 at 11:10 am

      I’m all ears.
      Don’t let your coffee go cold.

      Reply
  4. Marcelo Medone says

    August 25, 2022 at 8:03 am

    It feels like a totally true autobiographical story. Well done!

    Reply
    • John Holmes says

      August 25, 2022 at 11:12 am

      Haha. Happily married- never swiped left or right.
      ??

      Reply
  5. Mary A Gorman says

    August 25, 2022 at 8:28 am

    Wonderful and gripping for such a short story. Great written words and I loved the speed of the movement of the concerns. I imagined the human meeting to be that you didn’t take a breath. Really good writing

    Reply
    • John Holmes says

      August 25, 2022 at 11:13 am

      Thanks – I was trying to tell a story where the reader is the only character who has the real facts; and the main guy doesn’t see them at all.

      Reply
  6. Coco says

    August 25, 2022 at 9:00 am

    Great job of leaving the story “unfinished” letting the reader infer what happened.

    Nicely done!

    Reply
    • John Holmes says

      August 25, 2022 at 11:14 am

      Thank you.
      It’s left that way because I don’t know the ending! ?

      Reply
  7. Geja Hadderingh says

    August 25, 2022 at 10:17 am

    I just love this story! Perfectly written in so few words.

    Reply
    • John Holmes says

      August 25, 2022 at 11:15 am

      Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it and were willing to comment.

      Reply
  8. Chetana Vaishnavi says

    August 31, 2022 at 12:04 pm

    More than enjoyed….
    Excellent ?

    Reply
  9. Chetana Vaishnavi says

    August 31, 2022 at 12:04 pm

    More than enjoyed….
    Excellent ?

    Reply
  10. Doug Jacquier says

    September 1, 2022 at 12:00 am

    More like a spiked latter. methinks. Clever.

    Reply
  11. Greta says

    September 3, 2022 at 8:50 pm

    This is really nice.

    Reply

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