Reluctantly, the father of eight enters the operating room.
“What’s taking them so long?” his wife asks the receptionist twenty minutes later.
Suddenly, there is an overhead announcement. “Code yellow! Please conduct a search of your area for a missing patient. Call 9111 for a description.”
Minutes later, the urologist approaches, taps Olivia on the shoulder, and whispers in her ear.
“There has been a delay,” he says. “Once I locate your husband, I’ll complete the procedure.”
That night, Olivia kisses her husband’s cheek. Just cut and tie. How difficult can it be? she thinks to herself and positions the scalpel.
” Just cut and tie. How difficult can it be? ” Indeed. How tough can it be! Worth a giggle and I loved the story.
Thank you for reading my story and commenting. Glad you enjoyed it.
Ouch! No kiss is worth stitches and what did she use for anesthetic?
You’ll have to read my next flash fiction!
Awesome story
I’m stoked that you took the time to read and comment. Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Bad sick puppy! Go to your kennel. Interesting glimpse of the emotion and psychology on both sides here. Can’t help but wonder how a story on FGM would be received, though. I’ve a notion the smiles would be less prevalent.
Had to look up FGM. I can understand you’re reluctancy to the topic. No person should be forced to undergo a procedure they do not want . However, this story comes right on the heels of one of my colleagues tale. Do you know that women have a ridiculously hard time being allowed to undergo tubal ligation or a voluntary hysterectomy? None of my male friends that underwent a vasectomy were asked about the number of children they have or complained they were requested to wait. My female colleague on the other hand, who was declared sterile, and has a complication similar to endometriosis, requested a hysterectomy for medical reasons ( very high pain, extreme bleeding, anemia). She was refused multiple times, told she needs to think about her partner, told she will regret it later, told maybe she will want to have kids later. At the same time, they were telling her time and time again that she cannot have kids. In this story, I can understand the male’s reluctancy to undergo a medical procedure. But I also understand the mother’s frustration with raising a kids. I also understand it is harder for her to get a medical procedure did we allow her to control the number of kids she has, and this is sadly still a problem with our society’s sexism. This is a good time to open up a conversation about the limitations our society still puts on female reproduction. This is sadly hard to address in story limited to 101 words
I apologize for the errors in the previous reply, currently I am relying a lot on speech-to-text translation and I missed a couple of mistakes. Looking forward to the moment my hand will be better again.
Thank you for sharing, Laura. I hope your hand recovers well. I’m stunned by the attitude of the medical people in your area. We simply don’t have that here. I know several women who went through hysterectomies and their GPs and Surgical consultants were nothing but helpful and supportive, the only questions being on whether they gave permission on ovaries being removed, if the procedure developed into one which required it … questions necessary because the balance of hormones in women is so much more complicated and of greater impact than in men. Don’t worry about errors in feedback – they’re not up for review. 🙂 Take care of yourself.
Hello Laura: Thank you kindly for taking the time and making the effort to comment on my flash. Much appreciated. And thank you for sharing your story with the reader.
This flash is not about Female Genital Mutilation–far from it. FGM is a serious topic and this certainly isn’t the place or time to address it. And in my opinion should never be discussed in any flash fiction.
My prose is about a man who is booked for a vasectomy. He is frightened and manages to sneak out of the operating room. (just remember this is fiction). His frustrated wife for some reason or another which I didn’t discuss in this flash, is upset that the procedure has not been completed.
That evening she decides to perform a vasectomy on him. But please remember this flash is only a fiction. 101 words doesn’t allow a writer to go into any details.
Sincerely,
Marjan
It is curious that a writer would shy away from FGM while making fun of botching a vasectomy, which is the other side of the coin. Your response both highlights the reason for my comment, and justifies it.
Hello Perry. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment on my flash fiction. If you feel your comments are justified that is your prerogative.
Best laugh I’ve had in a long time. Fun story- well done.
Thank you Joy for reading my story and taking the time to make a comment. Glad that you enjoyed it.
Funny and dark, I love the combination. Had a friend who went through the procedure, for him three kids were already enough. Poor wife, I can’t even imagine: 8 kids?
Hello Laura: Thank you for your feedback.