One website that I visit on almost a daily basis is www.absolutewrite.com. It contains a wealth of information that has helped me to grow as a writer. Every Sunday, I participate in the writing exercise known as Flash Fiction. We are given a prompt and have 90 minutes to write, revise and edit a short fiction story. This past Sunday, the prompt was "procrastination." Here is what I came up with. Hope you enjoy it.
I hate going to the DMV to get my license plates renewed. Now, I don't know anyone who actually loves it but I truly, truly, from the depths of my soul, hate it. There are a plethora of reasons why but the main reason I hate it is the long wait in line which usually lasts anywhere from one to two hours: one to two hours of my life that I'll never get back.
Well, this afternoon I finally went. It should have been six months ago but of course, like everything else in my life, I procrastinated. Don't judge me. You do it too and you know it. Well anyway, I got into my car and made the trek across town to the happiest place on earth. You thought it was Disney, didn't you? I should have known it would be a stellar day when I saw the line stretching out of the door and down the sidewalk. I took my place in line behind a woman and what looked like a little boy who was no more than four years old at most. He was stuffing his face with a hot dog. I thought not a bad idea kid. We'll probably need nourishment since we'll most likely be here for five or six HOURS standing in line. His mother looked down at him and yelled. "Stop eating that thing so fast! You'll make yourself sick." I instinctively took a step back only to step on some poor guy's feet. "Sorry," I muttered and looked into the deepest blue eyes I think I've ever seen.
"Oh, don't worry about it. It could happen to anyone." He was smiling. I didn't know why anyone would actually have a smile on their face in this line but I figured the heat of the day was already getting to him and he'd started to lose his mind. He looked at me. "So, you here to get your tags renewed?"
I rolled my eyes. "No. I thought I was in a line for free bags of cash. This isn't it?"
He laughed. He actually laughed at my stupid, on the spot, pull it out of my ass joke. He's got to be mental or something. He continued. "That's what I'm here for too. It's not due for another month but I figured that there was no time like the present. Why procrastinate, right?" Yep. He's mental alright.
I shrugged my shoulders. "Sure." I turned around to look at the toddler and his mother once more. The kid had a sippy cup of kool aid now that was dripping down his cheeks and sticking all over his shirt, his hands and everything else. Figuring that the cute mental case behind me might be a better chance of finding some intelligent conversation, I turned around. "I hate standing in line. Don't you?"
He tilted his head to one side. "No. Not really. I usually get to have a conversation with someone new. It's not the worst way I can think of to pass an afternoon."
I was caught by surprise. "That was a really nice answer. I hate standing in line. I actually put this off for six whole months so I wouldn't have to stand in line."
"Well, you're here now. Why don't we make the best of it?" Over the next hour we talked about everything under the sun: our jobs, our favorite music, our families, everything. Before I knew it, we were inside and there was only the mother and her little boy in front of me.
"Wow. We're at the front of the line already. Thanks for the conversation."
He smiled at me. "You're welcome. Hey, do you think I could ask you something?" He started running his fingers through his hair.
Before he could say anything, I felt this tugging on my hand. The hand was sticky. I looked down and saw the toddler I hadn't given a second thought to for the last hour. I was in such a good mood, I bent down to ask, "Hi sweetie. Are you okay?"
His eyes rolled back in his head as he swayed unsteadily on his feet. "Lady, my mom's up there." He motioned to the counter. "I think I'm gonna be sick." He spewed the hot dog, the kool aid, and whatever else he had managed to stuff into his face all over my clothes. His mother ran over, issued a hasty apology and dragged him out the door. I was absolutely humiliated. I couldn't even look back at my new friend. I made my way to the counter, paid for my tags and headed out the door without a look back.
As I fiddled with my keys, I knew, I absolutely knew, that if I procrastinated just one more day I could have avoided all of this. I turned the key in the lock and was about to sit down in my front seat when I heard someone call out, "Hey! Wait!" I looked up and saw blue eyes walking towards me. When he got in the car, he said, "Hey. I'm sorry about what happened." Then reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a business card and handed it to me. "I know you must be in a hurry to get home and get cleaned up. Give me a call some time. Maybe we can have a cup of coffee or get something to eat or take in a movie or something?"
I nodded my head and said, "Sure. I'd like that." I sat down on the front seat and as I watched him walk away towards his car, I had three thoughts: Number One: He must truly be mental to want to have anything to do with me, covered in toddler spew. Number Two: I don't hate the DMV anymore and Number Three: I knew, I absolutely knew, that if I had procrastinated just one more day, I would have missed all of this.
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