Thank You For Your Time

I wrote this Flash Fiction/Weird Fiction for a submission call that I saw, asking for a piece featuring a villain. I like to think that most villains are not easy to spot, and so I wrote a piece with a perky supernatural “villain” — who exists by stealing time from the living. (I got a very nice rejection letter and will probably craft more pieces to send to them in the future). I hope you enjoy this.

Jenna was a perky blonde twenty-something who moved from a big city back east to a small Texas town after making some life “mistakes” and deciding to start over. She loved her job at the little coffee shop in the center of town. It was a perfect gig. It was always busy, relatively happy and the time seemed to fly by.

She enjoyed her boss, Brenda, her co-workers and her ‘regulars’ — even the folks who were just passing through and stopped in. And they all loved her. In fact it was often remarked upon by customers and her co-workers, that the place just seemed happier with her in it.

Of course, all good things usually come to an end, and one day an elderly gentleman whom no one had seen before came into the coffee shop. Jenna looked up and recognition flashed across her face and he spotted her at the same time.

Jenna flew around the counter, taking the old man by surprise, as she squealed “Grampy!” and grabbing him into a tight hug, she whispered in his ear “please, not here.”

Pulling her arms from around him, he said loudly “Honey, let me look at you” in order to get a look at her name tag.

“Jenna, honey, it has been too long.” he said with a steely glint in his eyes that only she could see. And then added, “You look just like your mother — LeeAnn.”

Her co-workers all beamed at what they thought was a family reunion. Jenna’s boss was approaching as Jenna was saying, “My shift will be over in a couple of hours, where are you staying and I’ll meet up with you after work…”

“Nonsense,” Brenda chimed in, “Y’all must have loads to catch up on. We can handle it here — you go on ahead and visit.”

“That’s very kind of you,” Agent Harris, now known as Grampy, said. “I have travelled a long way to see my granddaughter.”

“You’re sure?” Jenna asked. Brenda nodded, smiling. “Okay, I’ll just get my things.”

“Thank you, Ma’am,” Agent Harris nodded.