Something a little different today. I signed up to take part in Tony Noland’s Great April Fool’s Day #FridayFlash Blogswap. Tony paired me up with Danielle La Paglia, who has in gracious silence endured my haphazard attempt at keeping to a deadline.
(Oy. Just be thankful you’re not my publisher.)
Danielle and I both wrote a story around the same prompt. I’m posting hers here, and she’s posting my story over on her blog. Tony gave us the following prompt to inspire our stories: “three free tickets to a movie.”
-TimK
Substitute
Sandy fingered the tickets in her coat pocket, sliding their slick backs together as she stared at the house. It had seemed like such a good idea when she’d stopped by the theater two days ago, but the thin slips of paper felt inadequate and meaningless now. What good were three free tickets when they’d lost so much? She thought of putting the car in drive and heading home, but John stepped onto the porch and waived. There was no turning back.
A gust of wind whipped her hair across her face as she stepped from the car. The icy blast beat against her exposed cheeks and sent a flurry of snowflakes into the car before she could slam the door shut. Even the wind knew it was a bad idea.
She ran to the shelter of the porch, hoping to sneak a quick hug from John, a small shot of courage and comfort to push her through. But Maddy shoved the screen door open and ushered her siblings onto the porch. Sorrow hung on them like a heavy cloak, paling their skin, darkening the shadows in their eyes. Even seven-year-old Emily had lost her sparkle. The bright pink smile she used to wear was a soft peach line tugged down at the corners.
Sandy knew she was a poor substitute for the mother they’d lost. She wasn’t trying to replace her. She only hoped to give them a break from the reality that had been forced upon them, even if it was only for a few hours. But seeing their somber expressions, she felt the sting of her mistake. Only time would make it better, not her, not this. She wanted to run, make a hasty retreat and leave them to what was left of their broken family, but John spoke.
“You girls behave and try to have a good time.” He hugged each one in turn then Maddy hustled them down the steps. “Thank you,” he said and squeezed Sandy’s hand. They’d been dating nearly a year and, despite the three-year-old divorce settlement, it was still hard on the girls. Sandy gave a weak smile then jogged to the car.
They rode in near silence to the theater. Each of Sandy’s attempts at conversation were shut down with a one-word answer or a half-hearted nod. Resigned to their silence, she turned on the radio and let the music try to warm the stale atmosphere instead.
As they stepped into the lobby, Emily and Sarah’s faces brightened. At seven and nine, they were amazed at the beauty of the grand theater, pointing to heavy velvet curtains held back with gold ropes and the scrolling wood ornaments decorating the walls. Then they lifted their faces in wonder at the elaborately painted ceiling. The knot in Sandy’s stomach loosened until her eyes met Maddy’s. The fourteen-year-old’s face was set in a cold stare. It took all of Sandy’s strength to stand her ground and force a smile.
An usher finally led them to their seats where they once again sat in silence with only the occasional whisper from the little ones pointing out some new discovery. The house lights eventually dimmed and a hush fell over the audience. The first bars of music filled the room. The curtain rose, and the ballerinas took the stage.
Emily and Sarah were spellbound. Their eyes glued to the dancers—children twirled across the stage, tin soldiers came to life, and a sugar plum fairy enchanted them all. The glow in their eyes raised a lump in Sandy’s throat. She’d done the right thing. And as the saying went, two out of three wasn’t bad.
Emily and Sarah’s giggles and high-pitched chatter filled the car on the ride home, a warm contrast to the start of their journey. When they pulled into the driveway, the wind had died, leaving a peaceful blanket of snow across the yard and roof top. The younger girls clutched their shiny red nutcrackers and hugged Sandy goodbye. Again Maddy ushered them through the door as John and Sandy stood on the porch.
“Thank you for this. Their smiles…” His voice cracked; tears glistened in his eyes.
“You’re welcome.” He kissed her cheek then followed the girls inside. She was almost to the car when the screen door slammed behind her. She spun to find Maddy jogging down the steps.
“Sandy?” Her face was softer, her eyes wider, more innocent somehow.
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.” Maddy gave a soft smile then ran back into the house.
Sandy stood beside her car letting the words of a child warm her. Today wasn’t a substitute, but it had been a welcome reprieve, and that was more than enough for her.

After study a few of the weblog posts on your web site now, and I really like your approach of blogging. I bookmarked it to my bookmark website listing and will probably be checking back soon. Pls take a look at my site as effectively and let me know what you think.
Hi! I just wanted to ask if you ever have any trouble with hackers? My last blog (wordpress) was hacked and I ended up losing a few months of hard work due to no back up. Do you have any solutions to protect against hackers?
Write more, thats all I have to say. Literally, it seems as though you relied on the video to make your point. You clearly know what youre talking about, why throw away your intelligence on just posting videos to your blog when you could be giving us something informative to read?
Quietly enjoying that I have found a new site to follow for the topic, and a look at forwardthinkingactivated reinforced the small pleasure of the find, the discovery of new high quality sources is one of the more durable pleasures of careful internet reading and this site has been generating that discovery pleasure at multiple points already today.
Reading this confirmed a small detail I had been uncertain about, and a stop at growthfollowsmovement provided the source for further checking, content that supports verification through citations or links rather than just asserting facts is more trustworthy and this site has clearly built its credibility through that kind of verifiable approach consistently.
Hello my family member! I wish to say that this post is awesome, nice written and include approximately all significant infos. I?d like to look extra posts like this .
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wished to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I?ll be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again soon!
F*ckin? awesome issues here. I am very glad to peer your article. Thank you so much and i’m looking forward to contact you. Will you kindly drop me a e-mail?
Thanks for not padding this with the usual filler intros and outros that every other blog seems to require, and a quick visit to pathwaytoaction continued that lean approach across more posts, content stripped of waste is content that respects you and I will always come back to that kind of approach.
Appreciate this post. Let me try it out.
Всем привет. Близкий человек уже 5 дней в запое. Дети всего боятся. Скорая помощь просто разводит руками. В итоге, единственные кто быстро приехал и помог — срочное выведение из запоя капельницей. Приехали через 30 минут. В общем, телефон и расценки тут — вывод из запоя недорого вывод из запоя недорого Каждый час усугубляет состояние. Отправьте тем, кто рядом с бедой.
Всем привет. Отец окончательно ушёл в штопор. Врачи на дом — временное решение. Государственная наркология — страшно и стыдно. Короче, единственное, что реально сработало — вывод из запоя в стационаре круглосуточно. Выписали без симптомов ломки. В общем, не потеряйте контакты — наркология вывод из запоя в стационаре наркология вывод из запоя в стационаре Звоните прямо сейчас. Перешлите тем, кто в отчаянии.
Worth recommending broadly to anyone who reads on the topic, and a look at directionovereffort only confirms that, the rare combination of accessibility and depth in this site makes it suitable for both newcomers and people who already know the area which is hard to pull off in any blog format today and rarely managed.
Здорова, Питер. Близкий человек снова сорвался в пьянку. Дети боятся оставаться дома. Платная клиника — деньги на ветер. Итог, единственные, кто приехал без лишних вопросов — недорогой вывод из запоя в Санкт-Петербурге. Врач поставил систему сразу. В общем, жмите, чтобы сохранить — вывод из запоя недорого нарколог24 https://vyvod-iz-zapoya-na-domu-sankt-peterburg-xyt.ru Не тяните время. Киньте ссылку нуждающимся.
I appreciate, cause I found exactly what I was looking for. You’ve ended my four day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
esport bookmaker Betting
If you are going for finest contents like myself, just pay a quick visit this site all the time as it presents feature contents, thanks
Here is my blog post … computer recycling berkshire
finasteride online pharmacy india https://pharmacologymaximum.com/library/tizanidine/ overseas online pharmacy
online casino ohne oasis bitcoin
Here is my web blog; roulette neosurf auszahlung
(Wilda)
Started reading skeptically because the headline seemed overconfident, and the post earned the headline by the end, and a look at executeplansnow continued that pattern of earning its claims, sites that can back up their headlines without overpromising are rare and this one has clearly developed editorial calibration on that front consistently.
Usually I don’t learn article on blogs, but I wish to say that this write-up very forced me to try and do it! Your writing style has been amazed me. Thanks, very nice article.
The tone used throughout this post works very well because it stays thoughtful, informative, and relaxed at the same time, which creates a much more pleasant atmosphere for readers who want to participate in the discussion.
malaletka porno
Доброго дня. Мой отец уже четвёртый день в запое. Дети плачут по ночам. Платная клиника просит бешеные деньги. Короче, выручила эта служба — вывод из запоя на дому срочно. Через пару часов человек задышал ровно. В общем, сохраните себе — вывод из запоя на дому цена вывод из запоя на дому цена Звоните прямо сейчас. Киньте ссылку нуждающимся.