Eithne remembers the evening he proposed on the beach – the sun a blaze of orange between sky and sea – and how he’d promised fireworks. She now stands rubber-gloved at the kitchen sink, wrist-deep in scalding water, ankles tingling after a 12-hour shift. Outside the window, the souped-up lawnmower passes by at speed. She hadn’t programmed it for today. Between palpitations, she rips off the gloves to phone her daughter. After six rings, it goes to voicemail. Soon Eddie will return, reeking of whiskey, leather jacket unzipped. ‘I’ll set that shagging thing alight,’ he’ll roar. He’d bought it for her birthday, but she couldn’t manage it – couldn’t cajole it, or say she didn’t mean it, or promise it would never happen again.
Prompt #17 involved choosing five words from a FlashFlood story.
Source text: 'The Real Sound of Music, Hillview Rest Home, August 1992' by Kate Axeford
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