Flash Fiction Frenzy

Not a Thing

As Richard James sat there on the porch stairs with his father in law, it became ever so evident that he would never be an accepted member of the family. He had been called a bad influence, a disgrace, a tragedy and many more names that he felt to be unfitting to describe him, but right at home out of the mouth of this gray man with no sense of humor.

"I want you out of her life, Richard," he complained with a serious face. The wrinkles on his forehead were almost a permanent feature.

"Let me think about that," Richard scratched his chin. He moved his hands in a partial circular motion, as if rubbing a crystal ball. "I don't see that in her future."

"She's too good for you," he spat, "you'll only hold her back."

"She'll do as she likes and I'll do the same." Richard got up and placed a hand on the polished white doorknob. "I bet Allison would love to hear about how much you love me when she gets home," he smiled. The old man could see that the damned hooligan thought it all a joke.

As they eyed each other, a light blue car pulled up the driveway, and the beautiful Allison stepped out of the vehicle. Her golden curls sparkled in the sunlight, and both men watched as she smoothed out her floral dress. She spotted Richard and beamed, revealing perfect white teeth.

"There she is now," Richard raced down the steps to embrace her.

"What's going on?" She questioned, noting her father's expression in the background. Richard's smile never faded.

"Your dad was just telling me what I meant to him."

"I hate you, you son of a bitch!" he growled. Allison stepped between the two.

"Daddy, it's okay!" she assured him, "Richard would never let anything bad happen to me."

"Not a thing!" Richard chimed in. At that moment, a black van rolled past on the street behind the couple, and a dark figure stuck a hand out the window, a hand gripping a shiny gun.

"Die, you old bastard!" The man in the van called out.

All in an instant, a loud BOOM! Took over the space, leaving Richard momentarily confused and the old man still as a statue in his place, as Allison fell to the ground in a thick, red puddle that continued to slowly grow. The van was gone as quickly as it had come, the passenger never realizing his mistake. In the distance, the sound of an ambulance was faint.

Richard, feeling the gravity of the situation, held his fading wife and said the first completely serious thing he'd ever said to his father in law.

"Why?" he whispered. "Why would someone want to kill you?"

The old man sighed and draped a hand across his shoulder. "It's time you knew, Richard," he said. "Her name is not Allison, and I'm not her father."