It all started with a mushroom Shelby noticed
lying on the floor in front of the refrigerator. Must have fallen out as she was putting the groceries away she thought to herself but it puzzled her because the mushrooms she just brought home from the store were inside a blue Styrofoam tray and shrink wrapped. Picking it up she looked enquiringly at the mushroom then opened the fridge to put it back with the other mushrooms. Sure enough there was a vacant space in the container for the mushroom to fit but the packaging had not been disturbed. Now she was even more bewildered because she knew for certain she had not opened the mushrooms and taken one out then re-wrapped the package. This was quite disconcerting. Was Brodie messing with her she wondered, but at the same time she was sure she hadn’t left the kitchen after putting the groceries away, so he couldn’t have slipped in unnoticed to do this little deed.Feeling sort of confused she decided on a cup of tea before determining what to have for lunch. A nice cup of green tea and a relax she felt sure would ease her mind. The TV was showing some sort of cooking show which didn’t grab her attention at the moment so she switched it to Matlock. Sometimes the old shows were a nice distraction. At some point in the next half hour she had decided to heat up a bowl of granny’s homemade broccoli soup. It was so good and with a slice of nice fresh bread and butter, it just hit the spot.
Still feeling a bit apprehensive about the situation she nevertheless decided to plan dinner. They were having guests for the evening meal and she planned to eat around seven. It was now twelve thirty so she had plenty of time. As she entered the kitchen what greeted her gave her a real start……….there on the floor in front of the refrigerator was one mushroom. She couldn’t believe her eyes, knowing full well she had put that mushroom away in the package inside the fridge. Feeling certain now Brodie was trying to have a bit of fun at her expense (even though she hadn’t heard even a hint of sound from the kitchen), Shelby began to plot how to get back at him. That mushroom was going to find its way into Brodie’s own private place.
She smiled, quite proud of her idea; for the time being she would return said mushroom to its rightful place to await opportunity for planting. It was time to start making dinner preparations.
Chopping, grating and mixing were the order of this afternoon as Shelby prepared ingredients for her dinner menu of stuffed peppers, breaded shrimp, bite-sized meatballs, nice fresh salad, baked potatoes along with brussel sprouts steamed then breaded with that special mixture to be finished up in the oven. A nice sauce for the meatballs would touch it all up. Dessert would be chocolate pudding, fresh fruit and whipped cream sprinkled with slivered almonds. Mmmmmm it was going to be so good; she could hardly wait to enjoy this meal with Brodie and their friends. They might watch a movie after dinner or play a game. She was looking forward to the evening.
Preparations had called for chopped mushrooms so Shelby had used all but one of the entire package, leaving the one behind for her own little caper. She smiled again as she thought about how she planned to get Brodie back for playing tricks on her and quickly headed for the bathroom to take care of some other required business.
She could hardly believe what she saw when she returned to the kitchen……..there right where she had found the mushroom before, lay one lone mushroom. She was beginning to get just a little annoyed with Brodie; as is sometimes said ‘a little bit goes a long way’ and she had almost enough of this little game. She picked up the mushroom knowing already that when she opened the fridge she would find the package empty. To the contrary, when she opened up the fridge she was speechless to find the package still containing the one mushroom she had left there for her own game. How had he managed to snaffle another mushroom from the bunch while she was making preparations? She couldn’t figure it out but would play along anyway.
Both mushrooms in hand, empty container in the garbage, Shelby was ready. Brodie must be around somewhere but she was sure she would be able to do this unbeknownst to him. When she found the room empty she quickly went to the drawer and placed the two mushrooms inside the garment lying on top. She arranged things so there were two neat little bumps showing, then quietly closed Brodie’s underwear drawer. With a smile and a ‘there-I-fixed-you smirk’ she returned to the living room to relax for a while before she had to make final dinner preparations.
Curiosity still gripped her as she wondered how he had managed to fool her like that and as a matter of fact she puzzled about just exactly where he was and how he had been avoiding her.
The telephone interrupted her thoughts. She went to answer and found Brodie on the other end of the line. Bewildered she asked “Where the heck are you and what’s going on?” He replied “I got up really early, didn’t want to wake you, went out for a drive and ended up with a flat tire; I had no spare and my phone was dead so I couldn’t call anyone. I have been out here in the country all day because at first I thought I would wait for someone to come by to ask for help. No one came so I had to walk. I walked forever it seemed but finally came to this farm. That’s where I am; just waiting for a tow truck.”
Mouth agape, Shelby dropped the phone………......
To be continued...............
(Writing Prompt - Write Well University April 16, 2011)
