Surprise Party
By Dan Marvin
“Emily” said the man in the trench-coat as he stepped out from behind the car next to mine. Immediately I was all too aware of the inadequate lighting in the parking garage and the distance back to the door to the clinic. I wracked my brain trying to place him and eventually it came to me.
“Mr. Harrison?” I asked, trying to keep it professional.
“Yes Emily, it’s me, Mike! I’ve been thinking about everything you told me and it finally fell into place for me.” While he talked, he edged around to cut off my route back to the building. It had been over a year since I treated Mike Harrison and I hadn’t missed him to be honest. He was always a little too close to the edge for me, even medicated. He didn’t look like he had kept up with his meds either, his face was flushed and his eyes darted this way and that.
“What fell into place for you, Mr. Harrison?” I asked, trying to keep him talking.
“You, me, us… you said that I needed to find someone that cared about me for me. You were talking about yourself the whole time, weren’t you? It took me so long to figure it out. You always got me, you always understood. And now, we never have to be apart again. I’ve planned the whole thing Emily. I have a surprise party waiting for you.”
My mind spun as I tried to decide the best way to handle this situation. My clinical training hadn’t prepared me for this. “Mr. Harrison… Mike… I’m flattered that you think of me like that. You’re right, I did say that, but I wasn’t talking about me. I don’t want a surprise party, I don’t like surprises.” As I talked, I interlaced my keys between my fingers.
“Yes you were Emily. You meant that we should be together forever. I get it now.” He stepped closer to me and the look on his face told me everything I needed to know about his state of mind.
With a slash of the keys I raked his face and simultaneously drove my knee into his crotch. With a howl of pain he collapsed to the pavement. I jumped over him and ran for the safety of the building. I pulled the door shut behind me and fumbled for my phone to call 911. Before I hit the dial button, I had a better idea. I put away the phone and went back to my office. I could hear him hammering on the security door behind me, but without a key card he couldn’t get in.
I flipped through the contact information I had on Mike Harrison and wrote down the address. I had the security guard walk me to my car and I drove away with my mind racing. I needed a taser and some duct tape, I guess a trip to the military supply store was in order. I had a surprise party to plan.
- - -
Dan Marvin has been writing flash fiction for over 30 years and has been published in numerous ezines. His collection of micro-novels (his name for flash fiction) is called Briefs for the Reading Room and a follow up is in the works.
By Dan Marvin
“Emily” said the man in the trench-coat as he stepped out from behind the car next to mine. Immediately I was all too aware of the inadequate lighting in the parking garage and the distance back to the door to the clinic. I wracked my brain trying to place him and eventually it came to me.
“Mr. Harrison?” I asked, trying to keep it professional.
“Yes Emily, it’s me, Mike! I’ve been thinking about everything you told me and it finally fell into place for me.” While he talked, he edged around to cut off my route back to the building. It had been over a year since I treated Mike Harrison and I hadn’t missed him to be honest. He was always a little too close to the edge for me, even medicated. He didn’t look like he had kept up with his meds either, his face was flushed and his eyes darted this way and that.
“What fell into place for you, Mr. Harrison?” I asked, trying to keep him talking.
“You, me, us… you said that I needed to find someone that cared about me for me. You were talking about yourself the whole time, weren’t you? It took me so long to figure it out. You always got me, you always understood. And now, we never have to be apart again. I’ve planned the whole thing Emily. I have a surprise party waiting for you.”
My mind spun as I tried to decide the best way to handle this situation. My clinical training hadn’t prepared me for this. “Mr. Harrison… Mike… I’m flattered that you think of me like that. You’re right, I did say that, but I wasn’t talking about me. I don’t want a surprise party, I don’t like surprises.” As I talked, I interlaced my keys between my fingers.
“Yes you were Emily. You meant that we should be together forever. I get it now.” He stepped closer to me and the look on his face told me everything I needed to know about his state of mind.
With a slash of the keys I raked his face and simultaneously drove my knee into his crotch. With a howl of pain he collapsed to the pavement. I jumped over him and ran for the safety of the building. I pulled the door shut behind me and fumbled for my phone to call 911. Before I hit the dial button, I had a better idea. I put away the phone and went back to my office. I could hear him hammering on the security door behind me, but without a key card he couldn’t get in.
I flipped through the contact information I had on Mike Harrison and wrote down the address. I had the security guard walk me to my car and I drove away with my mind racing. I needed a taser and some duct tape, I guess a trip to the military supply store was in order. I had a surprise party to plan.
- - -
Dan Marvin has been writing flash fiction for over 30 years and has been published in numerous ezines. His collection of micro-novels (his name for flash fiction) is called Briefs for the Reading Room and a follow up is in the works.
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