Theodore Jerome Cohen is the Readers’ Choice in this week’s Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge. The winning entry is decided by the popular vote and rewarded with a special feature here today. (In case of a tie, the writer who submitted an entry first is the winner per our rules.) Without further ado, here’s the winning story:
Magic
by Theodore Jerome Cohen
Truth be told, Stephanie Martelli would have loved to see her husband’s partner, NYPD Homicide Detective Sean O’Keeffe, find a lovely woman and settle down. For now, that didn’t seem to be in the cards. True, Sean never was at a loss for finding women to date. He always showed up at the precinct Christmas parties and other celebrations with a beautiful lady on his arm, but never the same one twice. There was no reason to suspect the woman with whom he had been dancing the previous evening would fare better than Sean’s previous amores.
After Lou, Stephanie’s husband, finished speaking with her on the phone, he dressed, packed and stowed his suitcase in the trunk of their precinct’s Crown Vic, and walked to Sean’s motel room.
O’Keeffe, dripping wet with a bath towel wrapped around his waist, let Martelli in. He had a smile on his face.
“Lou, we had the most fantastic time. What a terrific dancer she is! It was magic. We danced on the terrace and watched the Moon set over the lake, turning the waves near the shore electric blue. If it wasn’t for the fact she had to get up at 5:30, get her daughter to school, and do rounds at the hospital, we would’ve danced all night.”
Lou smiled. “I’m really happy for you, Sean.” What he was thinking was: You’re a goner, Sean. If I were you, I’d see a priest as soon as possible to receive your last rites.
Congratulations, Ted. Another well-deserved victory for you.