“Well, I’m so glad you could grace us with your presence,” said my supervisor when I walked into the office ten minutes late my first day on the job.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Fullerton, but my son couldn’t find his homework, and…”
Cutting me off with an exasperated wave, she said, “I expect my employees to be punctual, understand?”
Not wanting to lose this job the way I’d lost the last one, I nodded and walked into the cubicle I’d been assigned.
Mrs. Fullerton probably never had any kids of her own, I thought, sitting at my desk and turning on my computer.
As if reading my thoughts, the older woman appeared in the doorway, her face softening, and said, “I’ve had children, and I know how hard motherhood can be, but they need to learn who’s the boss.”
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Thanks to Girlie on the Edge’s six-sentence story prompt for inspiring the above work of fiction. If you’d like to participate, click here.
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By the way, for those of you who use the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled, The Red Dress is available for download from their site here. No matter how you read it, please be sure to review it wherever you can. That goes for all my books. Thank you for stopping by. Stay safe, happy, and healthy.
New! The Red Dress
Copyright July 2019 by DLD Books
When Eve went to her high school senior prom, she wore a red dress that her mother had made for her. That night, after dancing with the boy of her dreams, she caught him in the act with her best friend. Months later, Eve, a freshman in college, is bullied into giving the dress to her roommate. After her mother finds out, their relationship is never the same again.
Twenty-five years later, Eve, a bestselling author, is happily married with three children. Although her mother suffers from dementia, she still remembers, and Eve still harbors the guilt for giving the dress away. When she receives a Facebook friend request from her old college roommate and an invitation to her twenty-five-year high school class reunion, then meets her former best friend by chance, she must confront the past in order to face the future.
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My Corner 
Nice one!
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Thank you.
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Splendid, Abbie. That last phrase really sums up that harridan of a boss!
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Thank you. I appreciate your comment.
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Very nice.
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Thank you.
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Good point. The kids need to learn who’s the boss.
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I’m glad you agree. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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Well told!
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Thank you.
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That was nice her boss had some compassion and wisdom to share 🙂
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Well, that’s one way of looking at it. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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‘ewww’ Nice work creating an engaging character. I don’t like this Mrs. Fullerton at all and we’re only six sentences into the story! lol
Good Six
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Thank you. Yeah, that’s the idea. You’re not supposed to like the boss. I appreciate your comment.
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I think I’ll be perverse and sympathise with the boss.
Can’t have everyone wandering in when it suits them, can we…
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You’re absolutely right. This mother needs to learn to put her foot down. Unfortunately, children nowadays aren’t expected to take responsibility the way we were when I was growing up. Hence, my last sentence. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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Oooph, I feel for the narrator. Such a tough position to be in.
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I know what you mean. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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Not the best way to start the day. I’m guessing there was a little discussion at home that night.
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I would hope so but probably not. I don’t think today’s parents raise their children the way I was raised. If I’d lost my homework, no doubt my mother would have said, “Well, I guess you just won’t turn it in. I don’t have time to look for it.” That would have taught me to take responsibility and not take my mother for granted. Thank you for reading and commenting.
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Nice story. I like that Mrs. Fullerton turned out to have a little compassion at the end and was able to recognize the narrator’s dilemma, but her inability to look at the narrator as an individual with individual problems keeps her ‘love to hate’ rating high.
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Thank you. I appreciate your comment.
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