“Got a trout for you,” he said brusquely.
He shuffled at the door and coughed.
I took the glistening silver fish from him. “That’s kind.”
The man seemed to be waiting for something. Did he want payment?
“Will you come back this evening and share with me?” I suggested.
“Demasiado pequeno. Too small for both.”
“I’ll make roast tatties, lots of them.”
“Alright, entonces,” he said, almost grudgingly.
There was no telling what was in the man’s mind. Still isn’t, and we’ve been married now these twelve years.
.
Friday fictioneers is a weekly challenge set by Rochelle Wisoff Fields to write a 100-word story in response to a photo prompt. You can find other stories here
Neil MacDonald Author 
He’s interesting – that’s why their relationship’s still going strong. Lovely vivid characters.
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Thanks so much, Jilly
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The ambiguity is wonderful. Although, I have to laugh and say; what a fishy proposal.
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Thanks so much, James
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Querido Neil,
Es un cuento muy interesante. Very interesting story. 😉 There must be something holding the marriage together. How can a girl resist a trout?
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Proferring trouts always worked for me
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Had to laugh at the end. She’ll never figure him out.
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Nope. Not a chance
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She seems happy to continue to be puzzled by him. Much better than boring predictability. I loved the feel of this.
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Thanks so much, Sandra
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I like the way you draw us into the story by having a very prosaic (but agreeable!) character opposite your ‘man of mystery’.
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Well-observed, Penny. You always accurately spot my hand beneath the puppet
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Desmaciado pequeno, yet he still gave it to her! A man worth hanging on to.
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Perhaps it was all he knew how to offer
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Beautiful story, Neil. Love comes in many forms, and not every thought needs to be known to share love.
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Yes. Love may be an inadequate word to capture the variety
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As chat-up lines go, ‘got a trout for you’ is a little unusual but it clearly worked. I wonder….!
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Give it a go
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lol, some people are enigmas, but there must be enough she wants to puzzle out to keep him…
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Sphinxes without secrets
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.. just riddles to solve
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You made
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I did?
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Cute…leaves a lot to wonder about, but it made me smile. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out a spouse but doesn’t mean they’re not loved.
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Thank you, CG
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From now on, no more flowers. I’m only bringing trout.
I get a Hemingway vibe from this. Well done.
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Thanks so much
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Loved the last line – great misdirection there towards suggesting this is courtship, but it’s marriage. One thing I’ve learned about marriage – that you need to throw out the pictures of how it should be.
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I agree
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I bet she’s had some frustrating days in those 12 years though! Good to see true love winning out, trout and all.
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Gotta have the trout
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Well done, Neil. I could almost feel my brain cells trying o predict this one. 🙂
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Thanks so much, Bill
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he coughed? hopefully, it was before the covid onslaught. 🙂
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Oh yes, 12 years before
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If she doesn’t know after 12 years, she likely never will. Keeps things interesting!
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I think you’re right. She’ll never know.
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Keeping the mystery and independence alive isn’t a bad thing when everything else is right in the marriage. And who doesn’t like a trout with roast tatties.
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I think it suits them
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something fishy in the relationship, no?
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Only on days when it’s not sheepish
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Ah, interesting couple, these! It does take all kinds, don’t it? 🙂 Well done!
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Thanks so much
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🙂
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I know that giving gifts is one of the love languages, apparently – just forget how many there’s supposed to be. Not sure about the trout, but it obviously did the trick. A very entertaining story and engaging characters.
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Thanks so much, Margaret
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Awww this is lovely courtship moment. A man of few words.
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Thanks so ,much, Laurie
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Your writing flows so nicely…
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Thank you so much
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I could see this scene playing out in my mind’s eye. Romantic love doesn’t require grand gestures and proclamations of undying love! Witty last line.
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Perhaps romantic love does (which is, after all, a social construct). But love certainly doesn’t. Thanks so much, Magarisa
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Yes, romantic love is indeed a social construct.
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Interesting characters you’ve created here. The grouch and the one who loves him anyway 🙂
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Thanks so much, Linda. I’m not sure he’s a grouch. Perhaps he’s just not very good at expressing his feelings.
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Yes, I think you’re right–you created him, after all 🙂 I would have been better to say he was one who SEEMED like a grouch but clearly he cared about her.
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My creations do tend to wander away and take on characters of their own when they get into other people’s heads
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Aw. Now that is an adorable “meet-cute.” With actual meat. Well told and heartwarming.
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Thanks so much, Anne
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