Maureen MacLennan

“Lifetime Lumbering” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #242

Lifetime Lumbering Up until this visit to Italy Bridget, had avoided museums like the plague. She’d been one of those clumsy kids, all arms and legs in the wrong place, and things seemed to throw themselves on the floor when they saw her coming. She always imagined that the vases considered suicide a much preferable option than being accidentally elbowed by an eight-year-old. Now, twenty years later, she was on her honeymoon with Richard and about to enter the doors of a gallery in Venice. So, it was up to her husband to keep her close and t...

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“A Park Bench” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #238

  A Park Bench The splashing and delighted squeals of children came from the pool a few hundred yards away and I hoped it wouldn’t intrude on my conversation. I glanced around again, she was running late and that wasn’t like her, always prompt to the second. I smiled at the memory of her meeting me outside the restaurant on our first date, she’d shown me her watch that read 6:59, and our date was for 7:00. We’d laughed and gone in to eat, that was three years ago now and she’d never failed to be on tim...

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“Jackal Snow” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #227

Jackal Snow The violence of the night before rang in her ears and her cheeks still stung with his smacks. Although Casey managed a few hours of sleep between the violence and the morning light, the physical reminders woke her. Pushing herself up from the wrinkled and reeking sheets she pledged to burn them later, there was a lot to do first, her days were always busy. She turned her head, noticing that the light coming through the dark red curtains seemed brighter than normal for the beginning of December. She dragged yesterday's jeans ov...

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“Shadows” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #157

Shadows The game show-like voice came through the speakers above her head, it was announcing ongoing sales in the supermarket but the enthusiasm was out of place and out of time. She was already in the lineup so the price of local carrots was a moot point now. There were only two other people in the queue before her so she knew it wouldn’t be much longer but the day had already been long and she was tired. The till next to hers had five wilting humans waiting, likely due to the young girl doing the bagging, she was new and hadn’t realize...

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“The Yellow Box” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #128

                                        The Yellow Box The security lights were on at the elementary school across the street so I could make out the windows of the classrooms on the east side of the building. I remembered the floor plan inside as I’d spent my childhood there what seemed tonight like a hundred years ago.  This was the um...

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“Item #1” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #126

Item #1 He’s been thinking about it for months now, just quitting. It shouldn’t be hard and truth told it would be harder on everyone if he kept going. Sitting back in his recliner with a pad of paper and pen he decided to write down his resolutions for the next year. His mother had trained him in this habit decades ago. It didn’t always work, planning and promising activities, or in this case the cessation of activities. He could quite literally dig out resolution lists from years gone by. He kept them to remind himself of how far he’d f...

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“3:23” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #125

3:23 Emerging from what was the best sleep in awhile, I heard the voice of the radio host. I’d been listening to the regular guy for years and we’d gone through a lot together. He was off this week so I let the dulcet tones of his replacement bring me to ‘awake’ mode. I flipped over onto my back and waited for her to announce the time. I’d plugged my cell to charge downstairs last night and this station usually told us the time about twenty times an hour. Turning my head to the window on my right, I could see it was light out, given that ...

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“Manitoba Mother” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #125

Manitoba Mother He was really late and it rankled him, aside from the time he entered the world a month later than his mom’s due date, he was literally early for everything. Today was not an ideal time to break that pattern. Emerging from the parking lot he adjusted his over-stuffed backpack, donned his mask, folded the parking permit into the back pocket of his jeans and sprinted over to the international gate entrance of the airport. The din enveloped him as soon as he strode through the door, the blend of languages and P.A. announcemen...

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“A Mere Snippet of a Life” by Maureen MacLennan

A Mere Snippet of a Life. Social work and people were pretty much what she was for years. ‘She helped others’ will most likely be written on her tombstone. From the time she was young adults told her she should be a nurse and she considered it, really she did, but the simple fact was she didn’t have the sciences. She liked to tell herself she didn’t have a mind for maths and sciences, truth was though she didn’t try those courses in high school.   She eventually went to college in a different town and took some social work courses a...

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“When The Lights Came Up” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #123

Some sex, hints of violence. When The Lights Came Up All he could think was that the costume smelled musty with undertones of sweat, and that led to wondering how many people had worn it over the years. The theater group had been running for over fifty years, he’d heard that from the stage manager just last week. The mind boggles he sneered inwardly. It hadn’t been his idea, this ridiculous production. Hell, it wasn’t really his idea to act to begin with, that was all Maggie’s fault, everything that was happening to hi...

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“Bottleneck” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #122

Bottleneck They were in the middle of an argument; it was the kind you had as a married couple with a young child. You didn’t say anything frightening within earshot, and you adjusted your tone and volume but kept the words. They’d been doing it for well over a week now and she was exhausted. “Mommy when are we getting to the mall? How’s Santa going to know what I want?” Her son was squirming in his child safety seat and she didn’t blame him. Traffic had ground to a complete halt ten minutes before. She turned to look into his big brown eye...

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“Raising Brady” by Maureen MacLennan

Raising Brady                “Thanks a lot Brady, how would I ever get through the day without you?” He peered up at his aunt through a thick black fringe, his green eyes glowed with pleasure from the unexpected praise. At twelve years old he was wary of adults. It wasn’t his fault, like any child, rich or poor, he was a product of his upbringing. Nobody that received fluctuating abuse and inattention would believe a compliment wasn’t given sarcastically. She found...

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“A Date with an Irishman” by Maureen MacLennan

Some swearing, suggestion of an extra-marital relationship. A Date with an Irishman “Listen, I don’t want to have to go to your husband with this. He’ll be devastated and it would pain me to be the one that tells him. Maybe we could come to some sort of agreement?” Her eyebrows were raised in question and as thin as they were had almost disappeared under dyed blonde bangs. My knees were trembling a bit, so I sat down on the burgundy leather banquet seat. I couldn’t believe this was happening, how had anyone eve...

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“Lessons Learned” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #119

                               Lessons Learned A sunny November afternoon found me sitting on a brick bench that encircled a fountain on university grounds; I was starving and realized I couldn’t have concentrated on the psychology lecture I was meant to be in, there was too much running through my mind as it was. I was looking through my insulated bag for something edible when I overhea...

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“The Sound of Desolation” by Maureen MacLennan

Submitted to Contest #115

The Sound of Desolation   The sunsets were absolutely amazing here, everyone said it even those that weren’t tourists. Oh, to have tourists again! It had been two long years since the world stopped coming to Powell River. All the local restaurants had closed their doors in response so people in town started co-ops, some grew fruits and vegetables, some had farms where they raised animals for butchering. A town on the ocean with an abundance of lakes as well would always be able to fish, harvest shellfish and seaweed but the locals ...

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