Mike Garrigan

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2019

Stories (56)

56 Stories

948 karma pts

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“Thunderclap” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #83

The ocean waves wafted the wet scent of salt water through the warm island air. I exited the yellow cab. I paid the driver, tipped him well, and walked from under the porte cochère toward the hotel lobby. My rolling suitcase bumped and jostled about as it attempted to navigate the uneven, polished stone sidewalk. Unusually large gaps spanned walkway’s component slabs. The bright sunshine diminished as a mass of dark clouds rolled across the sky. A single raindrop stained my left shoe. “Comment puis-je vous aider, monsieur?” the fro...

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“The Brightest Light” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #82

Last Monday morning, I installed a new lamp in my office, right above my four-tier filing cabinet. When I turned the lamp on, it burst light throughout the room, bouncing off metal, refracting through glass, and revealing dust I didn’t anticipate ever seeing with such clarity. I shielded my eyes. The lamp was too bright. Mr. Inglethorpe knocked lightly on my open office door. “Malcolm, this is Alex. She will be filling in for Natasha this week. I’m afraid Natasha has fallen ill,” he said. “I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “Ale...

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“The Lunch Date” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #81

I pulled my pocket watch from my waistcoat. It clicked as it unclasped. Its old-timey watch hands moved into the 11:50 am position. It was time for lunch.  I rolled back from my desk, put on my suit jacket, and walked out of my office there on the third floor of Inglethorpe & Cavendish. With no appointments until 2 pm, I had time for lunch without too much of a rush. Today, though, I may have wanted a rush. Today I was going on a blind date. “Hope you like her,” Natasha said, giggling, as I passed the reception area and walked to ...

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“The Bat” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #80

“Malcolm, your 9 o’clock is ready,” Natasha said.  “Refi?” I said. “Yes, single borrower, well-dressed, unmarried.” Natasha sighed, paused, and returned to the front reception area of Inglethorpe & Cavendish.  My office was tucked away on the third floor of a three story building that was nestled between two 12 story high rises on Elm Street. Mr. Inglethorpe arrived precisely at 10 am everyday. Mr. Cavendish, on the other hand, usually stumbled onto the golf course by 10 am but always arrived by 1 pm, stinking of gin. T...

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“The Fountain Pen” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #79

I glanced at my watch again. D promised he would be on time, but I knew better than to trust him. Raphael’s, the coffee shop where we agreed to meet, was just across the street from where I work. I’m sure Mr. Inglethorpe was wondering where I had gotten off to. “Inglethorpe & Cavendish lawyers are never idle,” he’d always say to me when I was taking five in the break room or staring at the ceiling for a minute to clear my head. Mr. Inglethorpe had an odd air of British propriety for someone who grew up in Mississippi.  “Looking sha...

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“Johannes Kambanda and Ozaki Kaori: A Text Message Transcript” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #34

Johannes Kambanda: Ozi, are you OK?Ozaki Kaori: A little embarrassed, but I’m OK.JK: What happened?Ozi: Trixie slipped me a beef and cheese burrito. I got sick.JK: Threw up?Ozi: All over the place.JK: Was it rotten?Ozi: Hell if I know. I’m vegan. Meat makes me sick.JK: What was Trixie thinking?Ozi: She wasn’t. She didn’t know. She grabbed from the non-vegan stack of burritos.JK: Are you sure?Ozi: Are you defending her?JK: No. But maybe it was the caterer’s fault.Ozi: J, I barfed on my boss. JK: Is she a parent?Ozi: Trixie?JK: No, y...

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“Marcello's Barbershop” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #33

For the past half hour, pick-axes pinged in tandem on granite far below the surface of the Earth. Occasionally, the axes pealed in tandem. But mostly, they hit in syncopation, as if their wielders were racing, or perhaps, chasing each other. A rod of light broke through the dark side of the rock.“I win!” Delta said.“No, I hit the granite last before breaking through. I win,” Gamma said.“But I’m the one who actually broke through, so I win,” Delta said.“But I was—”“Knock it off,” Beta said, holding a flood lamp. “Let’s see what’s inside....

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“Waiting for Manny” by Mike Garrigan

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #32

Every Saturday, from 10:00 am to 11:00 am, Fred Flannigan sat on the third bench to the right at entrance of Oscar Park. Sometimes, his best friend, Manny Mandinkos, joined him for the hour. When Manny actually showed up—you never could tell with Manny Mandinkos—Manny brought a thermos of camomile tea. Manny was unpredictable like that. Manny was also dead. A year ago, Manny decided, on a whim, to climb Mt. Everest. He did none of the rigorous training one normally does before that infamous climb. He made it to the top, but then died fr...

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“Justin's Story” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #31

Celia opened the dryer and felt a warmth brush past her face. Justin’s size 4T Oshkosh B’Gosh overalls had been rattling around in there for the past hour. The brass fasteners were probably hot, so Celia avoided folding the overalls.Celia grabbed a t-shirt from the hot jumble of clothing. She held up the shirt and remembered its design. The Force Awakens was Justin’s favorite movie. Celia took him to see it on opening weekend. Celia didn’t know anything about Star Wars but thought that Justin, being a four year old boy, would like it. What k...

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“Donovan” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #30

At 7:55 a.m., Donovan pressed “15” and the elevator door slid shut. The elevator machinery jerked clumsily. He felt his stomach float as the elevator began its ascent. Fluorescent light beamed from overhead. His diamond cuff links refracted light in blues and greens upon the metal elevator walls. The elevator rumbled and climbed. Donovan could see his unmistakably large nose in the metal reflection. Two weeks ago, Donavan received an unexpected phone call. It was surprising for three reasons. First, his cell number changed weekly and ro...

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“Möbius Pilot 13” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #29

“Move to the ring! Now!” I said.I jumped from the pilot pod and down to the ship’s round interior. I unbuckled Amy and Emma, the twins, from their seats and pushed them into the center of the fuselage of our ship, the Möbius 13. “What’s going on?!” Allison said. “Amy, Emma, get back in your seats!” Allison, Amy and Emma's mother, was groggy despite the blare of the siren and flash of the emergency lights. “Ms. Davis, there’s no time to explain,” I said. “C’mon, Roger,” Allison Davis said as she yanked her husband from his seat...

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“The Bride's Name Is Always Holly” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #28

From the inner recesses of the utility closet where I had been hiding for the past half hour, I heard the wedding party enter the reception hall. The jocund din of family, friends, and guests rattled the closet door. I forgot to tune my guitar before I climbed into this coffin. But Red stayed in tune all night last night at the country club cover gig. She would probably be in tune when I popped out of the closet, plugged her into the DJ’s sound system, and slid onto the upper corner of the dance floor for the couple’s first dance. The bride’...

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“Royal Orleans” by Mike Garrigan

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #27

. . . the clack-clack of a moving train. I pulled my left cheek from the worn wooden floor. The planks smelled of tar, dirt, and hay. The open boxcar door rattled as the green countryside zoomed by.I winced as a splinter pierced my palm. I shook my hand up and down to abate the pain. Bales of straw lined the front and back of the box car. In the distance, I heard a soft twittering sound. It reminded me of music producer Brian Eno’s synth line in the opening measures of “Once in a Lifetime” by the Talking Heads. How did I get here? I tho...

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“Almost Hitchcock” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #26

A few decades ago, I did something that I’ve never told anyone. I broke into a Blockbuster Video store. In the small hours of that mid-January morning, the unseasonable Carolina warmth painted a shimmer on the roads, like it had just rained. North Carolina is like that. I stepped from my Honda CRX, which I had parked in plain view in the strip mall parking lot, grabbed my backpack of VHS tapes, and walked around to the back of the store, past the Kroger and the Little Caesar’s pizza. The cartoon “Pizza, Pizza” guy gave me a thumbs up fr...

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“Thieves” by Mike Garrigan

Submitted to Contest #25

“Get in,” David said from the driver’s seat of the white, nondescript Ford Econoline van. Roger negotiated a small snow pile by the sidewalk in front of his porch, opened the door of the van, and got in. David stepped on the gas. Roger rolled up the passenger side window.“You ready?” David said.“I guess so,” Roger said.“Well, you either are or you aren’t. Which is it?” David said.“I’m ready. I’m ready,” Roger said, running his hand through his head of long brown hair. He tied his hair up in a pony tail so that it was off of the shoulder...

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Author bio

Lawyer by day. Musician by night. Writer on the weekend.

Shortlisted 4 stories ⭐️

Contest #32
Waiting for Manny – read story
Contest #27
Royal Orleans – read story
Contest #24
Tongue – read story
Contest #18
Odd Naphthalene – read story