Start or end your story with two people discussing an important matter over a meal.

Posted in Dramatic on Sep 27, 2024

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✍️ 60 stories

“Right Where You Left Me” by Natalie Vicari

Submitted to Contest #270

The cold breeze blowing through the cobbled laneway suddenly picks up, and I clutch at my scarlet coat’s closure with one hand whilst I fight my flapping fringe with the other. I briskly step under the awning of the restaurant and take shelter from the wind behind the elaborate shrubbery bracketing the doorway. Scrutinising my reflection in the window, I make sure my fringe is tamed and twist from side to side to ensure that my French twist is still impeccably intact. It took me far too long to wrestle my chocolate brown hair into this Frenc...

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“The Blue Peacock” by Kathy Hayes

Submitted to Contest #270

The Blue PeacockA Short StoryBy Kathy HayesBeulah was dining at The Blue Peacock. She and Sam loved this restaurant. There were so many memories there.“Sam, what are you having? I am thinking about the filet.”The picturesque small resort town, Oaks On The Lake, was in rural Appalachia. Oaks was a small community of 1200. The business and homes were located all around the ten acre lake. The small village catered to the year around tourists and the wealthy men and women who had built their vacation cottages, or so...

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“A Lavender Brother” by Perseus Patroclus

Submitted to Contest #270

Marcus Adler's mouth twisted bitterly at his brother across the table. The waiter poured a small portion of wine for him, and as Marcus swished the rich liquid around, sniffed it and tasted it, Jeremiah Adler tapped the table impatiently. More bloodred splashed into the glass after he approved, a small drop running down the cup onto the pristine white tablecloth. At this the waiter frowned, swiping it up with the fabric previously folded by the crook of his arm, taken from its resting place on the smooth black linen that ran down the man's b...

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“My Special Dinner” by Roy Calley

Submitted to Contest #270

I’ve been waiting for this. This moment. This night. I’m not saying I’ve been waiting forever, but it feels like it. I’ve been nervous and on edge all day and all my colleagues at work had been looking at me strangely. Even stranger than normal, if that was possible. Some even started to avoid me when I told them what I was doing this evening, but I haven’t got time to understand why. I decided that they were just jealous, and I have no interest in that. Anyway, I was looking forward to tonight. The day was a blur. I’d...

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“The Courier” by Eliza Kohler

Submitted to Contest #270

Maybe it's the way he pulled out the chair for me when we were seated in the corner of the quiet restaurant. Or the dimness of the light cast by the jeweled chandelier. Or the lightness in my head from that second martini. Something flutters to life in my belly when he says in that low voice, "What do you want, Chloe?" I'm perfectly fine, I should say. I live on my own, I cook my own meals, I pay my own bills. I work a decent enough job, and I date a nice man named Marcus. I have no business meeting with strange, accented men in Michelin-sta...

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“Where the Heart Is” by Marian Beckett

Submitted to Contest #270

It was raining when I got out of work. A good Autumn rain, not light enough to be called a drizzle but not too heavy either. It dripped down my umbrella and pooled along the gutters in the street, making everything feel simultaneously darker and yet reflective and bright. It made the grass seem greener, the dirt smell richer, and it caused the reds and golds of the falling leaves to turn bright as paint. My coworkers had complained about the cold and the wet and the gray cloudy sky, but I've always liked rainy days. I didn't mind walking hom...

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“A Time To Say Goodbye” by Rob Gauthier

Submitted to Contest #270

We drove up the snowy, winding road towards the cozy A-frame cabin. It was a trip we had made so many times before, but we both knew that this would be the last time. It wasn’t because we were having marital issues, far from it. It had been more than fifty years since Sarah and I said our vows and I’m very confident when I say that we loved each other even more on that last trip than we did on our wedding day. The truth is that cancer is no respecter of love or marriage. It was the big “C” that was taking her from me.The day we found out is ...

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“The Offer ” by Bill Gregory

Submitted to Contest #270

The Offer The Grill Room at the Ritz-Carlton on Stockton Street was near capacity. With the financial district two blocks away, it was a favourite luncheon haunt for the areas financial movers to meet clients and talk shop. Chasing the American dream, the almighty dollar. The room was a picture of noise and movement as Armani and Versace designs doused with expensive colognes and perfumes collided with the aromas of the kitchen, garlic, onions and the hotels famous sourdough rolls. Busboys hurried through the crowded space skilfully ju...

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“Mouth Execution ” by Lexi Tuenter

Submitted to Contest #270

She watched the spots of creamy sauce spread out like a disease across the table. Each time he lifted his fork another splodge was added to the complex pattern. How could he still be eating? “Did you hear what I said?” She asked. His mouth moved rapidly, chomping and chewing the soft pasta in an unnecessarily vigorous manner. Like a rabbit on steroids. The seconds ticked by slowly as he continued to chew the same mouthful. It was inconceivable. Just swallow the goddamn bite already. She sat cross legged at the table as her foo...

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“Waking” by BOFT V

Submitted to Contest #270

My grandmother’s brother died a few days ago. I only knew his name, Allen, on the day the wake was to take place. I didn’t really care for it when my parents told me to attend for them. It felt like a nice change of pace. Reminders of death tended to humble me. I don’t know if it’s an odd thing to think about, given I still have three-fourths of my life ahead of me. Even then, I already consider myself old. Is this what a quarter-life crisis is? My death to come unannounced, at a time beyond my foresight, under circumstances I may or may not...

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“False Icons for Dinner” by Yin Boo

Submitted to Contest #270

You are Dace Keller, a paragon of manhood. Because every man that’s ever been, for as long as you’ve known, has wanted to become Dace Keller. You are the model man, which all men that are not Dace Keller aspire to be. You are handsome, and witty. An uncontestable icon of masculinity. You look dashing in a suit and tie, and never trip on your sentences. You keep your nebulously blonde-brown hair at a short trim, maintaining just enough beard growth to still be considered well-groomed but also slightly rugged. You’re lean, and saharan bro...

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“A Taste of Discontent” by Nikki Gamer

Submitted to Contest #270

Emma stabbed at her goopy mashed potatoes, eyeing the pot roast with disdain. Typical. Chris was so stuck in his ways. And here he goes again, launching into yet another story about that work friend."Emma, are you even listening?" Chris's accusation cut as sharp as the knife beside her plate. She couldn't help but think about Jules. Jules's teeth were the most beautiful she'd ever seen—alabaster white and shaped like pearls on a necklace. And Jules's face—perfectly-plumped lips and skin so smooth it looked photoshopped. Botox is not cheap. E...

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“Big Sky ” by Jango MyHeart

Submitted to Contest #270

The light stream from the sun, filled with red and pink hues from the Ojai sunset, casts a warm glow over my body. Blinding me and my phone slightly, I respond to one of my client’s emails from the consultant firm who is panicking over my analysis of their set-aside money for potential loss. My mom is feverishly stirring and mixing her homemade marinara sauce with the corkscrew pasta filled up to the brim, and splattering the sauce everywhere as she is taste-testing. She throws in some rectangular pieces of black forest deli ham, sloppi...

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“The Final Meal” by Sabrina Furthermore

Submitted to Contest #270

“My love?” I asked desperately, begging for her words to be a lie. How could I, how could I be the one to end her life.On a fretful morning during our final dish, our final discussion began. And by the end I would have eaten her, mind and heart.“With this dying body, I must discuss what I want you to do” Her shaky hand trembled and quivered, holding onto mine. For years she’d fought a sickness only a few could escape from. And for years I stood by her side.Her plate, full of ordinary nutrients, hid the taste of the crushed pills fed every mo...

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“A MEAL FOR THE HEART A MEAL FOR THE TRUTH” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #270

One year ago, I was set free from prison and returned to Harbor Bay to seek forgiveness for what I did. That didn't turn out well. Forgiveness was the last thing these people wanted to give me. I was almost killed by the brother of my late friend Willow. I wanted to kill myself because I couldn't stand the pain and the hatred. My mother stopped me. My mother told me her forgiveness was her love and protection for me. She was the person I always needed. She also told me I need to learn how to forgive myself. We left Harbor Bay never to return...

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Start or end your story with two people discussing an important matter over a meal.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 60 stories

“Right Where You Left Me” by Natalie Vicari

“The Blue Peacock” by Kathy Hayes

“A Lavender Brother” by Perseus Patroclus

“My Special Dinner” by Roy Calley

“The Courier” by Eliza Kohler

“Where the Heart Is” by Marian Beckett

“A Time To Say Goodbye” by Rob Gauthier

“The Offer ” by Bill Gregory

“Mouth Execution ” by Lexi Tuenter

“Waking” by BOFT V

“False Icons for Dinner” by Yin Boo

“A Taste of Discontent” by Nikki Gamer

“Big Sky ” by Jango MyHeart

“The Final Meal” by Sabrina Furthermore

“A MEAL FOR THE HEART A MEAL FOR THE TRUTH” by Melinda Madrigal

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a story in the form of a recipe.

Write a story inspired by the saying “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

Set your story in a kitchen, either early in the day or late at night.

Write a story about someone searching for a missing ingredient, literally or metaphorically.

Contest #270

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

341

Contest entries

134

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: