Daily Flash Fiction Entries

The Gift

Prompt: Write about a poor family that is finally able to go out to dinner at a fancy restaurant for the first time.
Entry for 06/01/06

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From the moment he stepped foot into the ostentatious restaurant, David knew he was doomed. Despite the cool temperature, beads of sweat broke out on his brow and the cheap brown suit he wore seemed to weigh a ton on his lanky frame. He could feel their eyes on him – the eyes of the rich and powerful – examining this new specimen before them.

He longed to escape, feeling claustrophobic as the maitre d’ approached with a wide smile.

“The Brody Family I assume?”

Oh yes, he had almost forgotten about them.

He looked at his twin girls’ faces, their blue eyes wider than saucers as they stared at everything. How they longed to touch and feel the glittering crystals and breathtaking flowers that lined the walls, but Daddy had given them a lecture earlier. He couldn’t afford to pay for anything they were likely to break.

“Oh, honey, it’s lovely,” his wife breathed, her emerald gaze shining with delight.

As the meals arrived, he watched with growing embarrassment as his family displayed their obvious ignorance. There was too much cutlery, too many cups that wouldn’t be used. The food smelled too rich and tasted like paper with each slow bite he took. He felt queasy, wanted to scream at his girls for not sitting down properly, wanted to tell Maria to stop looking so flustered. They didn’t belong here. If only he hadn’t saved his boss from a nasty fall, goodness knows he would have declined the thank-you gift to this restaurant.

“You’re the best, Daddy,” his girls chimed.

“Thank you, Honey,” Maria said.

Their sincere gratitude had him flushing at his earlier thoughts, and as he smiled proudly at his family, he thanked the good Lord for blessing them with this opportunity to share the finer things in life.

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Word Count: 300