This week’s Friday Fictioneers photo prompt comes courtesy of ©Jennifer Pendergast
To join the challenge to write a story in 100 words (or thereabouts) by Friday, click here
To read other contributions from a great group of writers from around the world, click on the blue frog
Man and Machine
There was nothing Gerry couldn’t do with engines. He used parts from the scrap-yard to fix the washing machine and keep his 37 year-old car in top condition.
The restoration projects got ever more ambitious, ranging from early tractors to an entire train. He didn’t call them his babies or his girls like some of the men in the Vintage and Heritage Club. He loved them for what they were.
His wife Mel was settling nicely into a new home with her new man, new washing machine and new car.
Gerry had yet to notice she was gone. He assumed she had finally found a hobby of her own.
©Siobhán McNamara
Maybe she had! Good story.
LikeLike
Thanks Mick, she sure had, just not the one Gerry imagined 😉
LikeLike
Great last two lines! I really didn’t expect them. I only half sympathise with her though – I definitely think we should keep machines going for as long as we can before just going out and buying new ones…although men, that’s a different story!
LikeLike
Thanks Claire 🙂
LikeLike
Hah! I suspect she’ll find her new hobby infinitely more rewarding. Nice one. 🙂
LikeLike
It will certainly be a new experience. Thanks Sandra 🙂
LikeLike
Funny and sad at the same time. Great story.
LikeLike
Thank you, I’m glad both elements came across 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very, very good. I chuckled there at the end. Great stuff.
LikeLike
Thank you, I’m glad you got a chuckle out of it 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This gave me a chuckle, too. While I, too, like to keep good things working as long as they can, sometimes switching to new, eco-friendlier stuff can be better. That’s a lesson Gerry won’t learn. Great story with a great ending.
LikeLike
It’s a fine balance that not everyone finds. I’m glad you got a chuckle from it 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rather sad… and yet I wish I had some of that focus! 😉 Great story.
LikeLike
Me too Caerlynn! Thanks for reading 🙂
LikeLike
I’m with Gerry. Which is more eco friendly, trashing or repairing? His wife needs a clue. 😉
Loved this, Siobhan.
LikeLike
I think they just inhabit different worlds. Thanks for reading 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
The last line made me laugh! Poor Gerry, i wish he manages to balance “real” life and hobby in future
LikeLike
He may some day realise what is happening around him! 🙂
LikeLike
Haha, love those last couple of lines. Sounds like it worked out for the best all round. I love the scathing attitude to calling them his babies or his girls – gives us an extra hint at his personality!
LikeLike
He is certainly dedicated to his art!
LikeLike
Heh, nice idea. Extra marks for not having a senseless FF death to ruin it 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks Paul 🙂
LikeLike
Not only a new man but a new washing machine and car! Boy, she really wanted to be rid of him!
LikeLike
She was certainly ready for a bit of newness in her life 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
What a great way to show a man with a one track mind. Fun!
LikeLike
Thanks Alicia 🙂
LikeLike
Fantastic story! Really didn’t expect the ending but I’m very happy for the wife lol 🙂
LikeLike
I think she’s a lot happier now 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good story. Feeling sorry for Gerry, hard working.
LikeLike
They just weren’t the most compatible couple 😉
Thanks for reading Indira 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
While a funny story, I cannot help but think she was the one who had the problem. Yes he liked his trains, but in my opinion, a relationship should be based on not only trust, but also acceptance.
LikeLike
I think they both had issues that needed addressing – too late for them now though. Thanks for reading 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Siobhán, this is sad, but I still laughed. 🙂 Poor oblivious Gerry. His wife didn’t like his fixer-uppers, I guess. You told this beautifully. Well done, truly.
-David
LikeLike
Thank you David, I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
LikeLike
Ha, Ha, — So True. Reminds me of a slogan I recently read that said “To have Friends, you need to be a Friend”.
LikeLike
Thanks Mike 🙂
LikeLike
Oh man…he’s clueless. Sad. The new washing machine part made me laugh, though. Life is such a mixture.
Ellespeth
LikeLike
Thanks Ellespeth, I was aiming for a lighter note this week 🙂
LikeLike
Very amusing last couple of lines. I would say “poor Gerry”, but it sounds like he’s happy enough 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks Ali, and yes, he seems happy enough, not least because he has yet to realise that he is ‘poor Gerry’ 😉
LikeLike
Dear Siobhán,
You had me laughing at the last two lines even though it’s kind of a sad commentary. Very well crafted story. Beautifully written.
Shalom,
Rochelle
LikeLike
Thank you Rochelle 🙂
LikeLike
Very amusing! I think she deserves to have that interesting new man–er–hobby!
LikeLike
I suspect she is settling into her new life nicely 🙂
LikeLike
Dear Siobhan,
The way you communicated his utter disconnection from the ‘real’ world was great. he sounded semi-together there for a bit. Who doesn’t want a man to be able to fix or refurbish things with inventiveness and skill? But then you closed out your story with a laugh and the news that your MC is about as far out there as it is possible to be. Great stuff. (That guy is me.)
Aloha,
Doug
LikeLike
Thanks Doug, I’m glad you liked it. I know a few guys like that too. They are great to have around but every now and then a girls needs a bit of totally unnecessary, superficial newness 🙂
LikeLike
Try being married to doctor. Our spouses always have to compete for attention. Wait, let me see if I still have a husband.
Tracey
LikeLike
I can imagine, but at least you are doing some wonderful 🙂
LikeLike
I certainly admire Gerry’s focus and determination. Evidently, she needed some of her knobs twisted and turned once in a while to keep them in good working order too. Cute & clever.
LikeLike
Indeed, everything needs a little oiling now and again 😉
LikeLike
A clever and amusing story! That was some obsession of Gerry’s. On the other hand, it”s rather sad to think that he and his wife had drifted so far apart because of it. Still, his wife – make that former wife – seemed to have coped with the situation extremely well! Nice one, 🙂
LikeLike
They had certainly grown apart – hopefully both can be happy in their own worlds 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I had a great uncle like this, for real. He lived to 90 and had a good long marriage, so clearly he had a bit more balance than Gerry, but I admire this character’s commitment otherwise. 😉
LikeLike
Sounds like he had a better handle on reality! Thanks for reading 🙂
LikeLike
So busy fixing things, he didn’t see what was going not going on…
LikeLike
Thanks Dale 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This reminded me of the life of Fred Dinah – steeplejack and mechanical engineer – he too loved fixing things and making things using old bits found in scrapyards etc., and treated his wife in much the same way. You’ve told a multi-layered story very well, loved the last two sentences.
LikeLike
Thanks for reading 🙂
Is he the man who was on TV quite a bit?
LikeLike
Yes he was. He operated a steam engine too as a hobby, which he took to fairs and it pulled a sort of caravan that he and the family lived in when they travelled about the country. I got the impression he wouldn’t have noticed if his wife moved on!!
LikeLike
That was funny. I can’t say “too bad” for him in reference to her leaving him as he hadn’t even noticed, except “too bad” maybe for her. At least she was smart enough to take some of his “works” with her.
LikeLike
I’m sure he’ll notice sooner or later … or maybe not!
LikeLike
I love your story. The ending is so funny and such a surprise – he didn’t even notice she was gone. Hilrious.
LikeLike
Thanks Margaret 🙂
LikeLike
Happy the Pirzig way with a touch of monk to it, good for him ;;;
and for you, good one, Tay.
LikeLike
Thank you Tay 🙂
LikeLike
so wonderful. Particular love the last line! I guess you could say she did indeed find a new hobby
LikeLike
She certainly did 😉
LikeLike