Five Minute Observations

Category: Fiction

  • Considering Retirement

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “Kathy!” Janice’s shrill voice echoed through the diner from the kitchen. The Presbyterian church let out a few minutes before 11:30 a.m., hunger setting in. Church people knew Janice’s breakfast foods would be hot and ready to go in minutes. Janice knew well that a few of these ‘holy rollers,’ as she called them, would…

  • Moloski Returns to Plastics

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    After parking the Lexus in a secured parking garage close to the Burnside Bridge, both men got out. A few minutes later, they were at the spot where Jim Barton met Gerald Moloski. Sitting between two homeless men, Gerald passed his bottle. On Gerald’s left sat Miguel, and Edward on his left. Miguel had Parkinson’s…

  • Emulsion Plastics is Hiring

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Cole Wilkes wasn’t comfortable in small towns in Middle America. Emulsion Plastics employed him as the Global Human Resources Director for new production facilities. Hiring and training new employees was his only job. Only after all the staff was hired and consistent production levels were achieved could Cole move on. His latest assignment was the…

  • Bad News for Moloski

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “What do you mean leaking?” Gerald looked down to Dr. Charles Kirchoff, one of the senior scientists in charge of maintaining RDF Plastics policies and procedures. A short, mousey man, Dr. Kirchoff was a stickler for following the rules, towing the line, and ensuring everyone complied with company policy. Kirchoff was the first to inform…

  • Kathy’s Second Job

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “I heard they is gonna be openin’ a factory just up the road. Some kind of assembly work is what I hear,” Beatrice whispered, even though the number of people inside Janice’s Diner numbered less than five, not including the staff. Betty and Beatrice sat at the third booth from the door. Doc and Jim…

  • Detective Barry Lawson

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “So. You two drove this guy here. All the way from Iowa?” Lawson shook his head, yawning. “Get any sleep?” “Get any sleep?” Detective Adam Murray’s tone dripped with sarcasm, his eyes narrowing. “You are a piece of . . .” Murray lunged at Lawson, ready to beat the snot out of him. “Knock it…

  • Setting the Cruise Control

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Angie is my favorite person in the whole world. She and I do a lot together. And I mean a whole lot! We get coffee. Manicures. Pedicures. Facials. We’ve been known to get massages simultaneously but with different masseuses. Huh. That would be kinda hard. Two massages at the same time? I wonder if Sven…

  • Rin Zaterelli

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “Get down!” A black, unmarked, unlicensed car pulled up next to Zaterelli’s limousine, automatic machine guns firing into the limo. Reinforced Kevlar plating, bulletproof glass, and insulated rubber tires made the limo the perfect vehicle to keep the crime boss safe. Rin Zaterelli and two of his goons were finishing up a quick visit at…

  • Check-In with Floyd

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “You know somethin’ Jim,” Doc said, rolling down his window halfway, “the ladies is right. Somethin’ ain’t right ‘bout Floyd not being in the diner for a week. I sure hope we ain’t goin’ to find him holed up inside the house, windows locked tight, shotgun in hand, ready to shoot whoever decides to come…

  • The Zaterelli Family

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “Mr. Zaterelli? There’s a Zander Melton here to see you?” The voice on the other end of the office intercom was silent. “Melton? Zander Melton?” Rin Zaterelli looked at the two goons on either side of his mahogany desk, puzzled. Both men stood in unison, ready to bum-rush the door. Zaterelli hired them as bodyguards…

  • Protective Custody

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    A black Cadillac Escalade drove up to Floyd’s small farmhouse with a wraparound covered porch. The distance from the highway to the house was far enough away that you could see in every direction from the second floor. Floyd didn’t have much to do these days, so he sat in a rocker by the front…

  • The Patterson Homestead

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “I’ll drive,” Doc told Jim, opening the passenger door for him. Jim eyed Doc’s truck. The eight-inch scratch showed signs of rust. Jim shook his head, no. “You’ve been tryin’ to drive us places ever since you put that gash in the passenger side door. I remember. Ya almost killed me. I told you once,…

  • Your Words Count

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in

    Words matter. Like more than you thought they did. Wrong words can do irreparable damage for however long you have left of your life. Kids don’t know what words have the potential to do by uttering the simplest of words and phrases. The more you think about it, the more you start to understand how…

  • Pearls? Meet Blink-182

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in

    “Wait, what was that?” Pulling out the earbuds, Gina looked over her shoulder where the sound came from. “Can you please move?” The woman was wearing sunglasses inside, which was the first thing Gina noticed. Second were the extravagant pearls hanging from her neck. Gina saw lots of women wearing pearls in southern California. But…

  • Janice’s Pancakes

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Waking up early was never a problem for Floyd. He’d been waking up before 4 A.M. since he was twenty. He greeted the morning with a cup of black coffee, stopping chores just long enough to appreciate the simplicity of his life. Work. Eat. Sleep. Nothing complicated about it. Doc asked him at Janice’s Diner…

  • Janice’s Diner

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “Janice, I cannot believe you can cook all this good food and still have time to chew the fat. How is that, anyway?” Pastor Theodore finished the last of his food, his third plate. Every Saturday morning, he came into the diner and ate. Always the same food. Bacon. Pancakes. Sausage. Crispy brown toast. Hash…

  • U.S. Bankcorp Tower

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “Growing up in a small town farming community? It gives you a different outlook on life, family, hell, everything.” “Save it, Penrose. This ain’t Iowa, and it ain’t Middle America. And you, kid? You got mail to deliver, son.” James Penrose worked in a mid-level business office for one of the many Fortune 500 companies…

  • Prescott and Murray

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    “Because. It’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said to me, that’s why.” Detective Prescott slid into the unmarked black Cadillac Escalade. The SUV still had that new car smell. “Sometimes I cannot believe you ever made it through the academy.” “Why is that, Prescott? Because I could kick your butt on the range?” The…

  • The Harrow Club (cont.)

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Six minutes later . . . “Good afternoon, Mr. Barton.” “Good afternoon, Jasper.” “Right this way, sir.” Jasper led him through the dining room, seating him very close to James Penrose and two other business partners. Jim didn’t recognize the other two men. Based on their attire, he assumed they were angel investors looking to…

  • The Harrow Club

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    by

    Joe Class III
    in ,

    Jasper spent more hours at the Harrow Club than some of the club’s guests. As the maître d’, he knew how to attend to all the staff and the club’s patrons. He was gifted with an uncanny ability to understand what someone needed before they asked. His mother, a prim and proper servant of the…