Avoidance

For this week’s microfiction, I decided to write about avoidance. Sometimes in life, even as an adult, I don’t want to deal with things. Here’s that story. Enjoy. 

I sat in the car, stuck. At some point I’d have to make a decision, get out and go in, or . . . drive away. The engine was still idling and no one was outside, so no one would see me drive away. 

I reached for the gear shift, pulling the stick from P to R. I double checked my rearview mirror before putting my foot on the gas and easing back out of the space. In no time, I was out of the parking lot and back on the main road. 

As I was driving, my phone buzzed on the passenger seat and immediately I could hear my mother’s shrill tone.

“Where are you?” she’d say. 

“On my way,” I’d reply. 

“Why aren’t you here yet?” She’d balk. 

“Because I can’t teleport,” I gave my snarkiest reply. 

My mother would sigh loudly, exasperated with me already, before I had even arrived. Then she’d say, “Just get here as soon as you can.” And then she’d hang up. 

I had been down this road many times before. I didn’t need to answer my phone to know it was her and what she would say. 

Wishing to avoid any further lectures, I looked to my left, then to my right, and made a u-turn in the middle of the road. Now it was my turn to sigh heavily as I drove back to what would be the longest day of my life. I hated weddings. 

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