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Michael Jefferson

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Feb, 2022

Stories (199)
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199 Stories

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Brother

Submitted to Contest #214

Everyone who knew the retired bachelor in Apartment 2E always said he would have made a perfect husband and father. Trent Eden knew better. He would thank his neighbors, smile sheepishly, and tell them about the life-changing summer he spent with Brother Monroe.              Affable and inquisitive, Brother spoke four languages, could play classical music note-perfect on piano or cello, and had an I.Q. of 130. And yes, there was also that prophetic first name.The most amaz...

11 likes 7 comments 7
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We’re Not Supposed to Cheat Death – It’s Part of Life

Submitted to Contest #213

Senator Marcus Cicero walks through the Garden of Senators, one of Washington D.C.’s most popular attractions. He pauses at the statues of his father, Lucius, and his grandfather, Julius. He squeezes his hand, hoping to relieve the numbness that has taken root in his fingers. “It won’t be long now.” Marcus vigorously shakes the hand of a young constituent but feels nothing. The young man beams at the charismatic, dark-haired politician. “Your speech was magnificent. Senator. It reminded all of us that even though we conquered the Si...

6 likes 2 comments 2
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Things is Gonna Even Out In the End

Submitted to Contest #212

Carlo Rovino softly moans to himself when the movers drop the last box containing his mother’s belongings. Sifting through the boxes, Carlo comes across a bundle of yellowing envelopes stamped Return to Sender. His mother, quiet, close-lipped, and diligent, had been better known for filling out police reports than emulating Emily Dickinson. Her most recent letter, written two days before her death, commands his attention. Curious by nature and sure his mother wouldn’t mind, Carlo opens the well-traveled envelope. Dear Mario: I hope you...

7 likes 2 comments 2
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The Good Thing About Living in Pleasantville is You’re Never Really Dead

Submitted to Contest #211

Ainsely Verloren politely shakes the hand of another stranger, who quietly utters, “Sorry for your loss.” “I didn’t know Missy had made so many friends,” Ainsely says to Cutter Klein, one of his few acquaintances. Judging by the turnout, most of the 428 residents in Pleasantville, Iowa, have come to pay their respects. “While you were designing houses, Missy was helping out at the bake sale, volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club, and serving on the Beautification Committee. She really seemed to like it here.” Ainsely holds back his tea...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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Repro

Submitted to Contest #210

Roman Hand waves at his neighbors, who are quietly heading inside after an entertaining night out. Smiling politely, Ricky and Lucy Ricardo wave back. Sliding into the passenger seat of the Repro Services van, Roman says, “That never stops being weird.” “Are they bad neighbors?” Fletcher Fixx asks. Fletcher smiles at Roman. They’ve been partners for five years and have a loose, friendly kinship. Fletcher always wears a pair of opaque sunglasses that further serve to highlight his dazzling white smile and accentuate his hip nature. Roman...

5 likes 2 comments 2
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If Opinions Were Dollars, Rockefeller Would Envy You

Submitted to Contest #209

Francisco Bonilla laughs to himself when he sees Grady Quaid’s landscaping truck pull into the gas station’s parking lot. It’s Sunday, which means Francisco will have the company of a quartet of four opinionated sixty-year-old men to entertain him during his shift. Wiry, with a caterpillar mustache, gentle brown eyes, and ruddy but pleasant features, forty-two-year-old Francisco has worked at the Cumberland Farms in Shelby, Connecticut for a decade. He has been persistent in his effort to master English and speaks it more ably than many o...

6 likes 2 comments 2
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Take Me Out of This Ballgame

Submitted to Contest #208

Three curious teenagers sit on a hill above the baseball field watching Jovanny “Jumbo” Rotelli lumber around the bases. “It’s ninety-eight degrees and he’s been running wind sprints for the past half hour,” Aiden Burke comments. “When we beat Jumbo’s team, Mr. Rotelli is going to wonder why his son was gassed after three innings.” Pushing her glasses up off the end of her nose, Polly Progreski gives Aiden a challenging look. “You’re so sure you’re going to win?” the gangly brunette asks. “Two years ago, we beat the Bison’s 12-3 for the ...

4 likes 2 comments 2
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Skeffingtown

Submitted to Contest #207

“Cut!” director Carlo Romeo yells as Cosmo Skeffington wallops Monty Mulhare with a knee-buckling slap across his cheek. “Hey, what the hell was that?” Monty protests, rubbing his throbbing cheek. “We have to make it look good, don’t we?” “Yeah, but you don’t have to enjoy it so much.” “Three’s A Crowd,” a top ten comedy in its second season, centers around three men in their sixties who meet at a counseling group for divorced men. With a lilting, mannered British accent, two-time Oscar nominee Cosmo Skeffington plays Mortimer Clyde, a s...

7 likes 2 comments 2
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Cheddar

Submitted to Contest #206

The last person Nelson Donovan expected to see at the airport was Carol Austin. Carol still has her dimpled smile, freckled features, and hourglass figure. The girl holding her hand is her mini-carbon copy. Carol sighs with regret. Ten years have passed, but Nelson still has his striking good looks and athletic body. “What brings you here?” Nelson asks. “Gary Banks. I’ve been dreaming about him lately.” “Me too.” “Coincidence?” Carol asks. “I doubt it.” Driving to the hotel, they talk about the circumstances that brought them bac...

15 likes 2 comments 2
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You’ll Want to Stay Away From the Spare Ribs

Submitted to Contest #205

“I didn’t know I even had an Uncle Viktor, much less an uncle who was a national hero.” “He’s from the old country, and we seldom speak of LaRocca,” Pavel Pushkin replies. “No, you never speak about the old country. What’s it like?” Misha’s father gives him a loving but patronizing smile, saying, “Not exactly a playground for the Kardashians.” “From what your father has told me, even a native of Siberia might find LaRocca a bit old-fashioned,” Paisley, Misha’s mother says. “So, it’s not exactly, viva LaRocca. But Uncle Viktor seems to h...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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Dirty Dan

Submitted to Contest #204

Buckeye, Arizona 1888 Dan Dobler slithers down Main Street spitting tobacco juice, his blind, milky left eye enhancing his threatening personality. Dobler’s poverty-stricken appearance and penchant for violence have earned him the nickname “Dirty Dan.” Townspeople find it hard to believe that the twenty-six-year-old Dobler is heir to Calvin “King” Coleman’s “King’s Ransom,” the largest ranch in Buckeye. A curious hound dog trails Dobler. He turns toward it, kicking it in the side. “Git away from me, ya mangy cur!” The dog barks angril...

10 likes 2 comments 2
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I Was Gonna Offer You a Brewski, But I see You’re Covered

Submitted to Contest #203

Her hand shaking as she wipes the tears away from her rosy cheeks, Modesty Naylor, soda mogul Percival Warren Naylor’s shapely twenty-seven-year-old widow, leans against her mother Empress for comfort. Modesty’s babyish lisp endears her to the reporters and photographers gathered by her Olympic pool to interview her. “I wuved him. I weally did. But people wouldn’t wet me.” Embarrassed by the cutting headline he’d published the day before, (“Gorgeous Gold Digger Strikes Gold As 92-Year-Old Soda King Goes Pop!”). Eyewitness News Reporter Har...

8 likes 2 comments 2
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You Killed My Daddy

Submitted to Contest #202

Casper, Wyoming 1891 Buck Brumley takes a long pull off his whiskey glass. “I wanted to run away, but I didn’t have any money, so I’d stay anywhere folks in town would let me. After a few days, I’d go home and face my daddy’s wrath. One time, Cade caught me sleepin’ in his brother’s livery stable. Despite him bein’ well off and educated, and me bein’ poor and stupid, we hit it off. Cade got me a job at the stable. I kept needlin’ him that he was too young to be so serious, that we should be fourteen-year-old pirates and go off on adventur...

10 likes 4 comments 4
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And You Have to Pay for the Elephant Too

Submitted to Contest #201

London Langtree continues to twist the tuning pegs on his guitar, a task he began over an hour ago. As if to excuse his obsession, the frail, blonde-haired musical genius smiles boyishly at his bandmates. Axel Welch, Rails Rainsford, and Steady Eddie Evans glance nervously at each other as the rumble from the impatient crowd thunders in the background. “Gimme that!” Axel, Mystic Touch’s husky, short-tempered rhythm guitarist yells, yanking the instrument from London’s hands. Frustrated, Axel twists the tuning pegs until two of the strings...

13 likes 8 comments 8
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Death Cab Confessions

Submitted to Contest #200

The first thing Cliff Farren notices about the Director’s office is that everything is pure and blinding white. Looking at Margana, the Director of R.R. (Reprobate Renewal), Cliff’s thoughts turn less than pure. A striking beauty with platinum blond hair, Margana’s wide brown eyes cast a doubtful look at him. “When I was told I’d be seeing the Director, I was expecting some scrawny librarian with a hunchback, not somebody as stunning as Marilyn Monroe.” “Insincere sexist compliments won’t get you anywhere, Mr. Farren.” “I really mean i...

12 likes 6 comments 6
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