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Flash Fiction

The Pear Tree

Mario Senzale
issue five

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Hey, can you recommend a book? Any book. I don’t usually read, but the grass is short and the kids are all grown. 

I completed the garden a couple weeks ago. It will take years to grow, but that pear tree is beautiful. I’m not sure what I’ll do to keep the birds out once it gives fruit. They say that happens in September, when the leaves start to fall. 

Margaret started going to painting classes. She is the creative one. I tried to fix the old Chevy, but the engine runs cold. I was never a car guy, just thought I finally have the space and time to do a big project. I have time. Plenty of time. 

I stopped going to church. The older you get, the younger the vicars seem. They are full of wonder for these stories I know by heart. John 3:16, Ecclesiastes 3:8, Habakkuk 2:3. I follow the Bible and try to be a good neighbor. 

The kids next door started a bonfire last week. Burning leaves. I told them that’s not allowed. I think they understood, but I may call the fire department if it becomes a habit. 

I tried baking. Bread. It was alright, nothing to write home about. 

Sometimes I think about going back to the factory. Just to say hi. But there’s a lot of new folks I don’t know. Mark is still there. He told me he will retire next month. He’s getting old. Maybe we could have him and his wife over someday. That could be fun. I could make bread. Show them the pear tree. Maybe he knows about cars. It’s too cold for a barbecue. Maybe a fondue. That would make the bread stand out. It’s nothing to write home about. 

Anyway, could you recommend me a book? Any book.