“Wordplay”

(55 Words)

(Flash story published in phonebook.com in July 2003)

“Rendezvous.” Ben Sanders adjusted the lamp and counted five squares on the newspaper. He frowned. “Fling? Has to be.” A smile raised his expectations. His pencil bit the paper, breaking the lead. “Where’s my pen?” He growled. “Hmm…seven-letter word for marriage--wedlock? More likely--boredom.”

An ominous shadow darkened his page. “Forever,” she said.