short story #15: Surprise!

Donnie was intrigued and a little bit scared too. Mike had said that he had a surprise for her. That was all that he had said. The very thought of his surprises made her smile. One time he had managed to set off the fire alarm as he almost burned their kitchen down, trying to bake a chocolate cake. But Mike didn’t give up easily although cooking never seemed to agree with him. The highlights of the dinner he had cooked in honour of their recent anniversary included raw steaks and overcooked rice among many other indistinguishable dishes that were charred beyond recognition.
“But bless his heart for at least making an effort”, Donnie thought to herself.
“What’s it this time, Mike? Will I be needing any protective equipment for this surprise?”, teased Donnie.
“No, Donnie. Absolutely not. Give me some credit! If you must know, I’m sure that nothing will go wrong this time. You are going to be so proud of me.”, Mike quipped, his chest swelling with pride.
“Alright, Your Mighty Highness. Lead the way. I can’t wait to see what you were up to.”, said Donnie who was struggling to keep a straight face.
And together they set off towards the main street, which also happened to be where their own coffee shop was located.
“Mike, has this got something to do with our shop?”
“You’ll know soon enough. See for yourself. Tada!”, Mike half-exclaimed, half-screamed as they turned into the street where their coffee shop stood.
“I finally managed to get the refurbishments done, Donnie. A brand-new coat of paint, wooden flooring, the works. I believe that Shabby Chic will be best suited to describe our shop now! And of course, brand-new glass sheets. Now all that’s left for you to do is to pick out a brand-new sign.”, Mike rattled off his achievements proudly.
“But Mike, the glass sheets! They..”, Donnie fumbled for words.
“Ah, yes. They are just brilliant. Aren’t they? And they were on sale! I have managed to save us a lot of money.”, Mike beamed with pride.
Donnie was lost for words. She just stood gazing at the shop for a while, mouth agape like a fish. Mike’s heart was in the right place but the moment he heard about an item being on sale, common sense tended to abandon him. All the glass sheets were covered with a thick film of newspapers! How were her customers going to see her beautiful pastries now?

This story was written in response to the following prompts – Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #67 and Di’s Three Things Challenge #247. Fandango’s Flash Fiction Challenge #67 is to write a flash fiction piece or a poem inspired by the given photo prompt. Di’s challenge is to use some or all of the three words of her choice in our post. The three words for today are Raw, Film, and Sign. I have used all three of them in my story. Thanks to Fandango and Di for hosting these challenges. Click on the links to know more about these challenges and to read the entries by my fellow bloggers.

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