Check, And Mate

61 Replies
chess-eyes

PHOTO PROMPT © Jeff Arnold

Cheryl led me into her father’s sitting room then melted into the background.

I hated playing chess with Mr. West.  He was a surly man who beat me every time.  I don’t know why I bothered.

Cheryl had asked me to play as an act of kindness to an invalid, though her father didn’t want for company. The invitation took me by surprise.  I didn’t know Cheryl, having only seen her from a distance.

As usual, Cheryl appeared and sat on the floor once the game started.

Studying the board, I caught Cheryl’s eye.

I suddenly understood why I came.

***

Word count = 100

Friday Fictioneers is hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields.  This week’s prompt is here and uses a photo © Jeff Arnold.  Read more or join in by following the InLinkz “linky“.

 

61 thoughts on “Check, And Mate”

    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I believe that Cheryl liked what she saw and did that writing on the wall herself ;) That was what I was trying to imply with the Title – she had set it up so she won his heart – checkmate (with a slight pun on “mate”).

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Thanks Prior – Sometimes those duties can help the relationship in the long run :) For some reason all of your comments have been sent to spam, so I am rescuing them one at a time…

      Liked by 1 person

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  10. 4963andypop

    Potential son-in-laws have gone through greater tests of their mettle, with potential father-in-laws, in pusuit of that one perfect “match.” When he says “jump”, they say “how high?” Perhaps he should work on his game.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Now that he realizes that he is there to prove his mettle to his potential father in law, perhaps he will have some intensive to up his game a bit. He is obviously playing with an expert of the game, and I am not talking the father/father in law here…

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      My original idea was that bit of romance – she invited him to play chess with her father trying to find a way to get his attention and he discovered that he spent that daily hour of misery to be closer to her.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Something like that – I purposefully put that little play on words between the chess terms and “mate” as a romantic partner (or friend or buddy in some cultures) in the title. Thanks.

      Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Thanks, Dale. I had it one way in my mind, but as soon as it was written I realized people could see other possibilities, something I always strive for in poems, but don’t always think about in fiction. But then, these 100 word stories are kind of like prose poems, aren’t they?

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        1. trentpmcd Post author

          Half of the fun is seeing where people take it – with this one most of the people had a dark or creepy, Halloweenish vision in their minds so many of them took this story as going that direction…

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Thanks. When I wrote it my thoughts were on the romance side, but then I realized others could read it in other ways, and since most of this weeks FF stories were much darker, I think a lot of people had that dark thought in mind.

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Thanks, Iain. Perhaps there is, but perhaps it’s just behind the closed doors of someone’s mind. It is all a great game a of chess and someone just won. A less sinister interpretation is that Cheryl, stuck under the wing of her father, had wanted to be noticed by the MC. At the end of the story, she was – he had been playing the unpleasant chess games to be close to her.

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