A Short Story: In Reverence to the King

Author’s Note: A box of writer’s prompts showed up at my house recently. As a creative exercise, I wanted to use this space to share the output from some of my writing sessions. Here’s how it works: I draw two cards from the box and write whatever comes to mind — it’s that simple. The cards drawn for this, the second story in the series, were: “Person who wants respect” and “Person who is locked out.” Below is my interpretation of that combination. I’d love to see yours!

A tight fold always preserved the integrity of a sandwich, he thought, as he stretched one sheet of plastic wrap over top the other. Then, with remarkable dexterity, he stretched his fingers backward to pull up the far ends of the wrap, switching sections quickly to complete the package.

“There.” He surveyed his work with pride. The perfect square, bologna and cheese on rye bread, suffocating within its plastic casing. “The perfect lunch.”

John Mirabelli was a simple man and he found joy in these simple pleasures. Was he obsessive? Some might think so. But he had his way, it carried him through 45 years, and he wasn’t about to change now.

“And why should I?” The words came out louder than intended and with a bit more frustration than one might expect from a man standing alone in his kitchen. Perspiration beaded on his forehead…