Twice the Sparta

And now for something completely different.

Today I’m going to try out a prompt from The Blog Propellant. Creative nonfictional fiction. Just go see what it’s all about over there.

He woke Sunday morning after strange dreams. As usual after a restless night of exotic mental imagery, he lay in bed a while longer, contemplating, trying to remember the small details that made the night more interesting and less exhausting.

He gave up and began to wonder what his surprise would be. Two options came to mind: a movie or a visit with friends. He remained unsure of which of the two was to occur as he got out of bed and began his morning ablutions.

“What should I wear?” he asked his husband, who was beginning to stir as well.

“Whatever you want,” his husband replied.

He sighed and tried again. “I mean, will I be sitting, standing, walking, what?”

“Sitting,” came the reply.

He winged his eyeliner and dressed in shorts and a shirt.

His husband was sitting at the dining room table, playing on his phone.

“Will you help me with my straps?” he asked, gesturing with a sandal.

His husband put his phone down and turned to present a knee. Footwear properly installed, they left the house.

As they were leaving their neighborhood, his husband said, “I may have already spoiled the surprise, but I must have read the showtimes wrong. I thought it was 10:45, but it was 10:15. Do you want to see Mad Max in 3D or do something else?”

He pondered, then agreed to something else. After a few minutes, while waiting at the gas station, he had reconsidered.

“Let’s do the 3D. We have time, right?”

Barely.

They made it to the theater a few minutes after the scheduled showtime and hustled to get tickets. His husband shooed him into the theater to watch instead of both of them waiting in line for drinks and popcorn.

The movie was just starting; the voiceover covering any sounds he made getting to his seat. His husband made it into the theater shortly thereafter, snacks and all.

It was absolutely amazing in 3D. And not at all diminished by a previous viewing five days before.

So shiny. So chrome.

After the movie, they decided to take a drive to check out the flood waters from the rising river nearby. No roads were closed as yet; but they soon would be. The river had at least another five feet to rise.

As they drove on, they were briefly amused by the irony of the flames leaping from the sandbagged substation that was already flooded by at least a foot of water. Fortunately it had been closed days before, in preparation for a watery disaster, although not this unexpected, fiery one as well.

He didn’t know how the firefighters would reach the building in time, if at all.

They finished their lap of local catastrophe, and headed home for a bit. They’d make another trip later to see how much the river had risen.

It turned out to be quite a lot.

Also, 600 posts now. Woot.

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