Arlene Shenker<\/a> requested. Remember, this is for adults, not children. Please enjoy!<\/p>\nThe Puppet
<\/strong>\u00a92020-2025 by Tara Lazar<\/strong><\/p>\nRory and Jane met on the set of a cough syrup commercial, performing as cold germ puppets. Ironically, Jane got sick immediately after the wrap. Rory brought her homemade chicken and dumplings, his grandma\u2019s recipe. Of course, Jane couldn\u2019t let a man who could cook and skillfully wield a rhinovirus marionette slip past.<\/p>\n
Their common circle of friends, a small, insular puppetry group, marveled at how they had somehow missed meeting for years. Rory exited an off-Broadway production right before Jane landed the lead role. Jane apprenticed in Los Angeles at the same time Rory worked in Studio City. When Jane zigged, Rory had zagged. Finally, they smacked into each other and stuck like Velcro.<\/p>\n
After moving into their new apartment, though, Rory panicked.<\/p>\n
\u201cHave you seen Mr. Fuhgeddaboudit?\u201d he asked, rummaging through boxes and bubble wrap.<\/p>\n
Rory loved that puppet and performed with it at every opportunity. He brought it to Jane\u2019s nephew\u2019s birthday party. He wrote an autobiographical one-man show featuring Mr. Fuhgeddaboudit. Rory even proposed to Jane with the help of his signature character.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe wasn\u2019t with the others?\u201d Jane pointed to the collective of puppets sitting upon the couch.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I kept him separate! His own box. And I marked it up like crazy!\u201d Rory had moved past upset to frantic, his voice rising an octave.<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay, Honey, calm down. I\u2019m sure he\u2019s here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t tell me to calm down! He\u2019s the first puppet I ever made. I was nine!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know, I know. We\u2019ll find him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the entire reason I became a puppeteer. He\u2019s the entire reason we met!\u201d<\/p>\n
Jane had never seen this side of Rory, manic and unhinged. Normally he acted as a steady presence in stressful situations, defusing irate directors. He could reassure a cast before opening curtain, calming stage fright. Demanding producers took a step back to reevaluate after hearing Rory\u2019s logical solutions.<\/p>\n
But now he was tearing the apartment apart, slamming cupboards, ripping boxes open in eruptions of packing peanuts. Every soothing word Jane offered was met with contempt and rage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy aren\u2019t you looking?\u201d Rory yelled. \u201cDon\u2019t sit there! Look! Help me look!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHoney, there\u2019s only two rooms. We\u2019ve gone through it all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Suddenly Rory stopped and turned to her in slow motion, red-faced.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew it!\u201d he said, pointing at Jane.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou knew what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was you!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMe? What are you talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou never liked Mr. Fuhgeddaboudit!\u201d Rory exclaimed. \u201cSo you took him. You stole him from me. Where did you put him? Where, Jane? Tell me where!\u201d<\/p>\n
Jane stood up, ramrod straight, blindsided by Rory\u2019s accusation.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoney!\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re upset. You\u2019re not thinking straight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr you sold him! Oh my God, you sold him to that hack Jimmy MacEnery!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cJimmy who?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr a pawn shop! That seedy little performer\u2019s pawnshop off The Strip.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLas Vegas?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you know another \u2018Strip\u2019?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, but Honey, I haven\u2019t been to Vegas in years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAha!\u201d Rory yelled. \u201cSo you know the pawnshop I\u2019m talking about!\u201d<\/p>\n
Jane sunk to the floor. This is why people live together before getting married. This sh*t, right here. Except it hadn\u2019t even been 24 hours.<\/p>\n
Rory marched to the contingent on the couch, lifted each puppet, looked underneath, peered inside, then tossed them into a pile. But these weren\u2019t a toddler\u2019s playthings, these were custom, professional puppets, worth thousands of dollars each.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoney, don\u2019t be so flip with the puppets!\u201d Jane gathered each one and propped them back into sitting position. They stared at her with wide eyes, as if they, too, couldn\u2019t believe the unraveling of Rory.<\/p>\n
He grabbed his coat and shoved his arms in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have to get out of here!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ll come with you,\u201d Jane said.<\/p>\n
Rory pulled on a wool beanie, thrust his hands into his jeans, closed his eyes and sighed. His rough face softened ever so slightly, enough for Jane to feel assured pulling on her jacket and following him out.<\/p>\n
By the time they reached the street, down five flights of stairs, Rory had cooled and Jane was able to slip her arm around his waist. They turned west and walked in silence for several blocks, matching each other\u2019s rhythm.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what happened up there,\u201d Rory confessed. It was true. He felt driven by some imaginary force, a sudden and gripping fear that robbed him of all control.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s okay, Honey.\u201d Jane looked at him but Rory stared straight ahead. \u201cI know how much that puppet means to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know you do,\u201d he said. \u201cBut you mean more.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was all they said. Rory and Jane maintained a companionable silence back to their new building. Although the apartment was a fifth-floor walkup, it was halfway between the theatre district and the television studios where they did the bulk of their work. They loved the large windows, the recently remodeled stainless steel and concrete kitchen, and Jane was in awe of the garbage chute and incinerator. First thing that morning she had shoved Mr. Fuhgeddaboudit down, relieved she\u2019d never have to see that stupid f***ing puppet ever again.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Can you believe I\u2019m still fighting off infections? Yeah, and I also had my latest immune-suppressant infusion. So it\u2019s beat it back, let it in, beat it back, let it in again over here. Whilst you still await Storystorm prize distribution, here\u2019s another Flash Fiction piece that my mentee and soon-to-be-debut-author Arlene Shenker requested. Remember, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":271842,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97555],"tags":[3820,2368,1034,97556,14003],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-271841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-flash-fiction","tag-fiction","tag-flash","tag-original","tag-puppetanother","tag-request"],"yoast_head":"\n
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