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Tales on Tuesday — Lost in Space

Nessa of,  The Chrysalis Stage, hosts a weekly writing theme called Tales on Tuesday. This week is its debut.

The idea is to  tell a short, short (500 words or less) story based on the week’s theme. To provide us inspiration, each theme will be the title of a TV show.  This week’s theme is from the show, “Lost in Space” but your story does not have to relate to the series.  If you wish to play along, please visit Nessa for the list of upcoming themes.

Three years after they wed, Alaina and Norman bought the land for their dream home, but realizing that dream was a slow process. The first thing that stopped progress was Alaina’s pregnancy.  She spent much of it in bed before giving birth to thankfully-healthy twin daughters.  Then the car needed replacing, George lost his job and was unemployed for several months, two more pregnancies added the boys to the family.  But last Spring the house was finally completed and they moved in.

The house plans had grown over time.  For instance, the day Rachelle and Michelle drew a line across their room in magic marker and insisted it was an invisible wall no one could cross, Alaina changed the plans to include five bedrooms. “Children need their own space sometimes,” she said.

The day Norm’s grandparents dropped by without calling first, the plans were altered to include a formal living room and a family room.  “I have never been so embarrassed in all my life.  I want a room that will always be clean,” she said.

The year that Aunt Patty came to Thanksgiving dinner and the kitchen was so overcrowded the heat from the stove melted her wig, Alaina added the formal dining room. “We were happy in the kitchen but our guests deserve better treatment,” she said.

The plans for Norm’s office was added when the boys made paper airplanes out of their yearly tax documents. “I need the space to work and think,” Norm explained.

With five kids the need for a designated laundry and sewing room was a must and the number of bathrooms was something the family negotiated  at five one morning while standing in the hallway outside the bathroom.  “Five bathrooms are two extravagant,” George yelled.  They argued but he wouldn’t approve more than three.

Alaina sat at the kitchen table in their new home, and contrasted its space and quiet to the noise and clutter and cramped corners of their first home.  Here the kids loved their rooms so much they emerged from them only for food and school, so the house was always tidy. There were no more family conferences at the bathroom door.  When George wasn’t at work he happily puttered in his office.  Alaina sat alone in the family room and realized she’d gotten exactly what she’d asked for.

24 Comments

    1. Nessa — this story was actually my fear about moving into this house, but luckily, Amoeba and I do not spend all of our time in separate rooms.

  6. Excellent story Q. I love your take on this. It is good to know that Alaina got what she asked for. Well done 🙂

  7. A wonderful “careful what you wish for” tale. This short story could easily expand in a lot of directions to make a longer one.

  9. LOL! I thought that story might have happened to me … for a minute… one time… but I was wrong! *sigh* 🙂

    1. Melli — I know that right now you want to be lonely in your own house, but you’d have missed the kids if they had stayed in their rooms!

  10. What a lovely story! I dream of a big house (last year we were a family of five in a two-bedroom house, oy) but I wonder if I wouldn’t be the same — would I go looking for the rest of them once they weren’t all piled up on me? LOL

    The classic curse of the wish that came true!

        1. LOL! Build an addition and put the pool table in there along with a keg of beer, an extra bathroom and a comfy couch. Then all you’ll have to do is shuck food through the door a couple of times per day.

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