#FF — For the first time

PHOTO PROMPT © Dale Rogerson

I’d allowed myself to be talked into attending the farce of a wedding, then reception. The dunce cap napkins said it all. Everyone knew Melinda’s marital pattern of marriage-to-millionaire followed by unfortunate-death-of-groom, then whirlwind-romance-leading-to-engagement-with-next-rich-dupe. She forgot what number Harold was: 4? 5?

Even my hard-boiled cynicism couldn’t ignore how Melinda and Harold looked at and held each other while dancing. Maybe this time my baby sister had found true love.

“Endless Love,” was on the DJ’s platter when they arrived; one detective and two uniformed officers.

Cuffing Harold, Detective Jones said, “You’re under arrest for murdering your wife, Jeri.”

[100 words]

 

 

Rochelle Wisoff-Fields is the steadfast host of Friday Fictioneers.

95 Comments Add yours

  1. Haha, she got away lightly there :)

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      :) Yes she did!

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Dale's avatar Dale says:

    That *might* have been the end of her M.O.!

    Liked by 2 people

  3. Iain Kelly's avatar Iain Kelly says:

    Harold obviously needed to take lessons from Melinda! :-)

    Liked by 2 people

  4. ceayr's avatar ceayr says:

    Birds of a feather, hmm…

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Neil MacDonald's avatar neilmacdon says:

    Such a pity. They had so much in common

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Oh. Looks like she had a narrow escape!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Melinda is clearly more smart than Harold!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

        Yes she is! A serial killer, but a smart one.

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Yes, she did! But now she is heartbroken. Life is such a twisty biscuit.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. I;m sure she will move on though. ;)

        Liked by 1 person

  7. I like those surprise twists at the end.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      I was going to have it be her who gets arrested, but then I thought let’s shake things up :)

      Liked by 2 people

  8. granonine's avatar granonine says:

    What a great twist! In this case, like attracts like :)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Uh-huh. I wonder if they’ll stay married?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. granonine's avatar granonine says:

        With him in jail for murder, I wouldn’t think so. She’ll grab what she can of his fortune and continue hunting, don’t you think?

        Liked by 1 person

        1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

          I don’t know, anything is possible :)

          Liked by 1 person

  9. Dear Lisa,

    This isn’t far from a real life situation here with a friend’s sister. Sad she finally found Mr. Right and he turns out he couldn’t be more wrong. Well done.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Rochelle, sorry to hear it about your friend’s sister. Glad you enjoyed it.
      Shalom,
      Lisa

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Sadje's avatar Sadje says:

    This is so good Li.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      :) Thank you!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Sadje's avatar Sadje says:

        You’re welcome 😉

        Liked by 1 person

  11. ghostmmnc's avatar ghostmmnc says:

    Actually sounds like they were a good match for each other – two of a kind so to speak. :)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      :) Yes, indeed!

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Ah, they always get them in the end. Nice one.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      :) What about Melinda???

      Like

  13. It takes one to marry one

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Yes it does :)

      Liked by 1 person

  14. memadtwo's avatar memadtwo says:

    That would have been an interesting marriage. (K)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Yes it would.

      Liked by 1 person

  15. Yikes! Sounds like her sister had a close call there!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Yes she did!

      Like

  16. plaridel's avatar plaridel says:

    what a downer! they seemed to be perfect for each other. :)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Well, they are both still alive, which is saying something. Who is to say they still aren’t?

      Liked by 1 person

  17. Such a beautiful song.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Yes, it is. It gives the singers a chance to shine. Luther and Mariah are the ones to make it.

      Liked by 1 person

  18. Nobbinmaug's avatar Nobbinmaug says:

    I love me some Luther. If silk were a sound… He murdered Lionel Ritchie on that album. Luther outdid him on “Endless Love” and “Hello.” What’s left for Lionel? “Brick House?” “Easy?” At least Luther didn’t cover “Three Times A Lady.”

    They sound like a good match. I wonder if either would be happy if the marriage happened, and they didn’t have anyone to kill or if they’d try to kill each other. Nice twist.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Poor Lionel lol.

      I wonder about them too. Maybe they’d team up? As long as he put the toilet seat down after use, he’d probably be safe.

      Thanks for your funny and thoughtful comment.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. Well, one CAN see what they saw in each other, then … ;)

    Liked by 1 person

  20. Badfinger (Max)'s avatar badfinger20 says:

    Melinda dodged a big old bullet…but she is still rich I guess.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Max, I’m going to quote The Beatles: “Money can’t buy [Melinda] love.”

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Badfinger (Max)'s avatar badfinger20 says:

        No it cannot…and her habit almost bought her the farm.

        Liked by 1 person

  21. 4963andypop's avatar 4963andypop says:

    Black widow meets black widower? Nice twist

    Liked by 1 person

  22. draliman's avatar draliman says:

    Nice twist! If the’y managed to get married it would maybe have turned out like that film “Mr and Mrs Smith”, where they spend all their time trying to kill each other :-)

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      lol, you never know!

      Liked by 1 person

  23. Russell's avatar Russell says:

    I think Melinda just dodged one of her own bullets! I liked that turn around at the end.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      I think so too, Russell. Thanks and glad you liked the turn around.

      Liked by 1 person

  24. mjlstories's avatar mjlstories says:

    Great twist there!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Thank you :)

      Like

  25. Ha! Surprised me, that’s for sure. Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

  26. Irene's avatar Irene says:

    Such a delightful short story! I feel like we got to know the characters well in four brief paragraphs.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Very happy you enjoyed the story, Irene. Thank you.

      Like

  27. calmkate's avatar calmkate says:

    lol made me laugh, loved that twist … they had met their match!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Uh huh. Good thing Miss Marple was on the case to nab him in time!

      Liked by 1 person

  28. Pradeep's avatar Pradeep says:

    A good twist at the end. Melinda’s time might not be too far, and she would be able to join Harold in prison!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Very possibly!

      Like

  29. Well done! I guess birds of a feather flock together.
    Ronda

    Liked by 1 person

  30. Brilliant twist — you caught me. And “The dunce cap napkins said it all” had me laughing out loud. It says so much about the narrator’s attitude.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Thanks for reading and your wonderful and astute comment.

      Like

  31. Oh I absolutely love this one!x

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Glad you enjoyed it, thank you.

      Liked by 1 person

  32. A very well-suited pair! Great story.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Thank you and glad you enjoyed it :)

      Liked by 1 person

  33. Oh the irony, he makes one mistake and gets nabbed while she gets away with serial murder. :-) The twist made this an excellent piece, well done.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Michael, yes, life has an ironic aspect to it much of the time :) Glad you liked it, thanks.

      Liked by 1 person

  34. Mags's avatar magarisa says:

    Harold’s quite the amateur compared to Melinda! Having Melinda’s sister tell the story makes it even more interesting than it would’ve been with Harold or Melinda as narrator. Very well done, Li.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Magarisa, thank you for your kind words. The whole story was sparked by those napkins!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Mags's avatar magarisa says:

        You’re welcome, Li. One never knows where inspiration will come from. 😊

        Liked by 1 person

  35. pennygadd51's avatar pennygadd51 says:

    Love the twist! You heighten it very cunningly with your hints that Melinda has found true love this time!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      So glad you enjoyed the story, Penny, thank you.

      Like

  36. Sandra's avatar Sandra says:

    Now that’s what I call a serious twist.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Uh-huh. It even threw me for a loop!

      Like

  37. Love the twist at the end. Melinda and Harold are well matched it turns out, though she’s better at not getting caught ! Nicely told.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      :) Thanks!

      Like

  38. Who would have guessed that Harold was Bluebeard

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      <3 Exactly

      Like

  39. Nan Falkner's avatar Nan Falkner says:

    WHOA! Very, clever! The surprise ending – What a turn of events. I ENJOYED THIS!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Nan, so glad you enjoyed the story, thank you!

      Like

  40. Laurie Bell's avatar Laurie Bell says:

    Ooooooo so she had found a soul mate… two birds of a feather. This time she was lucky.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Lisa or Li's avatar msjadeli says:

      Yes she was!

      Like

  41. pvcann's avatar pvcann says:

    I have a list of people I’d like her to meet :)

    Liked by 1 person

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