Sunday Lunch by K. Patrick Moody

I recently judged the One Word Challenge over on Writers' News Talkback forum. The word was 'Chilling' and this tale from 'Scratch' was joint runner up...

Sunday Lunch

He pulled the bag from the freezer. It crackled as the ice broke away from the others. The fresh meat had spread blood around the inside of the bag and it was difficult to see the contents.

"Mum!" he shouted through the door connecting the garage to the kitchen, "Is this the one?"

He held the bag high so she could she it. She looked away from the vegetables she was preparing, placed the large knife gently on the chopping board and dried her hands in the towel.

"Yes, that's the one. A nice piece of shoulder."

Eddie closed the freezer and peered through the frost on the plastic bag, to the pink flesh inside.

"Mum, what's this blue mark?" he pointed to the design on the skin. A wave of panic flushed across her face, her eyes widened.

"Where? Show me!" Eddie pointed to the round shape. "Oh, that," she said, "that's the Danish Bacon mark." She forced a smile.

Eddie reached up to the worktop and placed the joint on a plate to thaw.

"Hmm ... it looks just like the tattoo on dad's arm - before he went away."


BIO:
K Patrick Moody enjoys writing flash fiction and has, thanks to the National Novel Writers Month, two short novels to edit, one fantasy, one sci-fi. He produces non-fiction for two news letters and the web. By day it is IT customer support and its associated technical writing.

Further examples of his work can be found at http://scratchypen.wordpress.com