It all started last night – two fruit flies sat on the edge of a ledge in my kitchen. Side by side. So close that I could kill them both with one slap. I wound up for the hit (they were big fruit flies, okay?) and I… missed. The fruit flies that is. What I hit was the fruit fly trap (that’s not working). It fell off the shelf knocking a wine glass into the sink where it broke. Damnit! I thought. I smashed a wine glass for nothing.
But that’s not where it ended.
This morning I was getting Alex ready for camp. He followed me into the kitchen and started complaining that his foot hurt. I didn’t get a chance to look at it; someone knocked at the door. While I dealt with that, Alex began to scream. He didn’t come out of the kitchen and the man at the door (the postman) is Deaf, so I ignored Alex and finished up with the postman. When I got back into the kitchen there was blood everywhere. It took me a while to figure out where it was coming from – turns out there was a cut–a hole actually–on the bottom of his foot. Yes, the fruit flies strike again.
So while I was discussing with Alex whether or not he would go to camp, Chris, my Autistic son came downstairs and began to insist I take Alex out of the house. He had plans to spend time in the living room (rather than the computer room where he locks himself whenever his little brother is home). When Chris has plans, they’re not easily changed. He ranted. He yelled. He swore. He threatened. He banged doors and hit walls. And then he went for a walk. Luckily by the time he came back he’d calmed himself – he even apologised and gave me a hug. I still couldn’t help imagine what might have happened if he’d been hit by a car or something while he was out. It’s the writer in me… and I’ve always had a bit of a morbid imagination. Anyway, I could just see it.
Officer: What happened, Ma’am?
Me: Well you see, it all began with an attempted murder… of two fruit flies.
The morals of the story? Karma’s truly a bitch. And never underestimate the significance of a fruit fly.
August 3, 2015 at 5:20 pm
Thanks for a chuckle, although sorry about your son’s foot . . . um, and the wine glass. 🙂
LikeLike
August 3, 2015 at 10:07 pm
Glad it gave you a laugh, Debby. 🙂 The foot’s better and the glass was a cheapie, thank goodness!
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 2, 2015 at 2:15 pm
You made me slap-happy with the one, Linda G. ❤
LikeLike
August 3, 2015 at 9:53 pm
Hehe. 😀 Glad to put a smile on your face, Mr. Mark.
LikeLike
July 28, 2015 at 4:36 pm
Hope all is well. We only get fruit flies in our wine and they die of alcohol poisoning
LikeLike
August 3, 2015 at 10:06 pm
Thanks, John. What a way to go! *hiccup!*
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 4, 2015 at 8:22 am
🙂
LikeLike
July 28, 2015 at 8:09 am
Great post, but sorry you had such a challenging time of it. Glad to hear that harmony has returned… for now.
LikeLike
August 3, 2015 at 10:03 pm
For now… 😛 Thanks, Maggie. 🙂
LikeLike
July 28, 2015 at 7:53 am
I have tried everything to get rid of fruit flies, all the traps and online wisdom. Thing is, we don’t have fruit anywhere near them! We keep our fruit in the fridge, both because we like it better cold, and to (supposedly) prevent the fruit flies.
LikeLike
July 28, 2015 at 7:57 am
Are you sure they’re fruit flies? Drain flies look the same. Try pouring bleach down all your drains three times a day, if you haven’t already.
LikeLike
July 29, 2015 at 1:00 pm
I never heard of drain flies. Something else to worry about. I say live and let live with the fruit flies. Either the downward wind created by trying to kill them or their sense of staying alive seems to always move them out of the way before a strike. I try to eat fruit up fast.
LikeLike
August 3, 2015 at 10:03 pm
Yep, I’m on the verge of giving up and just throwing them all a banana party. 😛
LikeLike
July 28, 2015 at 5:24 am
What a terrible series of events. Damn those bloody fruit flies and the carnage they cause! I hope that the boys are ok 🙂
LikeLike
August 3, 2015 at 10:01 pm
The kids are fine, thanks Edwina. Seriously though, who knew fruit flies were capable of so much destruction!?!
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 4, 2015 at 1:36 am
I know. Dangerous little buggers!! ☺
LikeLike
July 28, 2015 at 3:17 am
Linda, I think the lesson is: move the wine and THEN go for the fruit flies. BTW, if it was red wine, it is the wine they were after and not the trap, fickle little bar stewards! The Husband is a red wine drinker and he’s plagued by livestock in his wine – summer and winter… Glad all’s well that ended well!
LikeLike
August 3, 2015 at 10:00 pm
The wine glass was actually clean. It just hadn’t been put away. …maybe the lesson in all this really is to clean up after myself. 😛 Hehe. Thanks for the comment, Fiona. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 28, 2015 at 3:08 am
I never have a happy thought without its morbid twin lurking in the back of my mind, quietly whispering to the voices what might happen! I personally think all fruit flies should be squished, karma be dammed. Just got a horrible goosebumply chill saying that!
LikeLike
August 3, 2015 at 9:56 pm
A morbid twin – what a perfect way to describe it. Thanks, Eloise. 🙂 And yeah, fruit flies are so useless!
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 28, 2015 at 2:47 am
I could loan you the shepherd cross we are fostering for the summer; she loves catching and killing flies (and rats, and moles, and mice, and pigeons – and that’s only so far). The downside is she likes nicking food or licking out dishes on the side, and she’s big enough to reach a lot further than you’d think!
I’m glad things (seem to have) worked out in the end and I hope Alex’s foot wasn’t too deeply cut.
LikeLike
August 3, 2015 at 9:50 pm
We have a fly-catching cat – the fruit flies seem to be too much bother for too small of a meal however. 😛 Thanks for the offer, Keith! Alex is okay. 🙂
LikeLike
July 28, 2015 at 12:05 am
I think your bad karma was caused not by trying to murder two fruit flies, but by failing in your attempt to do so.
LikeLiked by 3 people
August 3, 2015 at 9:48 pm
Try harder next time – duly noted. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 27, 2015 at 11:59 pm
Damn fruit flies . . . funny how I feel hit by karma all the time . . . but only the bad stuff never the good. I’ve gotta work on that.
LikeLike
August 2, 2015 at 10:35 am
I think we naturally take more notice of the bad karma. It makes more sense to look for a reason that something bad happened than to look for a reason something good happened. It’s all about taking things for granted — or not. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
August 2, 2015 at 10:43 am
So true. All the more reason to practice gratitude. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 27, 2015 at 11:33 pm
Ugh. I see that stuff, too. It seems to strike me when I’m actually the happiest. Anxiety loves to ruin a good time, OR, I’m afraid of losing those I love so much. Potato, potahto! Glad Chris is okay 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 27, 2015 at 11:41 pm
I’m constantly afraid – it’s something I have to force myself to ignore lest I end up quivering in a corner every time someone leaves the house.
Thanks, my dear, for your commiseration. 🙂 And yeah, I’m glad they’re both going to survive. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 27, 2015 at 11:59 pm
Well, I’m sure you bandaged Alex, but Chris surviving your imagination was a real feat! 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 27, 2015 at 10:55 pm
Those small dirty little creatures… I really hate them.
I wish everything got back to normal Linda. This incident reminded me of a movie about a Fly which was quite popular here. They can be truly ‘deadly’.
LikeLike
July 27, 2015 at 11:02 pm
Wow. That’s quite a story! I hope I don’t have a reincarnated fly hanging about my house. 😛 Thanks for your good wishes, my dear. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
July 27, 2015 at 11:07 pm
That’s what I hoped so too 😉
LikeLike
July 27, 2015 at 11:13 pm
😀
LikeLike