Taylor Merchant

"Telling Time without the Ticking"

Franklin Mallory sat on his couch jittery and nervous, waiting for the woman across from him in his father’s chair to comment on the coffee. Abagail Hoffner sipped a minimal amount, hid her wincing well, and gave Franklin a gesture of ‘yum.’ “You don’t have to lie,” Frank said with the grin he had waited to use for twenty minutes. Russel Weiser was standing in the entrance to the hallway. “You knew my father,” Frank half-asked, half-claimed of Abby. “Sincere condolences. I should’ve said something sooner.” Frank raised his hands in a casual signal to halt the course of conversation. “No, it’s fine. Thank you.” One part general jumpiness was also equal parts eagerness to resolve the conundrum his father set upon him. Frank cut to the chase, “I’m sorry to be abrupt, but I need your help. I think I might be in trouble.”