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Outside Looking In – Friday Fictioneers

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Well hello my lovely readers!  It is Wednesday already!  You know what that means?  Yep!  Friday Fictioneers time!  How fast do these weeks go by…  This lovely photo was brought to you by Shaktiti Sharma.  Hmmmm… What do you see?  If you care to join in on this fun weekly challenge, please click on our fearless leader Rochelle Wisoff (no ‘e’)- Fields blog for the how tos.

Should you just care to read all sorts of interesting takes on this one, click on the frog!

Genre:  Fiction

Word count:  100 – always!

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

Never failed.  Every time Mommy and Daddy had one of their parties, I was sent to the neighbours’.  Not fair!  I’m not part of the family?  What gives?

“No, honey,” said Mommy, “Of course you’re part of the family, but sometimes, Mommy and Daddy have parties just for adults.  It would be boring for you; there’s no one to play with!”

Little did she know I sneaked back, looking through the hedges to watch.  I was surprised to see Daddy hugging and kissing Auntie Laurie on the bench.  She must have had a boo-boo and he was kissing it better.

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Little note:  I originally used the word “snuck” and then doubted myself.  It bugged me enough to look it up.  So… apparently, both are good.. Though “sneaked” is the original form dating back to the 1500’s and “snuck” showed up around the 1800’s mostly in the U.S.A. but then made its way across the Pond, though not unanimously.  As I searched some more, I found out “snuck” is used twice as often as “sneaked” in Canada.  Oh dilemma!  The worst part?  “Snuck” mysteriously appeared and cannot truly be explained.  So, as there are people from all over the world who participate in this challenge, feel free to change my “sneaked” to “snuck” if that suits you more! 😉

104 thoughts on “Outside Looking In – Friday Fictioneers”

  1. I would use ‘sneaked’, but then I’m not Canadian or American! Interesting take on the prompt, a fly on the wall as it were, although I’m not sure I would want to see this sort of thing at my parent’s parties! 🙂

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  2. Love the story. Quite the little investigator. I expected she saw something much more risque than simple kissing. hehe!
    Sneaked, snuck… I’ve been flamed for both. Personally, I’d never heard ‘sneaked’ until I came to Friday Fictioneers. Gotta love the English, and British English language differences.

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  3. Dear Dale,

    Sneaked, snuck, snack, snake…s’no problem either way. Loved this story. The party doesn’t sound boring at all. 😉 Great job with the child’s voice. 😀

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 1 person

    • Ya know… it very well could be! I’m sure as hell not judging where your thoughts went!!
      (Have you been watching Masters of Sex?)😉

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  5. I must have been around four or five when I was at an adult party at home. My Dad gave me a sip of his screwdriver (vodka and orange juice). Strangest glass of orange juice I ever had.

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  8. Poor kid. I wonder if he’ll discuss auntie’s boo-boo with Mama. I also wonder, if at a conscious or subconscious, level the mother knew what was going on, and wanted to keep the kid from the chaos.

    On the “sneaked/snuck” dilemma, I always go with sneaked. I’ve heard people say snuck, but have rarely seen it written down–not even by Canadians. So… I shall stay sneaky with you. 😀

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    • I wonder indeed… don’t know how old he is and how much he understands
      …
      I tell ya, that sneaked/snuck thing really made me go hmm…!

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  12. I loved both snuck and sneaked, but probably would not have used either as I would have struggled to spell them.😥

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  14. When I read “parties just for adults” I had a feeling I knew what these parties were really all about, who-hoo 🙂 I like her child’s explanation.

    I often use “snuck” as I don’t like how “sneaked” sounds, but I’m aware it’s an American word and in fact my spell checker has put a red line under it 🙂

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  15. Thank you for referring to me as a Lovely Reader. You Canadians really are nice. Most Americans call me a grumpy old curmudgeon with an unkempt beard and bushy eyebrows.

    I’m not curious as to which part of Aunt Laurie’s anatomy suffered this nasty boo-boo. Perhaps we should call the 1st responders before she falls faint and requires mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

    Mark me down on the snuck side of the fence.

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  16. Like Sandra, I initially thought it was a swingers’ party, until Auntie was mentioned! Oh the “snuckery” of Dad, keeping it in the family! I do hope he hasn’t decided he has married the wrong sister.
    A great fun story, Dale, with all sorts of connotations, but one that can be read as plain sweet by the clean-minded around here 😉

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  17. Ha! That’s great Dale. Wife swapping parties? Well, mummy and daddy are ‘swingers’ and much more interesting than most mummies and daddies I know – I think!:)
    Over here, there was what I believe to have been an urban myth, that couples who took part in ‘swinging’ would grow a pampas grass in the front garden as a secret sign to other likeminded souls. There were a lot of pampas grasses around when I was a kid …
    Really good story

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  18. Nice story. I’m curious about the family. Cheat or swing? Aunt or “Aunt”? Or something else entirely.
    Re: sneaked – I like your research (although I fall strongly in the living language camp so even if you had said “snook” I would have approved) – I think the decision here probably best relies on rhythm and sound.

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  22. I actually like the swingers party interpretation better than my initial idea. When she said parties just for adults I didn’t think anything special of it — it’s really nice for parents to not have to entertain their kids at a party and enjoy themselves, right? My first thought was that Dad is cheating with Auntie, and when the kid innocently mentions it to Mom the next day, all heck will break loose. So the idea that Mom is already on board was a huge relief!

    Count me in the “snuck” camp. I see it as a more informal version of sneaked, which is perfect for a child this age.

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  25. Daddy is having too much fun. I didn’t even notice the sneaked so I think it must be fun. I get that way about tenses and I want to look them up. Maybe we just don’t say snuck that much. Enjoyed your story, Dale.

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  32. Ahem, count me in with those whose minds are firmly settled in the gutter. I was thinking of a swinger party, too. And if they always send the child away, it’s not the first time these ‘booboos’ happen. In any case, an interesting story, Dale. The comments are great, too.

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    • I tell ya… I never in a million years had the Swingers thought go through my mind… bunch of gutter-minded FFers! 😀
      Love the discussion snuck vs sneaked as created, though…

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