January 30, 2023, prompt: Write a story about the dishes in 99 words (no more, no less). It can be an every-single-day activity, a precious collection, or any other interpretation of dishes as objects or activities. Who is stuck with the dishes and why? Go where the prompt leads! Click here for details.

The Bread Plate – by Hugh W. Roberts

While daydreaming, admiring the dishes on the table, Madeline watched the dapper servers rush by holding trays of plates covered with metal domes. Nobody would miss a small bread plate if she secretly hid one in her purse, would they?

She’d add a dinner service like this, without the name, to her upcoming wedding gift list.

An unexpected rattling of the dishes, cutlery and glasses made as they shuddered broke her daydream.

“What’s causing everything to clatter, Madeline?” asked her mother.

“I don’t know, Ma-ma,” Madeline replied, wondering if the word ‘Titanic’ would easily rub off her bread plate.


Written for the 99-word flash fiction challenge hosted by Charli Mills at the Carrot Ranch.

***


Enjoyed this piece of flash fiction? Then you’ll love ‘More Glimpses.’

***

32 short stories and flash fiction pieces take the reader to the edge of their imagination.

More Glimpses

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35 responses to “Flash Fiction Friday – The Bread Plate”

  1. Did you miss any of these blog posts? avatar

    […] Flash Fiction Friday – The Bread Plate […]

  2. Nicole Horlings avatar

    Fantastically written! I really liked the twist of them being on the Titanic.

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Thank you. I’m glad you enjoyed the twist at the end .

  3. Linda Schaub avatar

    A very clever twist as usual Hugh. I paid to see a virtual tour of Titanic artifacts last year. I heard about the online Titanic tour and always was fascinated with the ship. They showed the grand staircase, a stateroom and a huge room filled with artifacts, among them dishes, glassware and silverware that had been salvaged from the wreck from the ocean floor (or maybe a purse).

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      The virtual tour sounds amazing, Linda.

      There is a Titanic museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland. I should make an effort and go and visit it. The bread plate in my story may well be there.

      1. Linda Schaub avatar

        Yes it was amazing Hugh. I have never seen the movie “Titanic” – it is being released again this year for the 25th anniversary. I would like to finally see it. I did see “A Night to Remember” in B&W years ago. I hope you get to Ireland to see the Titanic museum. Yes, look for that missing bread plate. :)

  4. The Dishes Collection « Carrot Ranch Literary Community avatar

    […] The Bread Plate by Hugh W. Roberts […]

  5. D. Avery @shiftnshake avatar

    Another cleverly twisted tale.

  6. Terri Webster Schrandt avatar

    Oh that is a great twist, Hugh!! That bread plate is likely at the bottom of the ocean still!

    1. Hugh W. Roberts avatar

      Or it could have made it to a lifeboat in a purse, Terri.

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