Hannah was playing tug of war with Bear in the living room when her father came home. She noticed the smell right away, crinkling her nose. Bear lifted his nose in the air, shaking his head at it.
"Dad!" She covered her mouth and nose as her father walked into the living room. The putrid smell traveled with the man. "Couldn't you have farted outside? It stinks!"
"I know Hannah." He was pulling off his shirt jacket and loosening his tie as he cut through the living room. "But the smell came from work."
"Still disgusting." The door to the laundry room clicked shut. "What happened?"
"A science experiment gone wrong!" Her father shouted through the door.
"Don't you have places to wash up at work?" Bear had long since run off to beg at the back door. Hannah went over to let him out and start opening windows.
Her father came out in a t shirt and basketball shorts. "Not out in the field." He joined Hannah, opening up windows with her.
"Out in the field as in near the trench?"
"Can't say."
Hannah sighed. She didn't know how her mother dealt with all the secrets around his job.
"Well, what were the people who caused such a stench trying to do?" There was a long pause. Hannah was sure she was just going to get another refusal to answer.
"Trying to fix something." He eventually said.
"Well, it didn't work."
"Clearly." The breeze blew into the house, fresh clean air circulating the odor away. "Good thing it's not winter."
"Yeah." Many questions were on Hannah's mind, but she knew her father wouldn't answer them. It gave her father an opportunity to ask her some questions.
"How did Emily and John meet Skylar?"
"Online."
"What's Skylar's last name?"
"I don't know."
"Where are Skylar's parents?"
"I don't know."
"Why is Skylar here?"
"To meet up with John and Emily."
"By themselves?"
"I guess so."
"What do you know about Skylar?"
"Um... They are really good at stage makeup, made her whole face look like I was looking at a skull. And she was only in the bathroom for like five minutes." The frown on her father's face deepened. "Dad, what's with the third degree? Am I in trouble or something?"
"I don't know."
"Dad?" Hannah's father was out the door again without another word.
Another breeze blew, but this time instead of a breath of fresh air, the house got another influx of the noxious smell that had lingered on her father.
Hannah brought Bear back inside and started closing the windows again because she didn't know what else to do.
The town didn’t know what to do either as the smell kept being kicked up on the wind.
Word count: 460
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