"Answer Me This" by Casey Fiesler
In “Answer Me This” by Casey Fiesler, Anthony is surprised when he inherits one of Uncle Harvey’s exotic pets. Everyone expected him to leave all his worldly possessions to his beloved wife, Marla. The prose flows, and the ironic humor in the story shines through. I slapped myself out of expounding upon the metaphor of the she-beast, threatening to eat anyone who can’t solve her riddles while they go about the routine business of, well, peeing and pooping. There are no complicated plot twists and hidden messages in this story; just a quick, amusing read. I didn’t get this one though:
“You mean the blonde joke?” Trisha sniffed and flipped her very blonde hair over her shoulder. “Why was the blonde upset when she got her driver’s license?”
Andrew laughed. “Well, that’s easy. Because she got an ‘F’ in sex.”
But I loved the rest of the interchange:
”Trisha scowled and pushed her chair out from the table. “That’s it. It’s her or me. Send that flea-ridden exhibitionist lion thing back to—to Egypt, or wherever it is she’s from, or I’m leaving you!”
“I’m from Greece!” the Sphinx yelled, scandalized.”
Because of its simplicity, readers may not appreciate how well written this is. There is no cluttering backstory to get in the way and no in depth analysis required.
Connie Willis in Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy says it better than I ever could:
“[Comedy] tells a story that exists for its own sake and makes the reader laugh not just at the gags but at the world the writer has created.”
On that point, Feisler succeeds. Thanks, Casey, I needed that.