“There’s your bottleneck,” Justin nodded at the bleach-blonde woman at the end of the production line. A stack of TMPuregold Widgets sat to her left. Picking one, she held it up, squinting along its length, and nodded.
“Lorna’s a bottleneck?” His uncle chewed the end of his mustache.
“She’s slow.”
Lorna picked up another widget, ran her hand across its end, and crooked her finger at a young brunette. They bent their heads together. The younger brought the piece back to her station, smiling.
“I have lots of streamlining ideas, Uncle.”
“Tell your mother we’re not hiring just now.”
© Liz Husebye Hartmann (2018)
Carrot Ranch Prompt (08/30/2018): In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about a bottleneck. You can be literal or use the term to describe congestion. Go where the prompt leads.
Valley of the Trolls 
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Ha! The nephew is too sharp for his uncle’s half-hidden charades. The man needs a blind and foolish young relative to hire. Great characterizations (and use of trademark).
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Oooh, I get the feeling that the uncle doesn’t have faith in Lorna – or her mother – for reasons unknown… or because they’re women, which seems much more likely.
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Better consult the Magic 8 Ball. 😉
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