Getting Wordier and Wordier

Is that even a word? Wordier??
I've been writing short stories. Not because I view myself as a 'short story' writer, (I do have a couple of novels in the works) but as a way to teach myself the mechanics of writing. Shorts require tight plotlines and prose that moves the story forward. No wasted words, no meandering sub-plots. It's also a good way to learn dialogueing and the use of body language (as a response - in lieu of 'head jumping').
The first short I had published, "Cavern on the Green" was 3000 words. "Bella Fiore" was 5000. I recently finished "The Color of Passion" which supposed to be short, but as you know from previous posts, grew to a barely managable 21,000 words (eeek). The other short I've had brewing, "Lucy's Island" (working title) was supposed to be a short-short. REALLY short. A simple exerise in dialogue. But alas ... my latest word count has it at 8,000! And I'm not finished!! What the heck happened? I'll keep going, with the w.i.p., but probably will need to edit the dickens out of it to bring it back on track.
The problem - I'm letting the characters ramble on - just like I do on this blog!