Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2024 i Take a Break Fiction Feast

After just six months, I can’t live without Anita. But recently I’m having problems living with her. Or, more specifically, sleeping beside her — or not as is often the case. Seeing me arrive at work jet-lagged with baggy eyes, the office wisecracks are coming thick and fast. ‘David’s staying up all night,’ Sheila said. My boss couldn’t be more mistaken, but I don’t bother to correct her. It’s the irregularity of Anita’s snoring that’s causing me problems. Everyone snores, at least sometimes. And my previous partner slept with cotton wool in both ears ‘to reduce the decibels’ she used to say. So yes, I admit to snoring. But while Anita snores gently and rhythmically as she’s dozing off, which almost lulls me like the sound of steady rain on…

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Thump! Thump! Thump! Josie stopped stirring the gravy and rushed upstairs. ‘What now?’ she asked, marching into the bedroom. ‘That’s not very nice,’ complained Henry, miserably. ‘You know how ill I am!’ ‘I know I can’t get a thing done because you keep summoning me up here,’ Josie cried. ‘I was just wondering when lunch would be ready,’ said Henry, a well-rehearsed quiver creeping into his voice. ‘An hour ago, if I’d been able to get on with it,’ said Josie. ‘It’s just I’m so hungry!’ ‘I thought you were ill?’ ‘But they say stuff the fever.’ ‘Something needs stuffing,’ muttered Josie, rushing back downstairs. Why did Henry have to choose now to be ill, when she could wait on him hand and foot while waiting for her new job…

You can’t imagine how relieved we all feel that she takes after our side of the family and not yours,’ Donna tells me. My sister-in-law certainly has a way with words. This morning, I’m not in the mood for her insensitivity, having spent half of last night walking up and down the hallway, trying to put Hazel to sleep. My little girl’s in my arms now, sleeping peacefully, unaware of the rush of annoyance through my chest. All she’s aware of is the regular beating of my heart as her head lies against me. Every part of her body expressing a deep trust that bowls me over every time I stop to think about it. I have no response to Donna, of course. Anything I might say would sound rude…

You’re not going out dressed like that, are you?’ Eddie said. Kate looked in the mirror. She would have felt hurt and upset if she hadn’t grown used to Eddie saying hurtful, upsetting things. ‘What’s wrong with it?’ Kate had been pleased with her find. It was nothing grand, just a simple light blue summer dress with a white floral design. Why should she help Eddie crawl his way to promotion? She picked it up in a little boutique near Haverston Market, the kind of thing you’d never find in one of the big chains. It was pretty, and Kate thought it showed off her figure — but it seemed that was the problem. ‘I dunno,’ Eddie said. ‘Just makes you look fat, I suppose.’ ‘No it doesn’t,’ Kate replied.…

Kevin was quiet during dinner. With bloodshot, baggy eyes and rare stubble, he looked like he’d slept rough on a park bench all week. Sometimes, I wished he still lived at home with us, so I could look after him. Instead, he rented a tiny flat near his office and came home for dinner on Sundays. When he announced that he was a dad, that the baby had arrived three weeks earlier, I was confused. ‘But you don’t even have a girlfriend…’ ‘Congratulations. That’s wonderful news. We’ve always wanted a grandchild, haven’t we, Jen?’ Under the table, Tom squeezed my hand. I know you’ve had a shock, Jen, but please don’t make a fuss, the squeeze was saying. Please don’t make things difficult for Kevin… Never mind Kevin, what about…

Hey, someone’s moving in next door,’ I said to my partner, Joe. He joined me and peered through the living room window at the removal van. Our new neighbours were a good-looking couple and around our own age. ‘We’ll let them get settled in and then we’ll pop round to say hello,’ Joe said. The last terraced house on our side of the street had been vacant for a while, so the newbies only had one set of neighbours — us. As we both worked from home in the IT sector, Joe and I hoped they weren’t going to be too noisy. Later, we were upstairs in our home office when the doorbell rang. Joe was busy, so I went down and answered the door to the pretty woman we’d…

Now it’s gone quiet,’ I whispered in the lounge of my end-of-terrace cottage in the quaint little hamlet where I lived. ‘Very quiet.’ Did the news break about the awful thing I did to my neighbour? For weeks, the sound of drills and hammers growled and thudded from No 3. I did write and tell my new neighbour that the walls were thin, the build-quality positively medieval. I told them: I can cope with the renovations, I understand the need, but can you keep the music down? I do work from home, you know. I suppose I shouldn’t have sent a note. I should have stood on the doorstep in person. It might have made a difference. Then again, the second time I complained, I did use the bell and…

Oh no!’ Bunty exclaimed, as she stood in the hallway looking at the empty wall where the painting had been. ‘We’ve been robbed!’ ‘Gran, are you sure?’ Tiffany asked, gently pushing past her grandmother and checking the rest of the ground floor. Nothing seemed to have been disturbed. ‘I hope your grandfather didn’t go out and leave the front door wide open. He’s getting really forgetful these days.’ ‘Does he often do that?’ Tiffany asked, stopping in her tracks. ‘To be fair he’s only done it once, to my knowledge, and he was distracted at the time, but I do have to keep an eye on him.’ ‘I’m sure you do,’ Tiffany nodded as she continued to look for signs of a break in. ‘The beach scene’s gone, too,’ Bunty…

It’s no good. I’m going to have to go round there,’ Angela said as she put her knife and fork down. ‘What?’ Her husband gasped. ‘You can’t do that.’ ‘Oh, yes, I can,’ Angela replied, standing up. ‘Can you put everything in the dishwasher for me?’ Tim nodded. ‘Yes, of course I can, but you can’t go round to Tammy’s house. Emily will never forgive you.’ ‘But I’m worried about her.’ Angela sat down again and picked up her phone. ‘Emily hasn’t replied to my texts for hours and anything could have happened.’ ‘Like what?’ Tim asked. Angela shrugged. ‘I don’t know. A burglar could have broken into the house or that cat might have her trapped.’ Tim laughed. ‘It’s not a tiger, love. It’s just a cat.’ ‘Yeah, but…

Zoe, you’ve got to help me.’ Owen carefully lifted the dog on to the examination table. It cast a glance of apprehension around the surgery. This is the vet’s, right? Although this isn’t the one I usually see. And I’m not sick. So why am I here? ‘What’s the problem then?’ Zoe asked. ‘I dropped it on the floor,’ Owen said miserably. Zoe ran her hands over the little cavapoo’s body, expecting to find injuries, but Owen shook his head. ‘No, not Toby. The ring. And I’ve searched and searched, but I can’t find it.’ Light began to dawn and Zoe firmly repressed a grin. Owen didn’t look as if he was ready to see the funny side of the situation. ‘Aah, I see!’ ‘I can’t think of any other…

Never too late After finishing her shopping, Lisa was heading back towards the car park on the outskirts of town, when a motorbike whizzed past. As neither the rider nor his pillion passenger were wearing crash helmets, Lisa’s first thought was: Isn’t that illegal? Quickly followed by a second thought: That looked like my mum! Shaking her head, Lisa dismissed the idea. She could never imagine her mother, Veronica, doing anything quite so rebellious. Lisa planned to call on Veronica on the way home, and envisaged them laughing about the mistake she had obviously made. Lisa wasn’t laughing half an hour later, as she sat in her mother’s kitchen watching Veronica remove her leathers. ‘What if you’d had an accident?’ ‘We weren’t going very fast,’ Veronica replied. ‘That isn’t the…

Bill was glued to the window, as their new neighbour — young and busty — stood there supervising the removal men unloading the van next door. ‘Just look at that pair!’ he cried, before he could stop himself. ‘It’s a wonder she doesn’t topple over!’ said Maggie, peering over his shoulder. ‘What?’ asked Bill, turning round, ‘I didn’t mean…’ ‘I was talking about our new neighbour, carrying those two huge vases,’ said Maggie. ‘Why, what did you mean?’ ‘Erm… those armchairs,’ said Bill, as the removal men carried them out. ‘Since when have you been interested in armchairs?’ Maggie asked him. Bill shrugged. ‘Where would we be without them?’ he asked. Maggie sighed. Where indeed? All Bill did these days when he got home was sit in a chair and…

Gina stuck the list to the door of the fridge. 1. Clean and organise kitchen cupboards. 2. Sort out wardrobe. 3. Get rid of any rubbish. To anyone else, spring cleaning might seem an odd way to spend a birthday but she rather enjoyed it. After so many dark winter days, it felt good to do something positive Whenever she had a bad day at work, coming home and cleaning the oven or scrubbing the bathroom floor always lifted her mood. Spring cleaning was even better. After so many short, dark winter days, it felt good to do something positive. She made a coffee, then set to work on item one. It was important not to try to do too much at once so she emptied the wall cupboards first.…

My friend Jude barred my way as I tried to walk into the church. ‘You’re late as usual. I’ve had a snoop at the guests already, and it’s not good news. She’s here.’ ‘Who are you talking about?’ ‘Lauren.’ I gasped. ‘Why would my sister invite her to her wedding?’ ‘Office politics, I assume. They do work for the same company. I expect she thought Lauren wouldn’t show up.’ I scowled. ‘What’s she wearing? Tell me so I can spot her.’ ‘She’s in a pink shift dress with a cream neckline. She’s about six pews down on the left. She has a new hairstyle. She’s gone platinum.’ A bold choice — yes, that sounded like my former bestie. I headed for the door of the church. I stuck my head…