Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2024 i Take a Break Fiction Feast

Well, that was embarrassing,’ Avril said, as most of the people in the pub started to leave. ‘What was?’ I asked. ‘That was.’ She pointed at the scoreboard the quizmaster had left on the screen. ‘In case you hadn’t noticed, we came last again.’ ‘Yeah, but we were only two points behind The Quizzly Bears,’ I pointed out. Avril sighed. ‘Yes, but we always come last, and I’ve had enough of it.’ ‘What do you mean?’ I said. ‘Don’t you want to come any more?’ ‘No, I don’t think I do,’ Avril said, before she took a swig of her drink. ‘It was fun at first, but we’ve got no hope of winning a prize as there’s just the two of us, and I’d rather spend my entrance money on…

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Barbara couldn’t believe it when she looked in the cupboard. ‘Martin! You’ve bought 10 more chocolate bars!’ she cried. ‘Er, yes,’ he said. ‘There’s a competition. If you find a gold label inside the wrapper, you win £1000.’ ‘Is that like last month’s competition where you bought 20 bars and didn’t win a single penny?’ ‘Yes, well,’ Martin grinned. ‘If at first you don’t succeed…’ ‘…You realise the odds are against you and give up!’ Barbara finished. ‘No, no!’ said Martin. ‘Giving up isn’t an option, not in my book. And I’m feeling lucky. And we could really use £1000, couldn’t we? We’re a bit short at the moment.’ ‘That’s why we can’t afford to throw away good money on chocolate bars we don’t want!’ Barbara said, opening the pedal…

Jenn’s sister Lisa had had some novel ideas over the years, a Jacuzzi at Christmas, an ice-cream van at her anniversary party. Now it seemed she’d come up with another one. Jenn frowned as she held ‘They all basically look the same to me. Isn’t this all a bit weird though?’ her mobile. ‘So you want to buy a caravan but not for holidays on the coast? You want to hide it away and treat it like a bolthole, a place to escape?’ ‘Yes. There’s a site about four miles away. A farmer owns it,’ Lisa replied. ‘There’s a shower block and power hook-ups.’ Jenn’s frown deepened. ‘I didn’t know we had places like that round here. The closest thing we have to anything touristy is the canal. Are you…

The bus slowed to a stop and the doors slid open. Nicki stepped off and examined the map her mum had drawn. Scrawled on a Post-it note that wasn’t much bigger than a postage stamp, it was completely illegible. As she’d drawn it, her mum had explained how to get there, but Nicki hadn’t been listening. And now she was stuck in some remote corner of south London, not knowing which way to turn. Literally! Of course it wouldn’t have mattered if she’d had her phone. She could have looked it up on Google and let the sat-nav do the rest. The trouble was, she no longer had a phone. Like everything else she owned, Nicki’s phone had been confiscated. And a fat lot of good that had done! With…

Under one of the yew trees, I stared down at the grave, a bunch of flowers in hand. I’d just walked from my car. I often come down here to say hello these days. The graveyard’s peaceful and I like time to order my thoughts. ‘I always considered lilies better than chrysanthemums,’ I said. ‘They grow chrysanthemums at much lower temperatures. Lilies prefer a much hotter greenhouse.’ I laughed. ‘That reminds me of something, Maud.’ I frowned. ‘Do you remember when you moved in with me and Stu?’ r r r r r ‘Maud. How lovely, I’m thrilled you’re here.’ I’d lied two years ago. It wasn’t lovely and thrilled wasn’t the right word. I smiled at my mother-in-law, a little old lady with a cat’s-bottom mouth and a topographical…

Make a wish!’ Lynette exclaimed, as I leant over my birthday cake to blow out the candles. I wish you hadn’t stolen my husband and ruined my whole life, I thought, miserably, closing my eyes. ‘Watch out, Mum! You’re going to set your hair on fire,’ Kai, my eldest, cried. I sprang back, and caught Lynette laughing as she wafted away the smell of singed split ends. Believe it or not, once upon a time, Lynette and I had been best friends. Kim’n’Lyn, people called us. We’d met at school, hiding at the back of the Maths class because we didn’t know what was going on, and hoping the teacher wouldn’t pick on us with a question. After school, I got a job in an office and Lynette went to…

It was well after midnight and the streets were deserted as Leah drove home. Cleaning the local cinema wasn’t a popular job amongst the other agency staff, since work couldn’t even begin until the last show was over. But being single and with no kids, the hours didn’t bother Leah. She was a film buff and if she got to work early, no one minded if she sneaked in to see the films for free. She had left herself a note on the dashboard reminding her that she needed milk and bread, but desperate for sleep, she almost ignored it. It was only the thought of tea without milk when she got home that had her reluctantly turning into the car park of the 24-hour supermarket. As she parked, a…

G reg gave a sigh of relief as the school bell rang, heralding the beginning of the weekend. He had a couple of jobs to do, though, before he felt he could slip away — and for once, he was putting himself before school work. He glanced at the safe in the corner of his office, hidden by box files and paperwork. Today, it also contained the diamond engagement ring he’d bought Lucy Tranmere. He wanted her to know that his proposal was something he’d thought long and hard about, rather than some spur-of-the-moment decision. ‘Sorry to bother you, Mr Simpson, but the police want to see you’ Most importantly, he needed to talk to Lucy first. He wanted to make sure his timing was right before he spoke to her…

After they’d inspected their room in the hotel, Adam went off to have a shower. Sophie sat down on the bed and remembered the first time they’d talked about going on holiday together. They’d been in a restaurant in Brighton at the time, and she’d really been enjoying her steak and chips until her boyfriend had suggested going away. ‘Oh, I don’t know about that,’ she’d muttered, putting her cutlery down as she’d stared at him. ‘It’s been a disaster every time I’ve gone on holiday with a man before.’ ‘Oh, right,’ Adam said. ‘So how many men have you gone on holiday with?’ Sophie thought for a moment as she watched Adam squirting brown sauce all over his chips. ‘Not that many. Just three, I think.’ ‘Three!’ Adam cried,…

Can you cat-sit for a week starting the 15th?’Aunt Sarah asked. ‘Your mum says you’ve been made redundant by the insurance company, and that you’ve set up as a cat-sitter, so I’ll pay the going rate…’ True, I was unemployed, but cat-sitting was Mum’s idea, and I hadn’t agreed to it. But after sending out CVs and not receiving any replies, my redundancy money was running out and, according to Mum, cat-sitting was an easy way of earning some cash. ‘Cats just need feeding and stroking,’ she’d said. Assuring me that the bookings would come flooding in, she gave me a diary in which to jot them down. I couldn’t even remember where I’d put it… When I found it, I discovered that she’d already pencilled in a booking for…

Modern man Sam switched on the dishwasher. Thanks to Tina, it started up instantly and without the awful clanking noise he’d heard yesterday. He’d thought that it might need replacing, but they couldn’t afford a new machine. They’d spent a fortune recently… Tina had wanted a greenhouse so she could indulge her love of plants. Next, came a patio and gazebo… Sam made two mugs of coffee and took them into the living room. Tina was watching Gardeners’ World on TV. She didn’t even look up as he placed her drink on a side table. He tried to sit in his favourite chair, but Nigella the cat was already there. So, he sat in the opposite chair where his view of the screen was obscured by a jug of sweet…

Fate brought him to my doorstep one Sunday afternoon. My hair glued to my head in a conditioning mask and wearing a white towelling robe, I opened the front door, expecting to see my chatty elderly neighbour. My voice disappeared when I saw the man standing there — 6ft 3in of masculinity, in a grey jumper and jeans, light-brown hair, his beard neatly trimmed. ‘Sorry to disturb you,’ he began, his brown eyes assessing me. ‘Yes?’ I managed. He was right when he said he was disturbing me — just not in the way he meant. He produced an ID. ‘Detective Sergeant Jacob Summers. Would you mind if I come in? There are a few questions I need to ask you.’ I led him inside, introducing myself as Hannah Anderson.…

‘We’re not letting her go. We’ll kidnap her and throw her in the boot if we have to’ The car door slammed after my ex-husband piled in. ‘This is all your fault,’ I told him. ‘How do you work that out?’ ‘You gave Poppy cash for her 18th. I gave her vouchers. You can’t buy plane tickets with gift tokens.’ Clicking on his seat belt, he gave a dismissive grunt. One I recognised from our marriage. This morning, I’d picked him up from his office, as he always cycled to work these days. ‘This is your fault, you mean,’ he corrected. ‘You’ve always let her get away with things I wouldn’t — disappearing off with her mates, coming home late. When we split, she should have moved in with me, where…

It was 12.15pm on Monday and she was sitting on the beach with a man that wasn’t her husband. They wore suits and gaudy, cheerful Kiss me quick hats. Joyful bathers splashed in the sea and a group of donkeys carried giggling children. However, it was when Laura saw couples walking by that the guilt kicked in... she urged herself to focus on something else. So she thought about the recent weather. The rain and cloud had hung about for weeks. People were still huddled in their winter clothes, when suddenly in late April, clear blue skies and warm sun had arrived from nowhere. At work that day, seeing the customers in sunglasses, shorts and sandals, Laura made a decision. Why didn’t she book the afternoon off? She was just…

I’m invisible,’ Helen told her friend, Beth. ‘Mick hardly notices me. Ten years of marriage, and it’s like I’m wearing Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak.’ ‘Have you tried talking to him?’ asked Beth. ‘You should tell him how you feel. But pick your moment — don’t try talking to him when he’s tired or stressed, it’ll just make matters worse.’ ‘He’s hardly ever here,’ Helen said. ‘That’s half the problem. He’s refitting a shop 100 miles away, and it’s flipping hard graft. ‘It’s too much, really, for one bloke. He works long hours and it’s too far away, so he rents a room all week and only comes home at weekends.’ ‘Well then, maybe you should do something to surprise him, something to get his attention.’ ‘Like what?’ Beth shrugged. ‘A…

When Dan told her he’d bought her a surprise gift, Marion was delighted. If there was one thing she liked it was a surprise. He told her to hold out her hand and close her eyes. ‘No cheating.’ Immediately, her mind went off on a jaunt. They’d been dating for more than a year now. Would she open her eyes to find him on his knees, ready to propose? Her heart had raced at the thought. ‘Right. You can look now,’ he said. When she opened her eyes all she was holding was a piece of paper. ‘We’re going on a coach holiday to Scotland,’ he explained. ‘And don’t worry, I’ve already spoken to your boss so you don’t need to bother about asking for time off.’ She gave him…

Let me get this straight,’ I began. ‘Carl, your new, good-looking boyfriend, always seems distracted. He hasn’t told you where he lives and he hasn’t invited you to his home. ‘He has no landline number. He can only be with you for a short while because he needs to get back to his elderly, frail mum. He…’ ‘Enough!’ My friend and flatmate, Jenna, put her hands over her ears. He’d showered her with attention, flowers, gifts and compliments I really felt for her, as she didn’t want to hear the cold, raw truth — that Carl was probably committed to someone else. ‘He lives with someone,’ I concluded. ‘Or he’s married. He might even have kids.’ ‘Oh no. Could it get any worse, Holly?’ Jenna groaned. ‘Well, yes, it could actually.…

When Sasha entered the office break room, she found her colleagues, Emily and Lily, talking about what was on TV tonight. ‘You two need to get a life,’ she said, joining their table. ‘Like me.’ ‘Don’t tell us,’ Emily rolled her eyes. ‘You’ve got another date. How many is that this week?’ ‘Obviously not enough,’ muttered Sasha. Sasha made no bones about her quest to meet Mr Right. No expense was spared when it came to her wardrobe or appearance. Add her slender figure and bobbed blonde hair, and she was pretty sure everyone was envious of her. ‘I don’t know how you can be bothered,’ said Lily. ‘By the time I get home, all I want is my PJs, my cat on my knee and the telly.’ Sasha could…