Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2025 i Take a Break Fiction Feast

Enjoying the warm summer sunshine on her patio, a cup of coffee in hand, Babs reread the letter she had received that morning. She had been surprised to find such a posh white envelope in the post with her favourite magazine’s logo on the front. And she was even more astounded when she opened it to see the words, Congratulations, you have won! To be honest, it was lovely to receive a proper letter as so many people used email these days. Taking another sip of coffee, she read the words once more. We are pleased to inform you that you’ve won our recent competition – a relaxing break for two at the newly refurbished Stargazing Spa in Bath. Goodness! She never won a thing normally, but did recall entering…

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Ah, there you are, Suzanne. I was hoping I’d find you here.’ The moment I saw who was speaking, my heart did a nose dive. I hadn’t noticed Annabelle come into the shop. If I had, I would have dashed out the back way to avoid her. I looked around, hoping one of the other assistants might be free, but they were all busy talking to customers. I had no choice but to put on a brave face and find out what she wanted. ‘Good afternoon, Madam. Are you looking for anything in particular?’ I asked. ‘I am,’ she said. ‘David and I are going to a big charity dinner in a couple of weeks. We have a seat on the top table with all the celebrities. I need something…

Hi, where are you? You feel far away too, now.’ Cara sounded in bits when she called me as I was stopped at a motorway service station. Days earlier, her husband had dumped her via text while he was miles away attending an interview. ‘Cara, he fooled you. He’s not the person you thought he was’ I imagined that evening she’d been at home, one hand on her pregnant belly while he, in some hotel room, sent his clumsy, inebriated text. Soz, the marridge thang ain’t workin’… feelin traped, u know. Not comin home. I have to admit, I was secretly thrilled that whenever she’d tried to ring him since, it went straight to voicemail. Perched on a plastic chair in the service station, I set my shoulders back. ‘I’m…

Welcome to the good ship Utopia,’ Lauren sighed. When she’d planned a fortnight’s holiday on a cruise liner with her husband Chris and children Jack, 10, and Ellie, eight, she imagined days filled with excitement. They’d leave behind the dreary, gloomy, drizzly UK and visit exotic destinations. There would be a billion things to do on board – kids’ clubs, pools, sports, arcades, theatres, shows, adventure zones with zip lines and climbing walls. Now, a week in, she’d need a shoehorn to get her kids out of the beds in their cabin next door. In their own bed, her husband lay snoring. It was well past 8am too. She sat in a chair by the door, her toes pressed into the carpet, poised for action. Nothing’s happening! she thought. I…

Stefan rang Carly as soon as she got to her holiday hotel. ‘I just wanted to check that you arrived OK,’ he said. ‘Yes, thanks,’ she replied. ‘How sweet of you to ring so soon.’ ‘I just can’t wait until you get back to...’ ‘Me, too!’ Carly said after the line stopped crackling. ‘I can’t believe the timing! I’ve been catching the same bus as you for years.’ ‘He’s absolutely besotted with Rosie, she’s all he talks about’ It was too soon to say that she’d been longing to go out with him for nearly that long. ‘And we start going out together the night before you go on holiday!’ he replied. ‘I know!’ she laughed. ‘Can I see… night you get back? I have something… a surprise… unless… tired…

After going around all the stalls at the school fete, Maggie was so laden down, she could hardly manage to push the double buggy. ‘Time for home, I think, darling,’ she told Katie, as she wedged a jigsaw with hopefully all its pieces into the tray under the buggy. ‘Not yet, Mummy!’ Katie cried, tugging at her sleeve. ‘Look, it’s time for the raffle!’ ‘Careful, darling,’ said Maggie. The huge chocolate gateau Katie had begged her to buy from the homemade cake stall was in serious danger of being squashed. ‘We’re bound to win something this year, aren’t we?’ Katie grinned. ‘If there’s any justice in the world,’ Maggie muttered. Ever since Katie’s head teacher had announced that a prize would be awarded to the child who sold the most…

Jed and I weren’t invited to my cousin Mel’s main wedding reception, but we did get an invitation to the evening do. I had to buy a new outfit, obviously, and Jed got his good suit dry-cleaned. He’d collected it from the cleaner’s on the high street that morning, but when he came home, I thought he looked out of sorts. ‘What’s up?’ I asked him, as I paused from tidying up around the kitchen. ‘Nothing,’ he replied. ‘It’s not nothing,’ I insisted. ‘You’re not yourself.’ ‘Just a bit off-colour,’ Jed conceded. ‘Don’t worry about it – it’ll pass.’ I wanted to pop to town for a new lipstick, so I left him at home to take it easy for a couple of hours. When I got back, I was…

Today is one of those perfect days you sometimes get in an English summer. It’s pleasantly warm, but not too hot, and the sky is a deep sapphire blue with fluffy white clouds. As I stand outside the church, I don’t think I could feel any happier – my beloved daughter has just got married. Emma is a picture in her traditional long white dress. Each time I look at her, my heart overflows with love and pride but now comes the hard part – the group photos. I don’t mind having my picture taken. I’m lucky, the camera likes me. But today is different because Daniel is here. My brother comes over and gives my arm a comforting squeeze. ‘How are you doing, Nick?’ I tell him I’m fine,…

Beth had just changed into her work clothes when the landline rang. ‘Hello, Beth, is Mike there?’ Jon, her husband’s boss, asked. ‘He’s in Rome,’ she replied. ‘Why are you asking?’ It was Jon who had sent him there, after all. Beth was jealous – she’d always wanted to visit Rome. The Colosseum fascinated her, not to mention all that pizza and pasta. She had cravings to feed, after all. ‘No, he’s not,’ Jon said. ‘I cancelled the business trip. He said he’d spent hours preparing for it, and that I’d wasted his time. ‘We argued. He said he was taking some time off and ended the call. I’ve tried ringing his mobile, but it’s switched off…’ Beth sighed. It wasn’t the first time Jon had cancelled plans at the…

Cliff paths might be hard work, but they had one huge advantage for someone like Marie – as long as you started off in the right direction, you couldn’t get lost. Marie knew she was going the right way, as the path had ended at a little village, where she’d enjoyed a very nice cream tea – and she must therefore be heading back the way she’d come. As she rounded the headland, Marie spotted a group of people, several in uniform, all looking down to the treacherous rocks below. ‘What’s happened?’ she asked an onlooker. ‘Someone has fallen.’ ‘Oh, dear!’ Marie exclaimed. She was sorry for the person who’d had the accident – but pleased she’d worked that much out for herself. Her recent brain fog must be lifting.…

‘Tyler wants to spend the rest of his life with me. I thought you’d be happy’ I thought my mum was going to be thrilled for me when I popped into her shop to tell her I’d agreed to marry Tyler, but she just looked at me and sighed. ‘What?’ I frowned. ‘Don’t you like him?’ ‘Oh, he seems OK,’ she said, as we stood there at the counter. ‘But you’ve only known him for about five minutes, and your father and I have only met him once.’ ‘Yes, but we’re made for each other, Mum,’ I said. ‘We gelled from the moment we met. He makes me so happy.’ Mum sighed again. ‘But you said that about Tom, and he was seeing someone else behind your back!’ ‘I know,…

You look happy this morning!’ Suzanne said to Mandy, the new ‘girl’. ‘Yes, we’ve finally exchanged contracts. My ex Lawrence has moved out and, believe it or not, I’ve got a date, even though I’m 60!’ ‘Well done, you!’ Suzanne smiled. ‘Who is it? Not someone from the hospital?’ ‘Oh no,’ Mandy assured her. They worked for the NHS, so it was a good guess. ‘You remember when I was late on my first day?’ she blushed, but Suzanne brushed that aside. ‘Didn’t you have car problems?’ ‘Yes, I had a flat tyre. I tried to fix it myself but, even with the wrench, I couldn’t remove the wheel nuts. Then this guy, Simon, cycled by and came to my rescue. I offered to pay him for his time. He…

As he stood at the window of his bungalow looking out over the bay, Bill reflected on his decision to retire to the seaside. He’d moved to his favourite little resort because he had fond memories from when he used to visit as a child. Although he didn’t regret his decision, during the summer months the resort was often full of tourists. Consequently, throughout the summer, Bill tended to stick to the quiet little cul-de-sac where he lived. That said, since his new neighbour Grace had moved in, things weren’t always that quiet. As he thought of Grace, Bill found himself smiling. He would be the first to admit he had developed a soft spot for her – even though, at times, she wore him out. She had such boundless…

Hannah couldn’t believe her luck – and it had all started when she’d bumped into Eve. They’d not seen each other since school and Hannah had almost walked on by unaware, her mind on how she and her husband would afford a holiday this year. ‘Hannah!’ Eve gave her a broad smile. ‘How lovely to see you after all this time – how are you?’ Once Hannah clocked who it was, she smiled back. ‘Fine. Well. Busy, you know? What about you?’ ‘I’m good. Look, I don’t suppose you’ve got time for a coffee, have you? It would be fab to catch up.’ Considering Hannah had only popped out to the Post Office and was killing time until she picked up the kids from school, she accepted. Eve now had…

So you’re going to be OK by yourself when I’m away on holiday?’ Tess asked me. It was the end of the working day at Tess’s bridal gown shop. I was her assistant. I smiled. ‘Of course.’ ‘There aren’t many in for try-ons,’ she murmured, as she peered in the diary. ‘Try ons’ were the brides-to-be booked in who would try on different wedding dresses, hoping to find the one to fall in love with. If they did, this led to a sale and sales were vital, as we were only a team of two. ‘We need to keep our customers sweet, Gina,’ Tess had emphasised when I’d first begun the job. ‘We’re a small, independent store – we rely on sales. It’s so easy these days for women to…

There must be thousands here,’ my husband Matt gasped. We gazed in awe at the huge heap of loose notes we’d found in a battered suitcase in our dusty loft. We’d decided to store some spare luggage up there. That’s when we’d stumbled across this strange forgotten fortune. I took a deep breath. ‘Let’s count it.’ We did – and the total came to exactly £20,000. My mind spun. ‘What are we going to do?’ ‘I guess the first port of call should be the landlord,’ he said glumly. ‘Why would Barry stash cash into an old suitcase?’ ‘I don’t know, Ella – but he’s away on holiday this week, isn’t he?’ ‘Yep. Well, let’s not spoil his holiday by pestering him. Let’s make a coffee and discuss what to…