Innholdsfortegnelse for August 2025 i Take a Break Fiction Feast

Sandra felt like she’d been traipsing around the local department store for hours. Her back was aching, her feet felt sore and she was starting to forget why she’d entered the store in the first place. Just as she was considering leaving, she spotted her husband, David. Although Sandra waved, David didn’t see her. He was studying a range of stylish wallets that were displayed on a stand beside him. As Sandra made her way towards him, David selected one of the wallets. He looked around in a rather furtive manner, then discreetly slipped the wallet into one of his jacket pockets. Sandra blinked. Were her eyes deceiving her? David was one of the most honest people she’d ever met. It was impossible to imagine him turning to a life…

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Donna paused at the foot of the stairs and took a last look around the beautiful old house. She’d been happy working here, taking care of ninety-five-year-old Florence, listening to her talk about her life as a wardrobe assistant back in the glamour days of Hollywood. Donna had loved hearing the gossip about all the big stars, and would miss Florence dreadfully. The front door opened and two women burst in. They were in their sixties, well dressed and with ruddy cheeks and excited eyes. Donna recognised them from a photo Florence kept on the mantelpiece; Hilda and Fiona, Florence’s long-absent nieces. Dislike washed over her, but it wasn’t her place to judge people. The pair stopped abruptly when they saw Donna and looked her up and down, taking in…

Monday. ‘You’ll never hit a ball with a cricket bat, Josie. That’s not going to happen.’ That’s what I said after my best friend told me her other half wanted to do something sports-related for their gender reveal party. Josie did look pretty portly these days. Five months’ gone, she always appeared flushed and dewy – and often acted a bit crazy (thanks, hormones). ‘Matt really wants all his cricket-club crowd along on the day, and he really wants me to take part.’ I grimaced. She’d never had a sporty day in her life. Would Josie tell the truth in the end? Since we were standing in the park, she proved it as she threw crusts from her lunchtime sandwich over the railings of the pond. She hit several poor…

My husband is a gentle soul. He’s an artist – a real one, who paints pictures that hang in galleries and people buy. That’s how we met – I was working as a host, temping here and there, welcoming people to social occasions, showing them round, making sure they had drinks. ‘I’ve just come back from a year in New York,’ I told him, feeling proud What I know about fine art could be written in full on the back of a postage stamp (I like the pictures on the Christmas ones – I do know that) but that didn’t seem to matter as long as I glided about the gallery looking glamorous and helping everyone to enjoy themselves. Jack was an emerging talent – I’d been informed of that…

Stuck in the kitchen, arms deep in soapy water, left to do the washing up on her own, Jenny wondered how she’d got into such a mess. It was her own fault. She shouldn’t have volunteered to cook a meal on the first night. Now, instead of everyone mucking in, she’d found herself lumbered with all the chores. ‘I felt guilty leaving you to do all the work. It’s your holiday too’ She sighed. She should never have agreed to come along on this trip. The holiday was meant to be a last-ditch attempt to patch up her relationship with Graham. At 33, he was 10 years younger than her. At first the age gap hadn’t bothered her – but recently, he’d started behaving more like a petulant teenager than…

Mandy wasn’t sure she could do it. But she sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her reflection in the one mirror in the house. Normally, it was turned to the wall. But today, to motivate her, it was facing her – and she was actually looking at it. Just for a second. That was enough. She looked away. She now knew she really had to do this. It would take a lot of courage and a great deal of pain, more than giving birth to her Sophie – and that had set her back two years and three and a half stone. Quickly, she turned the mirror around again and flopped back on the bed. She checked the bag she had prepared the night before. Deodorant,…

I thought I’d do some gardening,’ Andy said, popping his head round the study door. ‘That bottom left-hand corner by the Red Robin bush is getting overgrown. Where are the pruning shears?’ ‘Hm, OK. Enjoy! They’re where they’re always kept, on the second shelf down in the shed.’ Julie was only half listening. Working from home instead of going into the graphic design firm was useful as she didn’t have to endure the rush hour traffic every morning and evening. She still had interruptions from the doorbell occasionally, but on the whole, the benefits far outweighed the negatives. Except, that is, when her dear husband had a day off as she was sure he’d not be able to find a haystack, let alone the proverbial needle, unless it was placed…

This curry is delicious,’ Martin said, smiling at his host. ‘Carrie just can’t get a curry right, can you, love? It’s either so spicy you can’t eat it, or it’s too bland and even the cat won’t touch it.’ He laughed, but no one else did. Carrie lowered her head and sank down into her chair. There was a time when Martin paid her compliments. Nowadays, all he did was criticise. ‘Do you want me to drive?’ Carrie asked at the end of the meal. She knew he’d had a few glasses of wine, whereas she’d been on fizzy water. ‘Lord, no!’ Martin held his hands up as though she’d offered to fly a plane, rather than his old banger. ‘You drive so slowly, it’ll be quicker to walk.’ It…

I sat in my car, wondering if I dare move. Surrounded by metal, I felt safe. I hadn’t worried about using the pavement outside my mother’s house weeks earlier. Back then, Mrs Cline, according to my mum, had worn a smug smile on her face. Mum had seen the woman once or twice in the garden over the fence. ‘Told you it’d be fine,’ Mrs Cline said. ‘You have to let nature get on with it.’ I doubted she’d be eating her words now. Some never admit they’re wrong. In my car, I rang my mother. When she picked up, I knew I sounded tense. ‘I’m outside. Can you open the front door a crack ready for me?’ ‘Have you got your brolly?’ ‘Yes, Mum, of course.’ ‘Right, I’m at…

One-handed, I opened the door of our new home. ‘Put that down, Sally love,’ Peter said. No sooner was the cool box on the ground than I was being carried over the threshold. But my giggles cooled when I saw the gap where the fridge should be. ‘They’ve taken it!’ ‘You didn’t want secondhand, so I didn’t pay the £50,’ Peter said. ‘You said we couldn’t afford a new one!’ ‘And you said…’ The removal van’s arrival prevented an argument. ‘Cup of tea, lads?’ I offered. We’d brought everything we needed for that with us. Four hours later, all our stuff, fridge excluded, was in place – and Peter and I had barely spoken to each other. I broke the ice. ‘Why don’t we pop round to Vi’s?’ Living within…

Thanks so much, Hannah, see you in the morning.’ Alison closed the door gently and left the room, dropping the smile which had been plastered on her face for the past half hour. ‘Thank heavens that’s over.’ Sitting through a four-hour dinner with her husband’s boss and his wife had been bad enough, but discovering a flat tyre and no spare in the boot at midnight meant that they were forced to accept the invitation to stay over in the spare bedroom. It was almost more than she could bear. ‘Dave, if I have to listen to one more story about their son Peter and his accomplishments, I’ll scream. Polite people do not spend hours boasting about their child, even if he did win five prizes at the end of…

My brother Ben called me. ‘I’ve met someone new via a dating app. She’s called Veta,’ he began. ‘I think she’s The One. Will you meet her, Helen?’ I smiled. ‘Of course I will.’ The name was unusual. I’d worked with someone called Veta in a call centre, where we generated sales. Could Ben’s new girlfriend be the same woman? It wasn’t long before people noticed that Veta and Jake were cosying up Veta, my former colleague, was petite, blonde and glamorous. Despite the fact that our customers couldn’t see us, she dressed smartly every day in heels, tight-fitting skirts and chic blouses. She was always nicely made-up, with styled hair and manicured nails. We arranged an evening pub date, because we all worked – I was in admin for…

It was only when Gary was late that I realised with some surprise that I was hoping he wouldn’t come. What was I thinking? He wasn’t the love of my life, but I enjoyed his company. He reminded me of a good-natured Labrador. Not Prince Charming, more like his faithful companion. Tonight, he’d invited me to dinner at an intimate restaurant that had received excellent reviews. It was an excuse to wear my black and silver dress. So why was I feeling flat? It was a cold rainy evening. The idea of lying on the sofa in my dressing gown with some magazines was overwhelming. My flatmate Donna was applying make-up. She had a date tonight too. She looked surprised to see the time. ‘Has Gary stood you up?’’ ‘I…