Innholdsfortegnelse for November 2025 i Take a Break Fiction Feast

Mike planned the heist down to the finest detail. He kept it a secret, of course. He didn’t want his grand-nippers to know that Grandad was so desperate he’d resort to theft. ‘Right, you’re fine,’ he told his car, as he sat in the driver’s seat. A getaway vehicle is so important. It needs reliability and swiftness when pursued. Mike imagined his route one more time, and all the places things might go wrong – the lights on Newbourne Street, the junction on Derby Road. Diamonds filled his mind as he started the engine and drove. The gem he coveted today, he’d first clapped eyes on in 1996. Oh, how it glittered – so exquisite and finely crafted. He’d possessed it briefly. His wife often showed it off and made…

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I’m afraid it’s just an ordinary Friday night here,’ Frances said, as she turned on the kettle. ‘Especially with this rain. Maybe you’d like to watch a Harry Potter movie? Or a David Attenborough documentary?’ Her daughter had been asked to fill in for a colleague this evening, so she was minding her eight-year-old granddaughter. Brittany had promised to take Hannah to a fireworks display, but that wasn’t possible now. Hannah wasn’t giving up easily. ‘Aren’t you allowed to have fireworks, Grandma?’ she asked. ‘I don’t see any harm in them,’ Frances said, after a moment’s pause. ‘I wouldn’t get into any trouble with the bishop, if that’s what you mean.’ She measured tea leaves into the pot and opened the cupboard for mugs and plates. The orange almond cupcakes…

The mist came down suddenly, swirling eerily around the streets on the cold November evening, giving all the early street lights fuzzy white halos. To Charlotte, who’d put off coming back for so long, it seems as though time had stood still – nothing seemed to have altered in the past 20 years. Here were the same old terraced houses, even, possibly, the same yellowing net curtains. Of course, now there were satellite dishes on every chimney and the street that had been empty to play in was filled with parked cars, but nothing else had changed. She stopped outside the house that had been her home for seven years. It looked no different. Even the front door and windowsills were the same deep blue, the sash windows looked as…

I’d heard all about Aston Lane, but I’d never driven down it before. It led to the Thomson house. The old Victorian building used to stand well back from the cliff-edge, before coastal erosion had chewed away at the garden. The fruit trees then dropped 10m down into the ocean, as did the summer house. Luckily, Mr Thomson had moved into an old folks’ home five years ago. He’d likely never seen the fence erected by the council, with a yellow notice attached that read DANGER – UNSAFE BUILDING – DO NOT ENTER. Ignoring the warning, I parked and unclipped my seat belt. Then I shivered in the chill air as I made my way to the chain-link monstrosity. I found a gap, half-disguised by a hedge, and squeezed through.…

Polly went out to the car to bring in the last of the boxes. Her daughter Emma had only moved into her new house recently following a divorce, and there was still a lot to do. ‘I see your neighbours watching me through the curtain,’ she said when she returned. ‘Urgh, don’t talk to me about them,’ said Emma. ‘They’ve done nothing but complain since the day I moved in. Honestly, it seems nothing I do is right.’ Polly was shocked. Emma had always been a people-pleaser. In fact, there was many a time Polly had wished her sweet-natured girl would stick up for herself more. So the idea of Emma somehow annoying her neighbours seemed unlikely. ‘What sort of things?’ she asked, puzzled. ‘Well, the day I moved in,…

Carol stared down the road, long after the car had disappeared. So that was it. Kevin had gone. He’d threatened to leave more times than she cared to remember. But she’d never actually believed he would go through with it. She couldn’t even believe it now… She crumpled into a chair. It had been such an effort to fight back the tears as he left. But he mustn’t see how she felt, tears could come later, when she was on her own, in bed… but not now. She had to be strong, at least for a few hours. She stood up. The only thing to do was to keep busy. So she went upstairs and started to clean. But there were too many reminders. The hook in the bathroom where…

My life changed the day I went to a charity auction. I spotted a cute china cat in a box of assorted bits and pieces. I could hardly believe it when my two pounds was the winning bid. As soon as I got home, I called my brother. Andrew does boot sales to make some extra cash. ‘I’ve just bought a box of assorted bits and pieces at the auction. All I want is a china cat. You’re welcome to the rest if it’s any use to you.’ ‘Thanks, sis. I’ll pop round on my way home from work.’ While I waited for my brother to arrive, I looked through the rest of the stuff. I found an old oil lamp wrapped in a dirty rag, buried right at the…

Kenny and I had always worked hard. He emptied bins – not everyone’s ideal job, but it mattered – and I worked frying and serving food in our local chippy. We’d been together five years and, in that time we’d gone up in the world. We had worked our way up from a rented flat in an old estate to a neat two-up-two-down that we owned (well, with a mortgage). Our house was a haven from garbage collection and greasy burger shifts, but I doubt either of us pictured it as our ‘forever home’. One night after a long shift feeding midnight drunks, I came home late, smelling of chip fat. Kenny mentioned we’d had a call on the landline. We only kept a landline for our wi-fi – we…

Rachel’s optimism faltered as the van pulled up outside. There must be some mistake. This van might fit eight passengers at a pinch, but there was no way it could contain two single beds. And they were extra-long single ones, as well. Her sons were growing like beanstalks. Jake’s feet stuck out the end of his existing one and Luke wasn’t far behind. She’d bought the beds at a furniture sale this morning. She hadn’t liked the salesman’s attitude. But the shop was conveniently located over the road from the bakery where she worked. She had been able to buy the beds during her coffee break. Aspen, according to his name tag, had promised to deliver them around 5.30pm. She watched in disbelief as he opened the back of the…

Tricia ran down the steps from the court and breathed in the fresh, clear air. It was so wonderful. She was free! She looked around her at the glorious sunshine, blue skies and beautiful flowers, she heard the birds singing and it was almost as though she was truly hearing them for the first time. Well, after all the weeks of uncertainty, the judge had been sympathetic to her case and made the right decision – she was free at last! ‘I know it’s a cliché, but this feels like the start of the rest of my life’ And she was determined to make sure she enjoyed every single minute! She looked for Chloe, but there was still no sign of her. She frowned. She’d promised she’d be there for…

The whole time Ailsa had been deadheading roses and watering the hanging baskets, a delicious smell of baking had wafted out from the kitchen. When she came back indoors, she discovered her daughter Fi had baked and iced a gorgeous rainbow cake. ‘I haven’t forgotten someone’s birthday, have I?’ Ailsa asked, worried. ‘No, don’t panic!’ laughed Fi, as she carried the cake to the pantry. It was a standing joke that Ailsa jumped to wrong conclusions and imagined disasters on the flimsiest of evidence. ‘It’s a surprise for Kiera, to celebrate passing her driving test,’ Fi explained. Yesterday, Ailsa had seen her younger daughter returning from the test in the passenger seat of the instructor’s car. Assuming the worst, she’d been ready to commiserate, only for Kiera to leap out…

Since Bob took early retirement, he’s changed,’ Rose told her friend Shirley. ‘What do you mean?’ Shirley asked. ‘He’ll only eat organic fruit and veg, and he drinks bottled water instead of industrial-strength tea. He’s given up alcohol, and he’s bought a seniors’ pass that knocks a third off the price of bus tickets.’ ‘Bob has a classic car, and he loves driving – why does he want a seniors’ pass?’ ‘I don’t know.’ Rose sipped her coffee. ‘Maybe he wants to sell the car. He doesn’t talk to me much – he’s too busy researching healthy lifestyles on the internet. He reckons sixty is the new thirty or something.’ ‘I don’t want Bob to sell the car,’ Rose added. ‘He loves renovating it, and it gets him out from…

Lewis was everything I’d ever wanted in a partner – he was clever, handsome, witty and devoted to me. ‘I know I’m lucky, believe me,’ I told my friends who either couldn’t find a decent boyfriend or were stuck in dead-end relationships. And I really did think I was so very, very fortunate. Lewis wasn’t one for sloping off to the pub with his mates – his best friends were to be found in the philately group – in other words, a club for stamp collectors. I know it might sound a little boring, but Lewis wasn’t a boring man. He just loved stamps. He didn’t chat much to me about the club. ‘The first rule of stamp club is, you don’t talk…’ he used to trail off, teasing me.…

Can you believe it? I’m actually playing matchmaker for my wife. Yes, I’m looking for the Other Man. She hasn’t realised she needs one. To me, it’s glaringly obvious – how can I watch her slipping away into the shadows? Elizabeth, of course, would say I’m the one doing that. Maybe she’d be right. The aroma of coffee wafts into the study. She’ll be back in a moment to resume the paper she’s writing. A competent piece of analysis of economic trends. She’s very good at what she does. It’s the things she doesn’t do that worry me. Where’s the spirited, care-free girl I married 20 years ago? The one who went horse-riding at midnight on a beach in Spain. The one who spent six months in Brazil, learning Latin…

The first time someone mistook Samantha Carter for Katy Perry, she laughed. The second time someone thought she was the famous pop star, she chuckled. By the tenth time someone asked Sam if she was Katy Perry, it was no longer funny. Although she was roughly the same height as Katy Perry, as far as Sam was concerned, the resemblance stopped there. Anxious to obtain a second opinion, she rang her best friend Leanne and arranged to meet her for a coffee to discuss the matter. When the two met at their favourite coffee shop, Sam immediately broached the subject that was bugging her. ‘Can I ask you a silly question?’ ‘Sure,’ Leanne said. ‘Do you think I look like Katy Perry?’ Leanne laughed. ‘Actually, now you come to mention…

Verity was tending to her beloved roses when she heard her new next-door neighbour in her garden. It sounded like she was speaking to someone on her mobile. As Verity hadn’t yet said hello, now seemed like a perfect opportunity. She was just about to pop her head over the fence when she heard her neighbour say, ‘And that’s when we’ll kill him.’ Verity was stunned. Her first instinct was to call the police, but after careful consideration she decided to call her best friend, Una. Having spent most of her career working in investigative journalism, Una would know exactly how to deal with the situation. When Una arrived she listened to Verity’s story with great interest. At the conclusion of the tale, Una declared, ‘You were right not to…

Of course, Carol should have told Tony first when she found out. But she didn’t. She walked out of the doctor’s in a daze. Suddenly the whole world looked different, but she couldn’t quite explain how. She wandered for hours around the shops, staring in windows, not really noticing where she was going. And then, finally, she went round to her mum’s. ‘I’m pregnant!’ she blurted out, before she was even through the door. Her mum stared at her, her eyes open wide, half-unbelieving. And then she threw her arms around her. ‘I had to come home early. I was worried about you. You look so pale.’ ‘Darling, that’s wonderful!’ she cried. ‘I’m so pleased for you.’ Carol clung to her. ‘Thanks,’ she whispered. ‘Here, come and sit down!’ her…

It’s Mike! It took me ages to track him down.’ In my lounge my sister Chloe waved her phone under my nose as if a fleeting glance at a tiny photo should be enough to convince anybody. I grabbed her mobile so I could take a proper look. ‘That is so not Mike.’ ‘Add two stone, a beard, and a decade or so,’ she insisted. ‘And look at his ears. They’re the same. You can’t change ears or the colour of your eyes.’ I squinted at the screen as my other half left the sofa where he’d been lounging and made a hasty exit. I didn’t blame him. To my sister, the moon landings were fake and our world leaders were actually a group of alien lizard people. She’d never…