Alison was stood next to the friendship bench. She was the only one in the playground that wasn’t engaged in conversation and this made her feel awkward. Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to sit on the bench. It wasn’t possible to do so without attracting comment. Someone would stroll past and make a joke
“I read the news today,” said the Ambassador’s wife. “Anything interesting?” said the Ambassador, without looking up from his Kindle. “Can you explain this, on page six?” she asked, handing him a broadsheet newspaper. There was a news story of around 300 words about a visiting statesman, accompanied by a very large photograph of the
Mark thought Christmas was a dreadful time to be homeless. Reminders were all around him of what he was missing out on; people buying presents, friends, family, and parties. The parties were the worst. Huge numbers of drunk people spilling out on the street could spell trouble for someone like Mark. Indeed, this explained why
The women agreed to have one final glass of wine. It had been a wonderful lunch and they were all, especially Michelle, the host, a little light headed. Childminders and husbands were rung and arrangements made to ensure children would be collected from school. The chatter and gossip continued around the huge dining table in
Martin was having trouble deciding which bottle of wine to open. His gut reaction was to be extravagant and go for the expensive bottle of Bordeaux. Only thing is, it was Wednesday and this seemed excessive. All he wanted to do was anaethsatise his brain before going to bed. No point going for something too
