ADVENT CALENDAR - DAY 22

Today's challenge began with a sketch of a woman reading a book, with a child sitting beside her looking in another direction. That was enough to lead me into sketching out this story.

ON THE TOP DECK

It was years since Fiona had been on a bus, but Sophie wanted to go to Hamley’s so they’d taken the train to London. It was difficult finding the correct bus stop and then the wretched child had insisted on climbing to the top deck. Still, at least there were vacant seats up here.

Fiona took her phone from her bag and began checking her messages. They were mostly shared jokes and pictures of puppies in Santa hats, but she didn’t want to miss anything.

Sophie grabbed her arm. ‘Mum – look at the reindeer in that window!’

‘Careful!’ Fiona snapped, ‘You nearly made me drop my phone.’

Sophie turned back to the window, her lips trembling and her eyes moist.

Instantly Fiona was a child again, riding a bus with her own mother. Through the window she’d spotted a group of lambs leaping over a hay-bale, but her mother was too engrossed in her book to look. Fiona’s throat tightened now at the memory.

Slipping her phone into her bag, she put an arm round Sophie’s slender shoulders. ‘Let’s see how many Christmas trees we can spot before we reach Hamley’s.’

NOT MY FAULT - a hundred word story for Friday Fictioneers.

NOT MY FAULT

“It’s not my fault, Sir!”

“You were caught red-handed destroying it, Taylor.”

“Well, yes, Sir, but that little sh.. – er – boy Stone, made me do it.”

“How, precisely? You’re twice his size. In fact I recall you were sent to me last week for locking him in a broom cupboard.”

“Exactly, Sir, and nobody would have known about that if he hadn’t phoned home. Without that phone booth to hide in while he snivels to his mum, he’ll have to take it like a man.”

“As you will, Taylor – bend over that chair.”

“No Sir! Please Sir! Not the cane!”

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It's my opinion that some people take photos just for this forum, as J Hardy Carroll appears to have done with this one! Despite that, three separate interpretations popped into my mind, but two were about phone calls too personal to share, and the phone call that is on my mind at the moment hasn't come yet - the one about the arrival of another grandchild, who is already five days overdue.

So here it is - a light-hearted treatment of a dark subject. Thanks to Rochelle for hosting Friday Fictioneers on her blog, from whence, after leaving a comment here -  you can follow the link to read other stories.  https://rochellewisoff.com/
ps. if you'd like to read another of my stories, go to p40 on this month's  http://visualverse.org/