Finding The Way Back (standard:romance, 3154 words) [1/6] show all parts
Author: Cyrano	Updated: Jun 13 2009	Views/Reads: 3188/2026	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
Life is fragile...James finds out at a moments notice. Chapter one of something entirely different for me. Hardly life in the fast lane...but life. I'll post chapters every couple of days...after my weak editing.

As you get older, the weeks, then the months and finally the years fly
past. 

This unusually profound thought drifted through James's weary mind as he
slumped into the car and pulled the seatbelt across.  Everything seemed 
to smack of conformity, and now how hastily his life is slithering into 
a smug middle-aged existence. Hands on the steering wheel, he gazed 
through the windscreen, unaware how the shadows of the Beech trees 
shaded the sunlit road's surface. His thought process rumbled on toward 
an inescapable conclusion: that every working day in his well ordered 
life was exactly the same. Before his first major decision of the 
day—cornflakes or shredded wheat—he takes his wife a cup of tea in bed. 
At five minutes before eight he leaves for work, listening to the 
tragedies of the world on the car radio. 

He looks forward to the forthcoming weekend with mixed feelings. It is
Patricia's birthday next Tuesday and he's promised to take her shopping 
to buy a new dress. He's not exactly sure why he did this, as there's 
nothing he likes less than accompanying her. The very prospect has him 
cringing at the thought and he could see it all before him. Had it been 
only ten weeks since the trip to the January sales? He squirmed, 
recalling it as though it were yesterday. 

“What do you think of this one James? Do you think I suit blue? Does it
make me look too fat?” 

He had responded to her sideways glance with a forced display of
interest as she preened and swirled in front of a mirror. 

“I like it very much, darling.” 

“You said you liked the green one the best.” 

“That was three shops ago,” he responded, weakly. 

“You know James, you just tell me anything. All you want is to get home
and watch golf on television. I don't know why I ask you” 

“Well why do you ask me?” 

“Because you are my husband and you should show some interest. It should
be important to you how I look.” The sharp edge in her voice was 
reinforced with a glower. 

“It is important to me how you look,” he had replied with a measured
display of indignity. “I really do like the blue dress you're trying 
on. Just out of interest, how much is it?” 

Inspection of the price tag introduced a further complication into the
equation. 

“It's too expensive. We'll have to go somewhere else.” 

“Is there somewhere else we haven't tried?” 

She had looked over to him with narrow challenging eyes. He blinked and
reviewed the options. He could weaken and the afternoon stretch out to 
late evening. The dress could have matching shoes, a hat, and a 
handbag! Or he could remain firm but pleasant and get home in good time 
to watch ‘British Open' highlights. So he had raised a thin smile and 
peered blandly over his spectacles. Her reaction was equally ambiguous 
and she spun around and swept off to the changing booths whilst he 
began to gather up the parcels and grinned sheepishly at the shop 
assistant. 

“We'll try somewhere else. Thank you.” 

The young girl had picked up the parcels he had dropped on to the floor
and stacked them onto his outstretched arms tucking them neatly below 
his chin, smiling sympathetically. 

Then staggered after Eileen as she strode out of the store. 

The exertion of a hard week's toil palled into insignificance compared
to a few hours roaming from shop to shop in a seething city center on a 


Click here to read the rest of this story (297 more lines)