Fast Fiction: Her Sort Of Thing
…Sometimes Lucy wished she'd never agreed to look after her brother. He was now nearly 70 and wore her down with his constant dithering….
In Richard Mallinson’s satisfying short story an aspect of Lucy’s past life is about to be laid bare to the public.
Perhaps I'll drop in on Marjorie en route, just to say hello,' Rupert said.
'Perhaps, perhaps, the eternal perhaps,' Lucy said.
'Well, it does have its uses,' he said, patting her arm.
Sometimes Lucy wished she'd never agreed to look after her brother. He was now nearly 70 and wore her down with his constant dithering.
Thankfully, he was going to be away for a few days, visiting an old pal.
*
If I'd married, she thought as she waved him off, life couldn't have been as dreary as this . . . especially if I'd married Harry Lonsdale ... gosh, how he wanted me ... never mind, it's too late now. . . well, shall I go to Harry's new exhibition or not? . . . it said on the radio that it's all nudes ... so he hasn't changed much, has he?
*
'And how is Lucy keeping?' Marjorie asked as she poured the tea.
'Oh, she's fine,' Rupert said, 'though perhaps she needs a holiday.'
'A holiday? Don't we all? Anyway, give her my love and tell her that I really
don't know how she puts up with you . . . day after day.' She grinned at him.
'Well, thank you very much,' he said grinning back. 'Perhaps I'll be on my
way now. I haven't seen Walter for at least a year, you know.'
'No, I didn't,' she said.
*
'How do you cope, on your own?' Rupert asked Walter.
'Oh, I've begun to like it - the sense of freedom, doing what I want... I even went up to town the other day to see the exhibition that people are raving about.'
'I didn't know you were interested in art.'
'Well, it's just that this chap's now showing some superb nudes he painted years ago of a girl he was in love with ... she wouldn't marry him - sad, really.'
Rupert sipped his whisky. 'Oh, I'll tell my sister about it,' he murmured, 'it sounds like her sort of thing.'
