Fast Fiction: There And Back
What is the link between an old overcoat and a slammed door? Richard Mallinson tells of pathways to frustration.
He decided to walk to the supermarket in the town centre. He looked out of the window. A slight drizzle. Grey sky.
His wife said, 'I wish you wouldn't wear that old overcoat.'
'It's not old,' he said and went out.
There was an elderly woman on the pavement, letting the drizzle fall on her white hair. 'Good morning, Miss Tuckett,' he said.
'Oh, good morning, Mr er -' she said vaguely.
He walked stiffly along the straight road, past the public gardens on the left and the care homes on the right.
The drizzle didn't worry him.
He carried on until he reached the supermarket, which was small and not at all glossy. There weren't many customers. He bought some fruit and vegetables -and a bottle of wine.
The check-out woman smiled and asked, 'Do you have your loyalty card?'
He fumbled in his pockets. 'I must have forgotten it,' he said. The woman's smile faded.
He went out. The drizzle had stopped but the sky was still grey.
A man prodded him in the shoulder and said, 'Hello, you must be retired by now. I'm retired myself... My wife ran off last week and now I can do what I want when I want.. . Actually, she walked ... Ha, ha what a joke.'
Who the hell was this moron?
Silence.
Back home he went in and slammed the door behind him. He put the bags on the kitchen table and went back to the hall and took his overcoat off and hung it up. Then he returned to the kitchen.
His wife came into the kitchen.
'Why did you slam the door?' she asked.
'I never slam doors,' he said.
