Fast Fiction: Day Out
Things happen to Derwent on his day out.
Richard Mallinson tells an elusive tale.
'Gotta match, guv?'
'No, but I have a lighter.'
'Thanks,' said the man, taking it. He lit a cigarette. Then he put the lighter in his pocket.
'Hey,' I said, 'that's my lighter.'
'Not any more it ain't,' he said, walking away.
'Haven't I seen you before?' asked a bronzed woman.
'I shouldn't think so,' I said. 'I've lived abroad for many years.'
'And so have I,' she said.
'You must be Esther, then,' I said, offering her a toffee.
'No, I'm Lavinia,' she said, moving on.
'Any chance of a ticket?' I asked the doorman.
'No, shouldn't think so, mate. We're sold out.'
'What if I offered you £100?'
'Sorry mate, we're sold out.'
'£20 then?'
'Ah, that's more like it.'
'And did you enjoy your day in town, Derwent?'
'So-so, matron,' I said. 'First I lost my lighter. Then I met Lavinia. And finally I paid only £20 for a ticket. That's all. Toffee, matron?'
