Fast Fiction: Tabs
Richard Mallinson’s tale leaves you musing on the identity of the tab keeper.
To read more of Richard's fast fiction please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/fast_fiction/
'It ain't easy,' the elderly man said, sitting down beside me on the bench.
'What ain't, er, isn't?' I asked, from behind my newspaper.
'Keeping tabs on her when we go out for a walk. She -'
Tabs?'
'Yes, on my sister. She tends to stray a bit, you know.'
'Is she very old?' I asked, putting the paper down.
'Eh? Oh, don't stop reading just because of me. I didn't mean to distract you from the news and, hm, views in the Guardian.'
'It isn't the Guardian, it's the Times - but that's irrelevant,'
'What's irrelevant, the Times?'
'No, I mean reading the -'
'Hey, reading's not irrelevant. Where would I be without it?'
'I don't know, where would you be?'
'Probably back inside.'
'Inside? Whatever for?'
'Oh, pimping. Did a lot of it in the old days. Always treated em well, though. Then I started reading books and became a -'
'Wilf,' said a headscarfed woman coming up to us, 'you mustn't keep straying like this.' She looked at me.
'I try to keep tabs on him,' she said, 'but it ain't easy.'
