Written for https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/category/word-of-the-day/
Reading the receipt, Clara hoped there was a returns policy. Her husband was sweet, trying to buy her the dress she was admiring in the window, but he chose the wrong size and colour. She never looked good in pink, and the last time she was a size ten, she was eighteen.
‘It’s wonderful, darling, but there is a rip there. I love it. I truly do! Tell you what, I will take it back to the shop myself. Yes, I’m sure. I’ve been stuck with your … I’ve got stuff to buy at the shops, with your mum’s Slimming World gift card. Sweet of her to notice, really.’
‘She could go with …’
‘No! I mean, it’s a shame to disturb her cleaning, that’s when she’s at her … best.’
She opened the door, and cold air brushed her warm cheeks. With a carrier bag in one hand, and a cheery wave, she strode to the end of the garden path. It was a solid excuse to leave, and at least their relationship would still be intact.
At breakfast that morning, her mother-in-law purposely left the butter off her wholemeal bread and supplied her equally overweight partner with all the trimmings. Another snide word about putting on a few pounds, and the anti-wrinkle cream would smash the window.
‘See you in a couple hours,’ she said, with a grin spread across her face.
If she were lucky the cake shop would be open, and she could enjoy a cheesecake and coffee in peace, before she exchanged his gift for something bigger.
Writer Ravenclaw 