Mary was enriched by excitement: a new reading group was being formed and seeking members. She’d seen a notice in the community library.
Ideal! Just up her street; she loved books. Now she could meet interesting people who also liked to read. Not like her husband. He struggled to get through the sports pages of the Star every morning.
Mary knew all about reading groups, they attracted such interesting members. There’d be one retired dame who used to work for the Secret Service and was still up for solving a murder mystery. Also, a man with a mysterious past – perhaps a string of lovers and illegitimate children. He’d have a pot belly and liver spots now but he’d still have that twinkle in his eye. Her heart beat a little faster at the thought.
There’d be a professor type. Not an actual professor, but someone who knows something about everything. A Well-Read Man, in fact. Or, at least he knows his way around the Internet. He’d be full of life and new ideas and would take Mary out of herself.
There’s be one youngster (Mary assumed everyone else would be retired.) He (a boy preferably) would have problems. An orphan, perhaps, in need of help and guidance. In need of a Mother. Mary never had children. This would be her chance to blossom in her autumn years.
Oh, the possibilities were endless. Oh, how her life was going to change.
Mary loved to read. Reading took her out of herself.
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Words: Richard Rooney
Illustration: A.I.
Flash Fiction 250
Flash Fiction 250 