short story
sizes too small so that large amounts of her flesh poured out of it? Rose did not really have a cleavage. Her curves were more demure, but at least she was slim with long legs that Simon used to say went on forever.
“I do speak from experience,”
Angie said. “Kev was my starter date too.” “Oh God,” Rose buried her
head in her hands. “I’m going on a date with your cast off.” “Cast off?” Angie wrinkled
her nose. “He was never cast on, love. Look, think of this as a rehearsal for the real thing, OK? Don’t look too desperate, don’t
seem too needy, don’t be interested in anything he says or laugh at his jokes…” “I thought men liked women who find
them funny?” “Yes, but they work harder if you don’t.” Angie
his head off, just like he always had. Rose had never expected to miss his snoring, but she did. Angie said that if she was to ever have a chance of
moving on then she had to start somewhere. So Rose agreed to let Angie set her up on a date with Kevin. “The thing about Kevin,” Angie had told her as she
was doing her best with Rose’s unruly hair, “is that he’s the perfect starter date. Get you warmed up, back on the scene, back in the swing of things. And although he might try his luck, he knows how to take no for an answer – he’s had a lot of practice.” “You sound like you speak from experience,” Rose
said, eyeing her friend suspiciously in the mirror. Angie had brought something from home to put on her curls and it did seem to have tamed them a little from a wild, dark mass to something a little sleeker. Angie had also plucked her eyebrows, applied glitter eyeliner and some super-lengthening mascara. In her red wine wool jumper dress, Rose didn’t
think she scrubbed up too badly at all. What would Simon think if he could see her now, she wondered? Would he wish he’d never run off with the garage checkout girl, just because she wore a uniform two
informed her sagely. “Don’t talk about Simon and don’t talk about that bloody dog like it’s a person…” “Brutus is a person, to me…” “And don’t let him get within an arm’s length if you don’t want him slobbering all over you with his stinking breath.” “Why are you making me do this?” Rose pleaded as
Angie manhandled her down the stairs. “Because, my love, you’ve got to start somewhere.” Kevin would be wearing a blue checked shirt. He
would also be bald, have quite a gut and a squint. Full of trepidation, Rose hovered outside the public bar of The Rose & Crown. She hadn’t spoken socially to a man in months and she had no idea what to say, or even how to say it. Even before Simon had left her, their conversations had been limited to the sort of effortless small talk that involved picking up pints of milk or nipping out for a loaf of bread. Perhaps if they’d spent more time communicating properly, really talking about things, then Simon wouldn’t have gone on quite so many errands to the garage. How would she start a conversation with a man she had never met before? Rose felt her stomach
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