Do you, like me, sometimes ponder why things happen to be? Do you ever pause to consider what really is the cause? Do you ever wonder or marvel at what really is amazingly clever: why two separate people become entwined to love and mate? In this mystery play with its cast of millions how come my needle was plucked out of the hay? I ask, what did I do to be so blessed? How come I even got to meet you? What power surge en...

Like most ideas, it seemed a good one at the time. And when my bubbling daughter Claire enthused, “Great! Go for it, mum,” the decision was made.But now I was having second thoughts.Nothing unusual about that, really. In the twenty-five years since I made that unforgettable decision, I have been in the habit of dithering. Indecisive should be my middle name.As I placed my shopping packages on the shelf and hitched onto a...

Dawn placed the last dinner plate in the dish washer and looked up at the clock. She then glanced over her shoulder at her husband. Brian sat at the table, scouring the classified advertisements in the local newspaper, trailing a finger down the small type, his spectacles balanced on the tip of his broad nose. “Keep an eye on the time,” said Dawn, “or you’ll miss the kick off.” Brian looked at his wristwatch, got to his f...

Betsy stood, hands linked at her waist. Agitated, her right thumb rubbed back and forth over her left thumb. “Hi sweetheart,” I said, advancing for my welcome home kiss. “Please, don’t shout at me.” Pale blue eyes were pleading, almost fearful. I halted in my tracks. “Why would I do that?” Betsy sighed and spread her arms wide before letting them fall, hands slapping against her thighs. “Just don’t, please.” “What’s wrong...

Her face was like thunder. Her familiar open smile was replaced by a thin, grim line of compressed lips and eyes which usually sparkled now flashed like lightning.  Fittingly, rain and unseasonal hail bounced off the restaurant windows as she stared intently into my face. No, she stared at me with piercing blue eyes. I offered a tentative smile and shrug of shoulders. “I mean it,” she said, colour rising to her cheeks. He...

So we are poised: You over there and me here, waiting to step through the void. We’ve approached with caution, no headlong rush: Treading carefully building trust. Now we’ve finished plotting the way: To end this ride we have to bridge the divide. It’s finally agreed there is no other way: this is the route we need to go. And so, not in haste, with heart fluttering and pulse racing, this giant step we both embrace. Our jo...

I still find it incredible, magical. All these nights I have dreamed of you, of us. And it’s impossible to count the days when my mind has wandered, drifting from the task in hand to conjure up images of you, of shared moments and even daring to think what might await us. It happened again this morning. I awoke from yet another dream in which you lay in my arms, your head resting on my shoulder, soft breath warm on my ski...

Gerry stared at the computer screen, disbelieving, his eyes wide open. “Oh no,” he screamed, throwing his arms in the air and falling back in his leather office chair. “It can’t be. I can’t have done that.” Furiously, he pecked at the keyboard but knew it was futile. All his work of the last three days, writing and revising, rewriting and polishing, all to no avail. He would have to start again, nothing else for it. His 3...

You surely feel it, too just as I do All this sudden heat from head to feet. Now I’m ready to bet we’ll start to sweat As down here we lay and prepare to play. Sand between our toes and where else, who knows? Above us clear azure sky a breeze, just a mere sigh. I reach for your hand feeling the wedding band. And now I linger caressing this familiar finger. We smile, eyes bright everything is so right For you and I so hot...

I’ll never forget that Wednesday: made redundant at my age. What now? Daphne was working, my redundancy package was okay, but I’d planned on another five years topping up my pension pot. That night, I sat at the table, papers strewn about, jotting down numbers, hoping I could afford early retirement. It was possible - but tight. I sighed, leaned back in my chair and rubbed my temples. Daphne walked up and added another sl...

I gaze into blue depths as your fingertips run lightly down my cheek. Gently, I grasp your wrist, turn your hand, and kiss the palm, still looking into your eyes. You sigh, eyelids descending. “Hmm,” you whisper, “I feel I’ve been waiting a lifetime for that.” “Me too,” I murmur and pause. Then: “Fact is, I seriously wondered whether it would ever be possible.” “You did?” you ask, eyes opening. “Didn’t you?” “Uh uh... I k...

In life, we love, We love parents We love family Our friends, And someone special... You are special You’re my true love The one Above all others, My reason to live... I live To be with you To look at you To touch you, You’re all that I need... My love’s for you Now and for ever, Each waking Moment I am yours... My heart beats For you, my love; My pulse races Because of you, My true love.

It was a stupid argument that morning. She had flounced out of the room, throwing a bitter “sod you” over her shoulder, and minutes later the front door slammed. He’d listened to the rapid click-clack of her heels fading into the distance. Now, at the end of the working day and without an answer to the dozen or so calls he’d made to her mobile phone, he was home again. And, he quickly discovered, home alone. In the kitche...

Under the tentacles of a gnarled oak, he parked and exited the car, locking it with a ‘beep’ of his key. He strolled through fallen leaves towards the park’s wrought-iron gate where she waited, her back to him, hands thrust deep into coat pockets. “Hello, Carol.” She turned, first her head, followed by a shift in her feet so that she faced him. A hesitant smile. “Hello, Mike,” she said, lilting tones dancing on the cool b...