Mirror Mirror - a short story by author Neal James, featured on Amber Valley Info
Excerpt
Pauline stood transfixed. The mirror was just what she had been looking for and now, as if by some divine intervention there it was, ready, available and apparently ignored by everyone else. She turned the price ticket over in her fingers and let out an almost inaudible gasp of surprise - £75. The stallholder came over to her after serving another customer and asked if he could help.
“No thank you, I was just looking. It is a nice mirror though.”
“Belonged to my grandmother. She died recently and we’re clearing out her stuff. These car boot sales really are a Godsend.”
Pauline nodded and smiled; vendors at sales would tell any story to offload unwanted belongings, and this one certainly seemed to fit the bill. Nevertheless she hurried off as calmly as possible to find her husband, Derek. The mirror was simply too good a bargain to miss and the move to their new home needed some finishing touches. She found him rummaging through a pile of books at a nearby stall and tugged his arm in her excitement, causing a shower of literature on to the grass.
“Pauline! Watch what you’re doing.” He turned to his wife and the look on her face transformed his annoyance.
They had been married for over twenty years and he had never yet been able to maintain any kind of air of irritation with her when she smiled at him in that way. Picking up the paperbacks she had scattered on the ground, he handed over the money to a grinning old man and followed the lengthening sleeve of his jumper as Pauline marched off with it across the field.
Neal James is the author of five books: 'A Ticket to Tewkesbury', 'Short Stories - Volume One', 'Two Little Dicky Birds', 'Threads of Deceit' and 'Full Marks'.
They had been married for over twenty years and he had never yet been able to maintain any kind of air of irritation with her when she smiled at him in that way. Picking up the paperbacks she had scattered on the ground, he handed over the money to a grinning old man and followed the lengthening sleeve of his jumper as Pauline marched off with it across the field.
She stopped some way short of the stall and pointed. The mirror was still there, unsold, unwanted and shining beautifully in the sunlight as it sent its seductive message to them both. Derek had to admit it looked a real beauty and would fit in very well above the marble fireplace in their new home...
Neal James is the author of five books: 'A Ticket to Tewkesbury', 'Short Stories - Volume One', 'Two Little Dicky Birds', 'Threads of Deceit' and 'Full Marks'.
Published: Short Stories - Volume One
Paperback | Waterstones | Amazon UK
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