by Fiona Pretswell
It’s a Wednesday morning. 10.13 am. Not quite tea break time and I’m bored. No customers since we opened. I look up from my spreadsheet. Angie is filing her nails as per usual. Neil has his head buried in his desk. Could there be an more obvious way to use your phone at work. I really hope it isn’t porn again and if it is that he’s got the sound turned down. Unlike the last time.
I stifle a yawn behind a smile and rearrange my business cards.
The shop darkens. I look up to check the lights but the darkness has come in from the window. The sky is now almost black and huge hailstones are bouncing off the pavement. I stand up and walk over to watch. It’s like the world has changed to monochrome. The high street is deserted, shoppers scurrying for the nearest shelter. Our bell rings, I turn towards the noise and an elderly couple enter, scattering hail as they shake themselves off.
“We’d like to book a holiday” he says.
“A cruise” she adds “a long one”.
I smile again.
“Yes of course. Please, take a seat. A window cabin, a balcony?”
The commission is clocking up in my head. This global warming is good for us – sometimes.
“Cheap”
Ah I think. Where fools rush in.