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    A Little Bit of Me
    A Little Bit of Me
    A Little Bit of Me
    Ebook92 pages1 hour

    A Little Bit of Me

    By Angela Gascoigne

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    About this ebook

    Relax! Put your feet up, and give in to your guilty pleasure. Here we have short stories, flash fiction and a little pinch of poetry in a variety of themes with something for everyone. A Little Bit of Me, is my fifth e book to be published, and my second collection. Delve inside the pages of this book to experience a little bit of me - from the soft and fluffy to the dark and deep. There’s more than a hint of my dark side in this collection but also a good injection of happiness and humour. There are some sentimental pieces of writing which are very close to my heart and others which evolved from my darkest of days. Join me for a giggle and a grimace, a tear or two and a smile. Read on to see what happens when a good pet goes bad, a healthy eating plan goes wrong, and when a puppy-rustling vegetarian gets more than he bargained for. Read my work, inspired by thoughts that woke me with a shudder during cold dark nights, and words that danced in my head on beautiful mornings, making my spirit smile. Take a break from the daily grind and settle down with A Little Bit of Me.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAUK Authors
    Release dateMar 9, 2015
    ISBN9781785381492
    A Little Bit of Me

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      Book preview

      A Little Bit of Me - Angela Gascoigne

      coincidental.

      Sons

      With pain and love

      I brought you into the world

      We are bound together

      By invisible cords

      No matter the distance between us

      With bonds unbreakable

      We remain

      Connected for eternity

      The School Run

      For Robbie

      The alarm goes off in darkness. I’m grumpy. I could lie another hour.

      Clicks of kettles, smoke from toast, crisply ironed school clothes and a bag full of knowledge.

      We’re on the move now, my teenage son and I, negotiating the traffic ahead: horse boxes, cattle trucks, tractors!

      We’re late. Again.

      The man on the bike wobbles perilously in front of us. On his head a woolly hat. His thin cotton jacket unzipped, billows in the wind.

      I want to shout from the window, to inform him that the parachute effect will only slow him down and use up more energy. But the moment is gone. The electric window glides back up. I turn up the heat and shudder at the thought of how cold bike man must be.

      It’s bedlam at the school gate. Cars squeeze in and out. Boys and girls weave their way between vehicles.

      My son is delivered in one piece. My duties are done, albeit until home time.

      Arrival at the school car park must be prompt, or risk not squeezing in at all.

      I slide my seat back, turn off the radio and retrieve my book from the glove compartment. With twenty minutes to spare, I resume where I left off yesterday.

      I don’t get far.

      A mini bus pulls up in front of my car. A group of teenage school boys unload sports bags from the rear of the bus. I put down my book and watch their antics as they kick bags under the bus and lock one another in the luggage compartment.

      Boys will be boys.

      They make it into school just in time to miss the heavy downpour of rain which now batters on the roof of my car. I’m like a sardine waiting to be cut out of a tin.

      Golden leaves fall from the trees like wet confetti before settling on the grass below. Some are morphed into a brown mush on the wet road and pavement.

      A buzzer sounds. Children like an ocean of grey and burgundy flood from the school doors. They’re a colony of ants, heading in various directions.

      Puppy rouses from her slumber on the back seat. These people seem familiar to her, yet they’re not quite what she’s looking for.

      There it is! The face we know and love, approaching among the masses, and looking serious.

      His frown turns into a smile. Master and puppy are reunited once again amid a flurry of wet licks and wagging tail.

      We’re on the road, negotiating our way through the chaos again. I don’t see the mammoth accumulation of rain water at the side of the road.

      The man on the bike shakes his fists at me in anger. That’s the best example of ‘look no hands’ that I’ve ever seen.

      I wind down the window and shout, So sorry... Headmaster.

      Detention tomorrow, I think.

      I close the window and turn up the heat.

      The Brightest Star In The Sky

      My eyes flicker between my dream world and reality. My head aches. Exhausted, I strain my ears.

      I hear it again. I can’t mistake the quiet whimpers which seep under her bedroom door and reach my heart, gripping tight with bloody talons.

      Another nightmare, I realise as consciousness washes over me and I stare up at the roof window to a sky which is inky black and punctuated by a multitude of stars.

      I switch on the bedside lamp. My magnolia walls are bathed in the looming shadows of inanimate objects which furnish my sad and empty room.

      Emily’s face is damp and flushed.

      I bundle my tiny daughter up in my arms and carry her to my bed. We cuddle up under the cosy patchwork quilt, the colourful illustrations of her favourite book our source of conversation.

      I need Daddy! she blurts out before the tears come again.

      Me too, is my only reply since strangled sobs stick in my throat and render me silent.

      I take a moment before saying, Do you see that star?

      She cranes her neck towards the window above her head. Which one? she asks me.

      I point towards the brightest star in the sky twinkling and flashing like an entity all its own. I’m certain it’s only purpose is to bring us comfort, my daughter and me.

      Oh yes, she says after blowing her nose on her Peter Rabbit handkerchief. It’s beautiful.

      That’s where Daddy lives now, I tell Emily. Her bare arms are cold so I wrap my woolly cardigan around her. Every night he watches over us from his special place in the sky. He’d be upset if he knew we were so sad.

      Is he in the sky, Mummy? She hasn’t taken her eyes off the star for a moment.

      Yes, I reassure her. And he’ll never go away again.

      Emily’s eyes are heavy. She falls asleep next to me. After turning off the lamp I smother my face in the pillow and let go of the tears I’ve been holding onto for so long. I love you, James, I sob into my pillow.

      I blow my nose and wipe my burning eyes, then turn onto my back and stare at the brightest star in the sky, convincing myself it’s growing brighter and bigger before my eyes.

      The room is engulfed in a blinding silver light, and he is standing right beside me looking just as he did before the accident.

      I love you too, he says as I reach out to touch him, and then he’s gone, in the brightest flash of light I have ever seen.

      I drift into a peaceful sleep, my curiosity satisfied, my heart and mind at peace.

      Appetite For Destruction

      The atmosphere inside the glass tank echoed that of a parched dessert. Perry wondered how any creature could stand living in those conditions, but the previous owner assured him that this was the ideal environment for a tropical pet such as this one.

      The lizard, sporting a wonderful array of greens all over his skin, did his best to conceal himself behind an artificial plant. But with the harsh light from

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