Superpowers!

My family is an odd one. My mother says it’s because we are direct descendants of the aliens of ’52. I wouldn’t know, but it could be true. The men in the family have something that normal men don’t have. I suppose that you could call it a superpower, I just think it’s being a bit crazy. It afflicts us when we reach sixteen. That’s what I’m worried about, as that birthday is just days away.

Saved By The…….

I was in that strange time, between sleeping and waking. I had the feeling that I had been in a deep and dreamless sleep. A thought struck me.

“Wanda doesn’t want to be my girlfriend, any longer.”

Chapter 8

There were three of the talkative ones, side by side, in their chairs, when we approached. Adrianne asked about the lady who looked as if she had died, and the floodgates opened. I just looked out at the sea and kept watch to warn if the orderlies came out.

Chapter 6

When we had cleared customs in Sofia, there was a driver with a board saying ‘Holdsworth’ on it. In the car he took us to our hotel. We checked into the hotel and our bags were carried up to the room. Tipping the two boys as they left, we closed the door. We freshened up, changed into jeans and tops, then went down to the reception, booking a dinner table for two, before walking outside and stretching our legs doing a little bit of sight-seeing.

Chapter 4

The next day we started the cleaning / searching process in the attic, then worked down from there. We found nothing in the attic, nothing in the family bathroom, and nothing in the other bedroom, where we put away all the sister’s clothes.

Chapter 2

Adrianne advised me that I should look my best when I went to see Helen. I didn’t take much urging. Since leaving the hospital I had been trying to be the best Babs around. I had spent a bit of my savings on clothes and shoes. All that time on courses with all food and shelter provided had given me a good bank account. My outfit was smart, yet sexy. Four-inch heels, smoky hose, tight skirt, and a silk blouse that showed my cleavage, and a bit more.

Chapter 1

They say that if you take life as a continuous learning experience, you will never be bored. You will also realise that you could never know everything. Some make learning an excuse for never trying to get a job, becoming life-long students. Others just learn as they go on the job. I fell somewhere in between.

Chapter Four

On the Monday we worked together song writing. As we worked it became even more of a collaboration. We thought as one, me now being able to write the music score. We went back to the ones we had written already for guitar and piano and wrote out the scores for the rest of the band. I could hear the tunes in my mind, played by the five of us.

Chapter Two

The cruise was an around the world affair, and was successful, on a professional basis. And professional we were. We were making good money from our shows and the cash injection of having a top ten record was enough to let us splash out a bit. We now had a manager, Jerry, another friend of Candice’s father. We had our own collection of good equipment, me with at least six guitars.

Say Cheese Part 3

The next morning, we assembled for breakfast at dawn and, after we had tidied up and got ourselves ready, we left the Refuge in the five Volvos, all fully fuelled from one of the tankers.

I opened the year with an end-of-the world story, and this continues the subject of earth-shattering occurrences . Like the previous story, this one was started early last year, and had to wait until the end of the year, when my muse came back from where-ever it had disappeared to.
Marianne.

Part 1

“Say cheese!” Those two words summed up a lot of my young days. My father, Allan, was an avid photographer, while my mother, Wanda, had been a model. They told me that when they met, it was a marriage made in heaven.

As the year draws to a close, I would like to wish you all a happy and safe Festive Season. I thank all the wonderful writers on this site who have raised my spirits during the year. I hope that 2023 will be better for everyone. My writing had hit a block due to a book project and other things this year. I hope to get back writing in 2023. Before that, though, here is a little story which has a tenuous link to the Christmas story.

Marianne Gregory

Chapter 1

Chapter 11

When we went to leave, Jim, who had been very quiet, then asked us all if he could stay with us over the break. He said he could use the smallest cabin and that he had some experience with boats. The girls were happy to let him, so he hugged everyone and thanked me.

I checked in with the marine chandler that looked after the moorings, and he was surprised at my appearance. I told him that it was only for the tour that I was flying around and found out that he and his daughters were booked in for the third show.

Chapter 9

Our company ground crew finally came on board to take the plane to its parking spot and check it over again. I signed off and picked up my personal bag, put my heels on and left them to it. I knew that Betsy would be in good hands because she was our meal ticket. Without her we may as well go by bus.

Chapter 7

When we arrived at the hotel, we were quickly given our pass cards and shown to our rooms. Our whole planeload was in a single wing that had hotel security on the doors, the receptionist having told me that they had detected intruders already.

Chapter 5

We spent the afternoon lazing around the hotel pool and being well looked after by the staff as well as being chatted to by several tanned and fit young men. The band had been spending the day in interviews and we all had dinner in a separate dining room.

Chapter 3

When we got out at the hotel, she still held my hand as the driver left and kept hold of it all the way to her bedroom door, opening it one handed and then pulling me in, closing the door and putting her arms around my neck. What else could I do but look after her like the lady wanted to be looked after.

What made me smile was that when we took our clothes off, I saw that there was a casual outfit for me already in the wardrobe. The company does think of everything, and I expected there would be a day dress for her in my room already.

Chapter 1

I had, I think, the best job in the world. Most people look at an airline pilot and think, “Overpaid layabout, sitting in an armchair surrounded by beautiful air hostesses while a computer takes the controls.”

Chapter 4

Sammy got his phone out and made his call.

“Inspector, we have a positive identification of James Norman as Jamie Murphy, brother of Jock Macready.” He listened for a few moments and then hung up.

“The Inspector says to thank you for that. We have James Norman on our radar as an associate of one of the Angels’ Chapters. I think that he may have a group of thieves who steal the goods and then the items are sent elsewhere for sale in pubs, or even on the internet.”

“That will be a good one, boss,” commented Arty.

Chapter 2

In the nurses’ office it was a little cramped so we took it in turn to get changed. One by one we took the uniform off for the last time and passed it to those outside to put with the other uniforms in the spare room. Ingrid was first, coming out in a shortish shift in the school blue, accentuated by a white belt and piping.

Just a Lark

It was all just a lark, a little harmless fun. I mean, what could go wrong?

Chapter 11

When we had finished the meal, Suzette and I packed the dishes in the washer while my mother chatted with our guests. May was regaling her about some of the odd ladies she had made dresses for and when she mentioned that a few had been men my mother said “Wouldn’t that be difficult?”

I said “Mother dear, have you looked at the photos in the window of the shop?”

She nodded so I carried on. “One is of a lot of local ladies at a celebrity wedding and the other is a group at a party.”

Chapter 9

At the shop I found that my bolt ends had been delivered so I stored them in the ‘special’ room. Everything seemed to be ticking over nicely and I chatted with everyone for a while until Roberta commented, “You’re happy today. I would think that you may have got a good seeing to last night. Was it Jim or have you found another stud?”

I laughed. “About as far from a stud as it’s possible to get but I was satisfied and so was she.”

Chapter 7

The appointment at the fashion house was on a Wednesday morning so I made an appointment with Hector at his rehearsal rooms in the late afternoon and worked my butt off putting together a folio of drawings for him and the troupe to look at.

We had eight different guys, all built a bit differently but, thankfully all reasonably slim and about the same height. I had a basic shape but each had subtle differences to suit the individual characters.