Added£0.99Add to basket(A short story of 3765 words)
Eclipsed
Crime and Thrillers Literary
by Kate Mitchell
Dan has persuaded Amanda to accompany him on a cruise of the Faro Islands, to see the eclipse. But are they being followed? In this chilling tale, we find Dan must make hard decisions, in order to safeguard his marriage.
It’s our first night on board so we dress for the occasion; me in my best bib and tucker, and Amanda wearing her plungiest neckline with the white gold pendant I bought her for Christmas. We’ve barely sat down to dinner when I hear, ‘I don’t believe it!’ which makes me think of that character on TV, but the chap bouncing towards us looks too young to remember the sitcom. He stops in front of our table and smiles at Amanda. When she doesn’t speak I look at her and see she’s staring down at the table. The skin on her neck is a mottled pink. Perhaps she’s seasick, but we’ve barely left Newcastle and the North Sea is like a millpond.
Thinking this must be an acquaintance of hers, I stand up and hold out my hand. He grabs at it with a sort of damp, two fingered slide, saying, ‘Felix, you must be Dan,’ while his eyes slip over me and back to Amanda. He says, ‘Fiona, look who it is,’ and I notice a young lady has joined him. She smiles politely, with a little shake of her head. ‘It’s Amanda,’ he says, ‘You remember –’
She clearly doesn’t but she’s polite enough to say, ‘Of course, how do you do?’ Amanda ignores Fiona’s outstretched hand. To make up for my wife’s unaccountable rudeness, I take Fiona’s hand and squeeze it warmly, and introduce myself. She’s a pretty thing, tall and slim, looking as though she’s poured herself into that black sheath of a dress. I check whether Amanda has noticed the effect this girl is having on me; she generally does and we’d have a chuckle about it, later. But Amanda looks as though she’s about to faint.
Without invitation, this Felix seats himself opposite Amanda, babbling on about ‘amazing coincidence,’ and laughing. He seems a bit over-excited but I’m used to that. I’m guessing by his age that he’s been in the trainee programme at Amanda’s practice. The young ones do tend to go doe-eyed around her...
It’s our first night on board so we dress for the occasion; me in my best bib and tucker, and Amanda wearing her plungiest neckline with the white gold pendant I bought her for Christmas. We’ve barely sat down to dinner when I hear, ‘I don’t believe it!’ which makes me think of that character on TV, but the chap bouncing towards us looks too young to remember the sitcom. He stops in front of our table and smiles at Amanda. When she doesn’t speak I look at her and see she’s staring down at the table. The skin on her neck is a mottled pink. Perhaps she’s seasick, but we’ve barely left Newcastle and the North Sea is like a millpond.
Thinking this must be an acquaintance of hers, I stand up and hold out my hand. He grabs at it with a sort of damp, two fingered slide, saying, ‘Felix, you must be Dan,’ while his eyes slip over me and back to Amanda. He says, ‘Fiona, look who it is,’ and I notice a young lady has joined him. She smiles politely, with a little shake of her head. ‘It’s Amanda,’ he says, ‘You remember –’
She clearly doesn’t but she’s polite enough to say, ‘Of course, how do you do?’ Amanda ignores Fiona’s outstretched hand. To make up for my wife’s unaccountable rudeness, I take Fiona’s hand and squeeze it warmly, and introduce myself. She’s a pretty thing, tall and slim, looking as though she’s poured herself into that black sheath of a dress. I check whether Amanda has noticed the effect this girl is having on me; she generally does and we’d have a chuckle about it, later. But Amanda looks as though she’s about to faint.
Without invitation, this Felix seats himself opposite Amanda, babbling on about ‘amazing coincidence,’ and laughing. He seems a bit over-excited but I’m used to that. I’m guessing by his age that he’s been in the trainee programme at Amanda’s practice. The young ones do tend to go doe-eyed around her...