Do you ever fantasize about the perfect job, the perfect holiday, or the perfect home life. I find I keep imaging I’ve hit the big time as an author. I’ll run through interview questions, polishing my answers and getting a warm, fuzzy glow of achievement, before I drag my mind back to reality. 

Fiction Bite - Babies need so much stuff

She slotted the baby bottles between dribble bibs and a change mat. As she perused the aisles, she stacked yet more into the trolley. Newborn clothes, and the next two sizes for good measure. A play gym, and a teddy for company. Two, so he had a choice. She spent half an hour debating on decorations for his nursery. Would he prefer cars or dinosaurs?

‘What are you doing?’ She jumped at Paul’s voice, dropping a stack of cot blankets.

‘I’m getting us ready. Blue or red?’ Paul just stared at her. ‘I think blue, it’s more peaceful.’

‘Jenny, you know we can’t…’

‘Though, red is more passionate–.’ Paul grabbed her hand and pressed his nose against hers, his large brown eyes shimmering with impending tears.

‘Honey? You remember, right?’

Jenny blinked, twice, as a sharp pain began in the corner of her eye. Napalm replaced the air in her lungs as her legs gave way. Paul caught her, and she shook against his solid frame. When she could stand, she slipped out a hankie and dried her eyes, the white cotton smeared black from her mascara.

‘I wanted to know what it felt like. Just once.’

Quote of the Week

"Escapism isn't good or bad in itself. What is important is what you are escaping from and where you are escaping to." Terry Pratchett.

Book of the Month - Half a Creature From the Sea. Full review here.

Final Words

My indulgence might seem harmless, but I’ve found it derails me, taking away time when I could be working towards my goals instead of just dreaming. I know it’s a stupid exercise, that it won’t solve anything, yet I keep drifting back. And when I don’t keep it in check, it gets hungrier, eating ever greater chunks of my life, all for an imagined feeling.

With Love

Joe

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