Karl gazed disconsolately across the battlefield: the battle of Pydna was not going well. On the left flank his archers were about to be overrun by a phalanx of elite Spartans that had just taken out the cavalry set to protect the lightly armed bowmen. Things on the right were no better. Although his forces there were yet to sustain significant losses, they were in the path of several units of heavily armed Macedonians, all pikes and shields and strength-in-numbers. He briefly wondered if Maximus Decimus Meridius had had Sunday afternoons that went like this. Probably not.
The neighbours were glaring again. I’d almost forgotten what the old antipathy had been like, and had got quite used to ignoring, and being ignored by, them. But here it was – like an insecure partner they operated along the lines of “if-you-really-cared-you’d-know-what-was-wrong”. Once experienced, never forgotten. How long would it be before they approached me, before anyone realised I might need some details to work with?
So, we were both sitting in the vegetable patch, holding a French Bean in front of our mouths ready to begin. We'd agreed that we would start on one, two, three – go! Not just one, two, three. You had to wait for the go! Not that I could care less. All I could think about was how this was turning out to be the worst summer holiday ever. There we were, on our arses in the soil, nothing better to do.
Anyway, I'd started counting, when Margaret went,
Wait! You have to open your mouth when you’re done to prove it's gone.
Stella got the giggles twenty minutes after, lying on the sofa pounding cushions and holding her belly. Davis watched. He was laughing too, less so, as he was struck by her expression. She hadn’t looked that way since they were teenagers.
He crawled on the sofa next to her, snaking his legs between hers, back turned, facing the television. It was on and loud, though neither was watching. The room was dark, apart from intermittent flashes from the screen. Stella put her arms around his waist. He could feel her warm breath on the knob of his spine, which perfectly matched the warmth at the centre of his forehead. He let his thoughts drift, eyes open, dappled light playing on his cheeks. He heard a deep hum from his wife.
Join the League for some Fun & Games on Tuesday April 12th - which is also our fourth birthday! Doesn't time fly when you're having fun?
We can promise an office steeplechase, a lifetime of gaming, stoned parents, battle re-enactments, children tied to trees and a very unlucky cat. Seeing as it's our birthday there will also be jelly and ice-cream, party poppers and balloons, as well as the usual FREE books in our literary quiz, and BARGAIN wine.
The stories selected are: "Big Boys' Games" by Rob Mukherjee *NEW AUTHOR* "Genghis" by Simon Jones *NEW AUTHOR* "One, Two, Three - Go!" by Julie Mayhew "Palio" by Liam Hogan "Games I've played & the people I've played them with" by Nathan Good *NEW AUTHOR* We'll also be featuring a fab new story by novelist Courttia Newland, "Gone Away Boy"
PLUS we've persuaded fantastic actress/comedienne Lizzie Roper to join our company and she will be reading Julie Mayhew's story "One, Two, Three - Go!" ...
£5 on the door and more great stories than you can shake a stick at
Longtime contributors Niall Boyce, Jonathan Pinnock & Richard Smyth all have books out which you'd be well advised to buy, then read, then buy for others. All genres are catered for, from novels (Niall's Veronica Britton) and short stories (Jonathan's Dot Dash) to nonfiction (Richard's Bumfodder)
KATY LIAR'S DEBUT NOVEL
Liar Katy Darby's debut novel, a Victorian drama called The Unpierced Heart (previously titled The Whores' Asylum) is now out in Penguin paperback. It's had nice reviews in The Independent on Sunday, Sunday Times & Metro (4*).
OUR INTERVIEW WITH ANNEXE MAG!
They came, they saw, they asked us a bunch of interesting questions. Interview by Nick of Annexe Magazine with Katy of LL: here
