ME, Myself, I

THE STORY SO FAR: Ingrid’s father Bob has been in hospital for a week, after suffering a fall, but is due to be discharged the next day. For comfort, Ingrid buys a bottle of the expensive perfume she loves, and which had been worn by Rose, an elderly woman she’d met on the train. Walking on the beach, Ingrid is lost in thought about her life. When she reaches her favourite bench on the beach, near a striking blue house, she sits for a while, closes her eyes and mulls over the decisions she needs to make. Ingrid’s thoughts are interrupted by a familiar voice. Rose. Delighted to see her, the two sit and talk again, and Ingrid tells Rose that she’s been offered a work promotion she doesn’t want. Later that afternoon, back home, Ingrid tells her husband Jack about the promotion and informs him that, not only will she not be taking it, but she’ll be resigning completely.

Ingrid sat curled in the chair, a mug of hot tea resting on her knee. At some point, she’d have to move it, most likely when the heat reached through her jeans and began to prickle her skin. For the moment though, she sat totally still, absorbed in the wonderful serenity of the silent house.

December would arrive soon. Her favourite month of the year. From where she sat, she could see into their long back garden, and her eyes followed a darting robin