Another short one.

I don’t send these shorts to an editor, they are just random ideas that bounce into my head and I scribble them down and throw them out there.

So Here goes.,...

Loop

Louise loved shopping.

Having been one of seven kids, to a working-class family, she had grown up poor. Most of her clothing had been hand me downs, and being a middle child, was then handed on.

She never had anything of her own. What few toys she had, were also ones that had been used by her older siblings and would be passed on down the line.

When she found herself finally in a position to shop, and spend money, and buy herself things, she considered that she deserved it as a reward for a childhood of deprivation.

Her husband, Clive, was happy to indulge her. 10 years her senior, he had met her at the software company he owned. She had been employed as a receptionist and he had fallen for her on sight.

When Louise had first met Clive, she had been attracted to him. He was a good-looking guy and kept himself in good shape. He was rich and successful, and he was also a very clever man, leading the drive in fully immersive gaming, a technology for gaming using a headset that interacted directly with the gamers brain, placing them Inside the game world. They would see, hear and feel like they were living the lives of the game characters.

Clive chased Louise, and Louise didn’t run very fast.

They married less than six months later, and of course she quit her job.

Louise loved her life. She loved to be the wife of a rich and successful man. She loved the social aspects of the life too. The parties, the coffee mornings, the tennis club, but most of all she loved the shopping.

Then everything came crashing down.

It was a Tuesday.

As usual Clive was up with the lark, took a short run of only about 3 miles, and then showered and breakfasted before going into the office. He would spend most of the day there, working hard for them both. She loved him for that.

Louise rose about two hours later, had a quick bite of breakfast and then got ready to go out. She had a busy day planned. She was going to the HOA meeting this morning, then into town to shop. She had planned lunch with a couple of her friends at the tennis club and then into the spa for pampering afternoon. Clive wouldn’t be home before nine so she could watch some television and then prepare supper.

The HOA meeting was fun, she loved hearing all about the small transgressions of the neighbours and judging how they were going to be punished.

Her shopping was a success, she bought herself some new underwear, and she looked forward to modelling it for Clive at the weekend. As she was going past a jeweller, she saw a pair of cufflinks that she knew he would love. She stepped in and took a closer look.

Happy with her purchases she decided to make her way to the tennis club, but as she drove towards the club, she made a snap decision to drop in on Clive and present him with the cufflinks. He would love them and would be really happy to see her.