The Tweed Jacket and other tales

By Roy Whitlow

Four tales of love. In ‘The Tweed Jacket’ Raymond buys a second-hand coat and gets more than he expected. In seeking to resolve a mystery he finds maybe something that may change his life once again. Part of love is trust, but has Carly’s husband broken hers? In ‘A Strain on Love’ chance sightings seem to confirm the worst; is there another woman looming into their lives? In ‘Out of the Mouths of Babes’ the old adage may appear to be true; the babe Emily may be more perceptive than mother, Pippa, realizes, as a slight accident sets off a surprising chain of events. Moving to a new job in a new country is a challenge for Frenchman, Alain, in ‘Starting September’. But then, sheltering from a sudden summer shower of rain could well bring a few rays of sunshine into his life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Roy Whitlow
• Release date: Feb 6, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301881345

Book preview

The Tweed Jacket

and other tales

Four stories by

Roy Whitlow

Published by:

R.Whitlow, Bristol, UK

Smashwords Edition

Copyright: © 2013 Roy Whitlow, Bristol, UK

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, manual, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. All the names, characters, brands, media, and incidents are products of the Author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Some places referred to may exist, but any incidents related to them are fictitious.

Discover other titles by Roy Whitlow at: http://www.smashwords.com/profile

Find My Diamonds!

Garbee’s Bear

A Party at Buntings

The Devil’s Eyeglass

Love and Filo Pastry (Short Stories)

The Red Hound of Pooley (Short Stories)

A Dictionary Of French Food & Dining:

Part 1–Names of Food Items

Part 2 – Names of Dishes on Menus

Part 3 – Terms Use in Cooking

Non-fiction (paper books)

Basic Soil Mechanics (Pearson Education, 2004)

Materials and Structures (Pearson Education, 1991)

Table of Contents

The Tweed Jacket

A Strain on Love

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Starting September

The Tweed Jacket

Raymond Battersby hated shopping with his sister Olivia; she loved charity shops and nagged him to buy clothes. They could have been enjoying a pleasant walk along the sea front.

Olivia grabbed his arm and dragged him across the road. ‘Quick, over there,’ she urged.

‘Where to now?’ protested Ray.

‘I’ve just spotted a BHF.’

‘A what?’ gasped Ray, as he stumbled up the kerb after crossing a busy road.

‘British Heart Foundation shop. They have good stuff. Come on, Raymond.’

Olivia pushed open the shop door. Following her in, Ray looked in dismay at the cramped space and several women studiously pulling coat-hangers off chest-high carousels and holding them up. A strong smell of dry-cleaning fluid assailed his nostrils – he hoped fervently that this would be the last shop.

Olivia and he had come to Weston-super-Mare for a pleasant day out. The weather was gorgeous: sunny and almost without breeze, but not too hot. They had had a brief stroll along the pier and had looked in on the amusement arcade. It was a riot of noise and colour, and full of excited young children.

After a fish and chip lunch – a treat for Ray – Olivia’s plan was to embark on the charity shop safari, as he referred to it.

Olivia had been a widow for ten years. Raymond had lost his darling Betty just over two years ago now, shortly after retiring. He was dubious at first about moving in to Olivia’s modest semi, but it had turned out well for both of them. Expenses were shared and they were company for each other. Apart from a few little squabbles – mainly about each others habits, they rubbed along quite nicely. Raymond did miss his Betty though, as he knew Olivia still quietly mourned her Stan.

They enjoyed regular days out: sometimes it was to the cinema and a meal – they both loved the Pizza Hut. Also, from the city of Bristol where they lived there were many interesting places: Bath, Gloucester, Cheltenham, Wells, Glastonbury, Cardiff – and of course Weston-super-Mare. Weston was a pleasant seaside town mixing old and new. There was a long beach, a pier, a small promenade train, lots of cafes and restaurants, more than enough pubs, and, most importantly for Olivia, shops – especially charity shops.

Olivia was busy sorting through a rail of skirts. Ray made his way toward the back of the shop, picking a careful track between the carousels and searching shoppers. He eventually made it to the books and videos. This was his usual tactic and he often found a paperback that proved readable. His tastes ran from the classics, through