Improbable Stories

Ronald Anstruther glanced at the clock on the dashboard – 15.05 – good timing he thought. He had told his wife Jane he would be back around three o’clock, and he was now only about fifteen minutes from Greygarth House. He was feeling good. Notwithstanding the grilling his sister had given him over the last week, he was looking forward to getting home. He was trying to imagine what sort of surprise Jane might have for him;...

“So, sweetheart, what are we going to do while the house is a man-free zone?” Robert had to visit his parents for the weekend at short notice; too short for the three of them to go together. Melissa had some commitments at college on the Saturday morning, and Sarah was reluctant to leave her by herself. It was not that she was not capable, but a lot had happened this last few weeks, and they all thought that some serious...

Melissa had been wondering what it was all going to be about all day. Her mother had told her to be home from college by six, as they were all going to have a talk, and she had sounded serious. Now here she was, sitting opposite her Mum and step-dad, Robert, struggling to come to terms with what had just been explained to her. Little things in their lives began dropping into place, like missing pieces in a jig-saw puzzle....