Watergate Bay

  The Winter's Tale  Mildred played Hermione in Shakespeare’s wintery tale. Darrell could tell, she hated playing the statue. Darrell couldn’t concentrate on the story at all. The difficult Shakespearean verse was not an issue for Darrell, but still she struggled to focus. She was sat beside Sally. When Mildred appeared in any scene, Darrell noticed that Sally would sit forward in her seat and pay a little more attention. This was to be expected.       The university theatre was poorly heated. Darrell wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm. At the end of the play, Mildred met Sally and Darrell in the dingy foyer. Mildred was accompanied by other members of the cast. Darrell thought it was odd; these people she’d never met, who she had seen performing Shakespeare for two hours, were now standing next to her. ‘We’re going to the Bucket and Moon,’ one of the cast members announced. Mildred cooed. Sally agreed. Darrell noticed how Sally stood close to Mildred as soon as they met

  Sally Plaits Her Hair Again  The day had started badly for Michael. He was late for work. The cherry on top of the cake would come now. Michael’s foot tripped over the curb. His face hit the ground. Michael touched the bridge of his nose and felt blood. He’d fallen head over heels. Michael collected himself. He brushed his trousers, then crossed the street to the café. The ruined cathedral sat above the small café, where Michael worked, and whenever he felt gloomy, which was quite often nowadays, he’d look out of the window to the ancient building to find himself feeling a little calmer and more collected.       ‘What happened to you?’       ‘I overslept,’ Michael said, collecting his pad of paper from the till, so he could start taking orders. But the café was quiet.       ‘What happened to your face?’       ‘I tripped, Catherine, alright?’       ‘I’m going for a cigarette,’ Catherine said, giving Michael a sideways glance. ‘Your nose is bleeding,’ she said, and pointed toward the l