Friday 6 May 2016

The Collection

For audio click here 
 “You collect women like my son collects Panini stickers,” Mia said.
Vic stroked his chin and nodded. It was true; he was getting quite a collection.
“The problem is,” he said, “I’m like Indiana Jones, every time I think I’ve found what I'm looking for, and I think I’ll be happy, another challenge appears and I set off on another adventure.”
“I blame Tinder,” Mia said matter of factly.
“Tinder, why?”
“Well, it's like giving up smoking and still having a box of cigarettes in the house isn't it?”
“You’re talking in riddles woman, is it like tinder or smoking?” Vic smiled.
“Well, let me finish and you’ll find out. In pre-tinder days it was so hard to find someone that once you had, you didn't ever want to let go, so you made it work. But now as soon as something goes wrong in your relationship,  you start swiping left and right and suddenly Jo 29 from Penarth has liked you and you're chatting and your new adventure begins.”
“That’s a bit harsh,’ Vic said, but he knew it was kind of true. Although for him it was OK Cupid rather than Tinder.
“And,” Mia was on a roll now. “because you are a man and so you never end a relationship, you always managed to end up with two or three on the go at the same time.”
“Since when do men never end relationships?” Vic asked.
“Tell me I’m wrong, how many have you got on the go at the moment?”
“Three,” Vic said quietly, wiping latte from his upper lip.
“Three?” Mia shook her head. “Jesus, you’re like a one person soap opera. So there's Sally and Donna. Who's the third?”
“Debbie,” Vic said not getting eye contact.
“Oh crap you've not gone back to her? What's wrong with you? You're like a horny badger. Do these women know about each other?”
“Of course not.” Vic said. His latte was empty now and he was spooning the froth from the side of his cup with enthusiasm.
“And what would they say if they found out?”
Vic shrugged. He didn't really want to think about that. 

I need your help! I am trying to select four or five of my best stories to rework and send to literary magazines to try to get published. Can you let me know what stories you think would stand the best chance of getting published. Thank you. 



1 comment:

  1. Been thinking about this on-line dating, something completely strange for me but so attractive to some people and I think that Vic just seems to be a perfect cog in what we call the consumer society, people who always want bigger, better, prettier, newer, people who always look for the greener grass, who love everything that is disposable as it is easier to use and doesn't require effort: disposable diapers, razors, dishes, cutlery, contacts, friends, relationships. On line dating seems perfect as the choice is huge and each time you think you have found sth for yourself, you go on thinking: there must be sth even better out there, someone smarter, funnier, more beautiful, perfect. Besides, why keep something/someone that is not perfect, that has flaws, something broken? Why repair old shoes when you can easily buy new ones? You can always replace old with new.
    I know the grass is not greener on the other side of the fence, so I prefer to water the grass I have so that it gets even greener. Vic probably would never understand why. You can always buy new, ready-made grass in the supermarket after all.

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