By Lyn Funnell
‘Hi, I’m Winston. And I’m guessing that you must be Amelia.’
‘Hello Winston. Yes, c’est moi!’ Amelia giggled nervously and took a glass of Champagne from a passing waiter’s tray. Wow, he really had a gorgeous smile, she thought, gazing at his dark skin and his neat curly hair.
Winston helped himself to a glass. ‘So tell me, what brought you here? Of course I’ve read your bio, but tell me yourself, in your own words.’
Amelia had a sip of her Champagne. ‘I lost all my family in the pandemic, and I’ve been living from day to day, like a zombie. My best friend Zula filled in my details without telling me, and when I was accepted, she persuaded me to go ahead. She said it would give me something to live for. And you?’
Winston stopped smiling. ‘I’ve no idea who my parents are, and quite frankly I don’t care. They dumped me on a doorstep as soon as I was born, and I was passed from foster home to foster home.’
‘Oh poor you! That’s terrible!’ Amelia gasped.
Winston’s eyes glazed over as he relived his past. ‘Not as terrible as I was! I wasn’t really bad. I suppose I was just trying to attract attention to get some love and affection. The problem was, thousands of people applied to be foster parents to make some money after the first pandemic, but loads of them really weren’t suitable for the job – especially when they were dealing with kids like me!’
I’d give him love, Amelia thought, bending her head down and sipping her Champagne as she felt herself beginning to blush.
‘I was finally kicked out on the street when I was 14 and I joined up with a gang,’ Winston continued, ‘We slept in abandoned empty buildings and we ran wild. But one night my best friend Denzel was stabbed 28 times, just for the remains of a sandwich from a bin. He was covered with blood and I laid his head on my lap as he died. His last words were, Get out, Winston. Get out! And I did. I took a newspaper out of a litter bin, studied the Jobs Vacancies pages and got a job as a bouncer and night watchman in a nightclub. The owner was a real hard case, and he gave me a chance. I never went out. I ate the discarded food in the club and studied all night on the club’s computers. I taught myself about self-sufficient homes, and I became fascinated with the subject. And one day I read an ad about a fallout shelter for sale under the Sussex Downs. I’d saved all my money and tips, which were often really generous, and I bought it for next to nothing. No-one else was interested in it, which surprised me. It was massive, left over from the Cold War of the 50s and 60s. I lived in it, working night and day doing up the first house and I sold it within days of advertising it, and then got the builders in to convert three more. So that’s how I made my first million.’ He grinned and Amelia felt butterflies quivering in her stomach as he continued speaking.
‘Then came the 2nd pandemic and the Big Crash, and I lost the lot. So here I am.’ He held his arms out in a helpless gesture of acceptance. Amelia wanted to rush forwards and hug him. That smile again. Oh he was gorgeous! He was over 6ft, with a broad muscular chest. His suit fitted him like a second skin.
Winston examined the lovely girl who was nearly a foot smaller than him. She had a beautiful figure and long blonde hair that reached down to her waist. He had to control his feelings. He just wanted to grab her round the waist and lead her off to bed.
‘Hi there, we’re Mark and Doe, but everyone calls us Make and Do!
It’s often said that happy couples look like each other and it was certainly true about Make and Do.
Everyone said Hello, then Mark spoke. ‘We’ve been self-sufficient for years.’
‘We make everything ourselves out of recycled things,’ Doe added.
‘Doe made us a pair of matching sandals out of an old tyre once.’
‘And Mark built our house, and it cost us nothing!’
Mark smiled proudly. ‘Now we’ve made our greatest thing. Doe’s pregnant!’
Amelia and Winston congratulated the couple.
‘Yes and I’m 42!’ she squealed happily.
‘We’d tried everything but nothing worked,’ Mark told them.
Doe gazed lovingly at her husband. ‘I was heartbroken. I longed for a child.’
Mark grinned. ‘Then we‘d completely given up and we had one romantic night-‘.
‘Nice meal, home-made wine and a log fire-‘ Doe interrupted.
Mark winked at them. ‘And you-know-what in front of the fire-‘
His wife smiled and placed both hands on her stomach. ‘So that was it. After all that tension and trying for years, one relaxed night, and it happened.’
‘Do you know yet if it’s a boy or a girl?’ Amelia asked.
‘Oh no, it’s too early for that. And we want it to be a surprise!’ they both exclaimed.
‘I’m really looking forward to making its outfits-’
‘And I’m looking forward to being a Dad now I’m old enough to be a Grandad!
‘Hello, mind if we join you?’
‘Not at all.’ They all shuffled along a bit to make room for the new couple.
‘We’re Bernard and Molly,’ the man told them.
Sometimes you can look at a person and guess their job at once. I bet they’re farmers, Amelia thought looking at their rosy weather-beaten complexions.
‘I was born a farmer, and milking my Dad’s goats by the time I was three,’ Bernard beamed, taking two glasses of Champagne from a passing waiter’s tray and handing one to his wife. ‘Molly doesn’t come from a farming background, so she found it hard at first to adjust to the way of life – especially the long days. She gave the animals names. Perilous move.’
She glared at him. ‘Well I couldn’t help it. Baby lambs are so adorable! But I can honestly say that all our animals always had a happy life. And I did understand that they were raised to be meat. I had a couple of fields where I grew potatoes, cabbages and strawberries. And our orchard had 10 old varieties of apples and pears. And I loved my herbs, and my lovely home.’ Her face grew wistful.
Winston gently questioned the couple. ‘You say Had. What happened to it, if you don’t mind me asking?’
Bernard shook his head. ‘No, we don’t mind at all. There was a loud knock on the door one night, and like a fool I opened it.’
‘You must stop blaming yourself, Bernard,’ Molly said and turned to the group. ‘Our neighbour’s cow was due to calf. We thought it was him, asking for help.’
‘It was a group of marauders,’ Bernard continued. ‘They demanded food, money and supplies, and when I refused-‘ his voice broke.
Molly carried on. ‘They set fire to our barns. All the animals died in agony, and the wind blew the sparks across to our house. It was hundreds of years old and it burnt like a bonfire.’ Bernard put his arm round her trembling shoulders while she tried to control herself. ‘The only thing I had time to rescue was our family photo, taken when our children were alive,’ she whimpered.
Bernard patted Molly on the arm. ‘Our neighbours were marvellous. They all rallied round to help us and our nearest neighbours put us up for as long as we wanted. Of course we worked for them. But they’re all struggling to survive. And you can’t impose on your friends forever, can you?’
‘How awful!’ Doe gasped. ‘The world’s gone mad!’
‘You can say that again!’ said a new voice. He had milk-bottle glasses, a bushy beard and his hair in a pony tail.
Computer geek, thought Amelia.
‘Oh hello, I’m Carlton,’ he continued, ‘And this is- sorry, I’ve forgotten your name again, love. I’ve got a terrible memory for names.’
‘I’m Corinna.’ She glared at Carlton.
‘I’m Winston, and this is-‘
Carlton held up his hand. ‘Waste of time. I’ll forget them all at once!’
‘So what do you two do?’ Winston asked them.
Carlton spoke first. ‘I work on computers. I love them. I can take them to bits right down to the last screw, and rebuild them with sound and a camera in them. Unfortunately it’s ruined my eyesight, and my good looks.’ He laughed at his own joke. Everyone politely laughed except Corinna.
Doe noticed Corinna was standing back from the group. ‘And how about you, Corinna?’ she asked the shy girl to include her in the conversation.
Corinna stepped forward. ‘Oh I’m nothing important. I’m just a chef – or I was until recently.’
Mark spluttered, ‘JUST a chef? JUST a chef? You’re having a laugh aren’t you? I think chefs are some of the most important people in the world!’
‘As long as they don’t waste anything,’ Doe added, ‘I can’t stand waste!’
Corinna smiled cynically. ‘Those days are long gone since the pandemic. There aren’t many restaurants open any more, and they’re all struggling. Rents are high but they have hardly any customers. Nobody makes meringues with 30 egg whites and throws the yolks away any more. And veg peelings all go in the stock pot, or to make a soup.’
‘A lot of them deserved to go out of business anyway,’ hollered Mark, ‘I like to eat my meals with a knife and fork, not with a pair of tweezers and a magnifying glass! I wouldn’t pay a fortune for a tiny square of something with a zig-zag pattern of sauce round it. Ridiculous!’
‘I’m sure they can all guess that,’ Doe said affectionately, patting him on the stomach. ‘Onion skins are a good natural dye,’ she told them all, ‘And don’t get me started on nettles! The Romans brought them to England and they can be used for hundreds of things, And they protect the wildlife too.’
‘No, don’t get her started on nettles!’ Mark echoed, and everyone laughed.
Corinna stopped a passing waiter. ‘Try these beef blinis,’ she told everyone, taking one, ‘They’re delicious.’
Bernard wrinkled his nose. ‘No thanks. The meat’s far too young! It makes it tough. But I’ll have one of these dim sum; I think that’s what they’re called?’ The waiter nodded.
‘-in fact, I’ll have several. We can’t be sure when we’ll get our next meal.’
‘How about you, Amelia?’ Corinna asked.
Amelia frowned. ‘With everything in short supply millions of people are suffering from malnutrition, and children are dying. I got hooked on believing that everyone is entitled to have free food. I joined several like-minded groups and we planted fruit and vegetables on waste ground. And a lot of people let us dig up their lawns, in exchange for some of the veg. Then I studied hydroponics. Fascinating. Growing things in water. I can turn a balcony into a veg garden, and a spare bedroom into an allotment.’
‘That’s amazing,’ Winston exclaimed, ‘I built all my houses with extra space for growing their own food underground, but I never knew what to put in there, so I left it up to the buyers.’
‘Excuse me,’ Carlton interrupted, ‘I’m going to talk to the surgeon and his family. They’re all doctors. His two daughters got married a few days ago. Normally they would have had hundreds of guests, but not nowadays, of course. It’s not allowed any more. One of their husbands is a doctor, and the other one’s a dentist. Talk about keeping it in the family! Come on, er-’
‘Corinna,’ she snapped.
He walked off with Corinna tailing behind him, clutching her Champagne and her blini.
‘Beautiful costumes,’ Doe remarked, ‘So colourful!’ Everyone agreed with her.
Amelia sighed. ‘Shame about the weddings though.’
There was a sudden beeping noise and a voice bellowed out of the loudspeakers. ‘Hello everyone! Thank you all for coming here today. Will you now take your places as we’re about to commence.’
With comments of See you later, the group split up and they wandered away in different directions.
The catering staff bustled around, collecting the food and glasses.
Bernard and Mark each grabbed a handful of canapes and ate them as they walked.
Amelia tugged on Winston’s wrist. ‘Where’s Carlton? she asked, staring round the room.
Winston pointed across the room. ‘Over there, still in deep conversation with the surgeon and his family. Why?’
Amelia spoke quietly. ‘I don’t think Corinna likes him very much.’
Lightly shrugging one shoulder, Winston said, ‘Opposites attract. And they’re both interesting people. I’m sure they’ll click when they get to spend more time alone, talking to each other. Anyway, he might be dynamite in bed!’ He stared straight at Amelia, watching her colour change. Amelia looked down at the floor to hide her red cheeks. She was cross with herself, blushing like a schoolgirl. She looked up and gazed straight into Winston’s brown eyes. He had an amused half-grin on his face and she couldn’t stare him out. She scrutinized the room until she felt her face grow cooler.
Winston took hold of Amelia’s hand. ‘How about sitting over there?’ he asked, nodding at a red double sofa. Amelia agreed and they walked towards the seat.
‘This is comfy,’ Amelia declared, bouncing up and down. ‘It’s nice and squishy.’
I’m behaving like a schoolgirl again, she thought. But I don’t care any more.
‘Yes, it is.’ Winston bounced up and down beside her. ‘Why is it often so difficult to find a comfortable seat? I’m sure the designers have different-shaped bums to me.’
Amelia sighed happily, feeling a warm rush of contentment, ‘I think that a lot of seats are designed to discourage people to sit on them for long, but they’ve certainly succeeded with this one. I could sit here for ages.’ Then her words tailed off.
Winston put his arm round her shoulders. ‘Amelia, I fancy you like mad,’ he whispered. His face came nearer and nearer and he kissed her tenderly on the lips. She linked her arm round his neck and eagerly returned the kiss. Yes, they were definitely a Masterly Match, she conceded.
Then the earth moved; literally, as the five immense engines fired up, struggling to raise the massive heavy rocket off the ground and into the air. It elegantly rose upwards, rapidly gaining maximum speed with a long tail of fire behind it, then safely blasted through the Van Allen belts, leaving the dangerous, devastated world behind for ever. It was beginning its nine months’ journey, transporting the group of pioneering passengers away through Outer Space to colonise the planet Mars.
This story was originally published in the book, ‘Dark Delights’ available to buy from Amazon.
Author Bio:
Lyn had very successful careers as an Air Hostess, Sales Rep, (she was one of only a couple of women. She beat all the men regularly, becoming the Top Rep in the UK, and 2nd in the world.) And then Catering took over. She did everything from the washing-up, to Silver Service Waitress, and Chef. A few times, she had to cook the meal, dash round the other side and Silver Serve it! She collected all interesting recipes while she worked.
In between all this, she wrote as often as she could, building up a reputation as a published short story writer, (Horror and a twist in the tale,) and a Poet. She has appeared as a Performing Poet, and a Demo Chef. Then she discovered the world of the Food & Travel Writer. And that’s what she has continued doing to this day. She has continued to collect interesting recipes from different countries.
She enjoys entering Competitions, submitting her original recipes. She was first in many Competitions, including the Good Housekeeping Millenium Menu, Fruits of France, Bernard Matthews Turkey Recipe, and appeared on BBC’s The One Show Spag Bol contest. She was one of three Finalists, coming 2nd, which makes her Britain’s Spag Bol Queen!
After several years of being messed around by Editors, and having loads of contacts, Lyn formed her own online Magazine, vowing to treat her writers fairly, and to do everything possible to further their careers, publicise their books, etc. She had a band of excellent regular writers, and the Magazine went from strength to strength!
Lyn has several books published on Amazon.
Her publishers are Michael Terence Publishing: www.mtp.agency
