2799.A new coffee mug © Bruce Goodman 29 July 2023 |
Maureen was very abstemious. Living solely off the pension she must have been the only pensioner in the world who managed to save money. But she wasn’t at all mean; for example, her seventeen grandchildren got birthday and Christmas presents. There was only one little thing she spent on herself. It was her little flurry; her breaking out into unbridled luxury. Around New Year’s Day every year she would make a special trip into town for one sole reason: to buy herself a new coffee mug for the year. A coffee mug was something one lived with every day. It was nice to have an annual change. Something cheerful such as painted pretty flowers or herbs. Or a little lake with ducks. Or maybe simply a colourful intricate pattern. It was almost like setting a theme, a motif, for the year. Maureen spent ages going from shop to shop, umming and ahhing. But the perfect mug for the year hadn’t as yet appeared. And then… There it was! The perfect mug! It was quite plain: all white with coloured spots. It was different from any mug she had chosen in recent years. She never thought she’d end up getting a mug like that. Maureen looked at her watch. Goodness! She had spent almost three hours seeking the perfect mug. It was time to go home. The first thing to do was to wash the mug thoroughly. While drying it she dropped it and it broke. Well, thought Maureen, I guess there was nothing wrong with last year’s mug anyway. Back to Index Next Story Previous Story |