Fireflies Read Free Page B

up for some fun. You’re just too fussy’.
    ‘And you’re a tart’.
    ‘Thank you. I model myself on how you’d be if you let yourself go. There must be bloody cobwebs up your fanny’.
    ‘Cheeky b itch’
    ‘Truth hurts?’
    Andrea sighed. ‘I don’t deny it. I’m boring and I’m old before my time’.
    ‘Don’t turn into one of those women who are obsessed with finding reasons not to have sex’ cried Tina. ‘Because that’s why so many men walk around looking so fucking miserable. All they want is a bit of legover but all their wife or girlfriend want is a baby and once that’s popped out and she’s a Mum then sex is confined to the past’.
    ‘Oh go and make me a cup of tea and I’ll think about whether or not I’m still talking to you’.
    ‘ Right you are, chuck’ said Tina. ‘By the way, doesn’t the new boss start today?’
    ‘Paula Jones?’ said Andrea. ‘Yes, I think she does. It was supposed to be last Monday but they put it back for some reason’.
    ‘I still think they should’ve given the job to you after Phil had to retire’ said Tina, ever loyal to her friend. ‘Especially after you’ve been standing in all this time whilst we were waiting for that lot at head office to get off their collective backsides and organise themselves. It’s been over three months since Phil had his heart attack’.
    ‘Yes, well, they didn’t’ said Andrea. ‘Have you spoken to Phil lately?’
    ‘I went up to see him yesterday afternoon’.
    ‘And is he okay?’
    ‘He seems fine but he isn’t if you see what I mean’ Tina revealed. ‘I mean, he’s sleeping downstairs now. He can’t manage the stairs and poor Jean is worn out, not only with the physical side of taking care of him but also with the worry of not knowing if he’s going to wake up in the morning’.
    ‘Tina?’
    ‘What?’
    ‘I just wanted to say thanks for, well you know, not going for the promotion yourself and giving me a clear shot at it’.
    ‘Fat lot of good it did you’.
    ‘I know but I’m grateful. You know I am’.
    ‘Yes, well you were always better suited to it than me but let’s hope Paula Jones is grateful for the fact that she’s been parachuted in over your head’.
    ‘I’m grateful for all the blessings in my life, thank you’.
    Andrea and Tina, both momentarily shocked by the sudden appearance of a Welsh accent behind them, turned round and gave the best supermarket customer service smiles normally reserved for those daft bastards who can’t find tinned tuna chunks on a shelf that’s packed with them. They also hoped she hadn’t overheard what they’d said.
    ‘You must be Paula?’ said Tina, offering her hand which Paula shook. ‘I’m Tina Webb’.
    ‘Hello, Tina’ said Paula with the kind of smiley happy people look on her face that warned Tina that she would probably end up loathing her.
    ‘And I’m Andrea Kay’ said Andrea, also shaking hands with Paula. Andrea looked her potential new adversary up and down. She had on one of those classic two-piece dark blue and white check suits with a light blue blouse underneath. It made her look slightly on the Miss Ellie side of things when she was probably no older than Sue Ellen. Andrea knew everything about Dallas. She’d got the box set of DVDs at home and had always been madly in love with Bobby Ewing. Paula’s hair was dyed blond judging by the roots and curled under just above her shoulders. She was a lady who was carrying a little more weight than she really should but Andrea thought it might be good if there was another woman in the place with hips bigger than her own.
    ‘I feel so blessed to have been brought in to manage this prestigious branch of PriceChopper’ she announced through her smiley, happy mouth. ‘It has a bigger client base than any of our other stores across Greater Manchester. And Andrea, I know you’ve been managing it on a temporary basis these past few weeks but I can assure you that my appointment is