The Agatha Frost Winter Anthology: 5 Festive Cozy Mystery Short Stories by Agatha Frost
Author:Agatha Frost [Frost, Agatha]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pink Tree Publishing LTD
Published: 2020-12-18T22:00:00+00:00
Want to see Claire chase her dreams? Her story continues in the 1st Claireâs Candles book, Vanilla Bean Vengeance, or why not check out the Book 1-3 Boxset!
Boxing Day Bingo
A standalone story featuring Dot and Percy, husband and wife extraordinaire, from my Peridale Café series.
Dot never accepted invitations for Boxing Day. The day after Christmas was for locking oneself in the house to recover from the festivities. If the phone rang, she ignored it. Meals comprised of leftover turkey and stuffing sandwiches, and no sale was worth rushing down to the shops.
This bitterly cold Boxing Day morning, however, Dot found herself on the outskirts of the Peridale, staring up at Oakwood Nursing Home. The invitation to attend their annual Boxing Day Bingo event had come out of the blue, but considering whoâd sent it, Dot simply couldnât justify staying at home.
The turkey and stuffing sandwiches would have to wait.
âWhat do I say to her?â Dot asked Percy as she wrapped her hand around his frosty fingers. âItâs been so long.â
âYou say hello, dear.â Percy chuckled, squeezing her hand. âAdrienne invited you. No need to be nervous, my love. Weâll be amongst our people today.â
Percy meant âold fogies like usâ, but Dot had never felt comfortable at Oakwood. There were worse places to end up than the former stately home, she mused as she pulled open the heavy front door, but she was grateful for every year she kept her independence.
With her eighty-sixth birthday around the corner, Dot wasnât naïve. As spritely as she was now, it never took much to flip life upside down at this age. Sheâd seen it happen enough times. A place like Oakwood was inevitable if she lived as long as she hoped she would.
Passing the looming Christmas tree in the reception hall, they followed the sound of laughter and conversation to the recreational room at the back of the building. Residents sat in large armchairs all over the room, but today their visitors outnumbered them. Huge windows overlooked the sprawling grounds where only a few souls braved the frosty morning air, and a fire roared opposite a television on wheels.
âI canât see her,â Dot whispered to Percy as she scanned the faces of everyone seated in the fluffy armchairs. âWhat if I donât recognise her?â
âHow long has it been?â
Dot searched her memories. Sheâd been friends with Adrienne on and off for most of her adult life. No matter how far their lives had drifted in different directions, theyâd always floated back. Each time, they met as slightly different people, but always with the same wicked sense of humour that had first bonded them. Their most recent stint of regular contact had taken place in a bingo hall where theyâd met up weekly to play and laugh together.
A couple of missed dates, and before Dot knew it, theyâd drifted again.
âTony Blair was the Prime Minister,â Dot said, still scanning. âHe doesnât seem so long ago, but then I remember weâve had four since â and thatâs before you count all the marriages, deaths, and births.
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