“Not much of a hugger are you?” says Pam. We’re on her settee, watching Strictly Come Dancing, her favourite programme. I’ve heard work mates talk about it – it sounded awful. And it is.
Often nowadays I hide what I really think. I’ve become a quieter man. It was easy with Lucy. We didn’t have to agree all the time. I could be myself.
I wonder why those judges were chosen, how much is scripted. I try to predict what each judge will say. I ask Pam if the pretty one always pouts like that when the gay one insults the dancers. She snuggles up, puts my arm around her. Am I saying the right things? Is she happy or pouting?
Tim Love’s publications are a poetry pamphlet “Moving Parts” (HappenStance) and a story collection “By All Means” (Nine Arches Press). He lives in Cambridge, UK.
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