Delia’s Choices

 

by Allison Symes

bitter lemon with ice

 

Delia walked down the street as if she owned it. She smiled sweetly at the young and good-looking, regardless of gender. She ignored the middle aged and the elderly but, to be fair, they ignored her now.

They’d had their say – mainly telling Delia she was all fur coat and no knickers.

Her retort was at least she had the fur coat.

But the days when the young and good-looking flocked to Delia’s renowned parties were long gone. Nobody came to her soirees any more. So she stopped having them.

She had been invited to something more suitable for her age by her neighbours when they were still talking to her but the idea of tea and cake over a game of bingo at the local church hall left her cold.  And her manner to the neighbours left them cold.

Delia guessed it all evened up in the end.

Finally she reached her destination. She looked around to make sure nobody she knew was watching. Convinced, she finally walked into the shop in question.

It was a Specsavers.

Nobody but the optician and Delia would ever know her sight was not what it was. The one comfort Delia had was she would at least be able to see her fur coat once she had the right prescription. And it was to be contacts. The only glasses Delia would be seen with were champagne flutes.

Delia would not let her standards slip for anything or anyone.

Not after her mother ended up as a sad, shabby old woman.

There was no way Delia would be like that.  Her mother had been glamorous. And Delia was determined to stay glamorous.

But on coming out of Specsavers, Delia went down a side street. About half way down was a cosy looking home.

It was time to visit Mother who liked to see her daughter in glamorous things.

There were some things dementia would not erase.

Standards, Delia, standards. We maintain them always.

And she did.

About the author 

llison Symes, who loves quirky fiction, is published by Chapeltown Books, CafeLit, and Bridge House Publishing.

Website: https://allisonsymescollectedworks.com/

Books: http://author.to/AllisonSymesAuthorCent.

Her flash fiction collections, From Light to Dark and Back Again and Tripping The Flash Fantastic, are available in Kindle and paperback.

Her Youtube channel, with videos, is at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPCiePD4p_vWp4bz2d80SJA/