THE LAST BOOK LEFT IN THE HOUSE

[Rob Marshall]

During that hot summer of 1976 - where troops of invading ladybirds clung to the stinging sweat on our skin - Nan spent her final days looking for images of Christ in the woodwork. She finally found him in the bookshelf; neighbours came from doors around to view the apparition, but they all agreed with callous candour that it looked more like the mark left by a fly that had been swatted. Nan was devastated, but out of awkward reverence, she removed the dusty copy of Lady Chatterley's Lover and placed it on top of her wardrobe. Here it would have breathed heavily, straddled between a Methodist Bible and a crumpled catalogue for Green Shield Stamps, lamenting how it once caused a heady queue at the town's only bookshop afer the steamy trial and rapacious media reports. Mum sat at the kitchen table, slurping tea as if that's why God gave her such a beautiful mouth, leaving traces of lipstick on the rim of the chipped cup; a porcelain and rouge palimpsest of all the afternoons she waited for him and said: "Robbie bach, the new owners of Nan's house have found some stuff, there's a book in there, you like reading, go and pick them up." I walked home with Chatterely, having discarded the Bible and Stamps in the Cut, looking to the sky where I had been told Nan had gone to live in the house on moon: that day DH Lawrence defined more than one life, but I was too young to realise.

 

# "Bach" is an affectionate Welsh phrase for boy.

## "the Cut" is a small urban stream. 

[Rob Marshall]

Thanks for all your kind comments. It was a longer piece compressed into 6 sentences - compressed literature is the way to go lol My girlfriend is a fluent welsh speaker and she gob smacked I even know one Welsh word. I gonna surprise her and write me next piece totally in Welsh!!!!!!!

[Sandra Davies]

Original voice, poetic, amusing and I'm waiting for more.

[bolton carley]

the beginning completely drew me in with nan looking for the sign.

[Paul de Denus]

Lots of gems here and a great voice -look forward to more R

[Edward Dean]

Luv the phrasing Rob. Jam packed 6 with so  much to absorb, I had to read it again and well worth the effort.

Looking 4 more!

 

[Teresa]

I enjoyed this.  I've learned two new words, too.  Nice story and I appreciate the fact of tossing those two equally useless books in the Cut.