The S Word

Could she sweep aside the bad memories and finally find sweet love?

- Linda Hurdwell

I am sitting in a deckchair on our local beach enjoying the sunshine, listening to the gentle lap of the sea. I smile. As a child I was absolutely certain that all words beginning with “S” meant happiness. Sun and sea were good and so were sausages. As I grew older it was swings and slides, then when a teenager, smile, sex and finally Sam.

How I loved Sam, the boy who came to live next door. He was dark with such twinkling blue eyes and he was saucy – another S. We began dating and I was in seventh heaven, convinced it was because his name was Sam. I hung onto his every word and couldn’t imagine life without him. He called me sugar and spice Sally, even more nice Ss.

But one day he left. Being sugar and spice wasn’t enough for Sam. He yearned for adventure and didn’t want to be tied down to one girl who worked at the local vet’s surgery.

Sam’s main letter had become an A. He emigrated to Australia for adventure.