Presence – Michael Barry – 1500 words (Humour)

Stan and Elsie may lead extremely conservative lives but Stan at least has welcomed their new wide-screen, all-colour, high-definition, auto-presence, bells-and-whistles, digital TV receiver with built-in recorder with open arms. But with technology this advanced a basic fault can have unforeseen, even fatal, consequences.

Presence

The first minuscule bubbles started to break on the tremulous white surface of the milk. With a surprising deftness matured through long years of practice, Elsie swept the non-stick pan from the ceramic hob while simultaneously switching it off. She stirred the contents into the two cocoa mugs and then immediately doused the pan under the cold water tap to pre-soak the milky coat sticking to the inside.

From the biscuit jar she extracted an attractive assortment, choosing carefully and making absolutely sure that she included Stan's favourites, the crunchy ones with chocolate chips embedded in them.

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