by Angela Wright
Their separation was supposed to be temporary. Daniel explained that it was a chance to take stock, to re-evaluate their relationship. Lucy did not understand what he meant, but reluctantly agreed anyway. It was soon evident to her that it was heading swiftly towards permanency. Firstly there was the pink car parked every night outside his house. Then the texts and calls he never answered. When she bumped into him in the street he looked shifty and avoided eye contact.
Friends provided tea, sympathy, shoulders to cry on and tissues. They told her she needed to move on, to start a new life on her own.
Lucy agreed with her friends. Though when she moved forward it was actually the act of going back in time. She opened the cupboard and rooted around amongst the detritus until she found her tap shoes. They were still intact though covered in a patina of dust. She was re-joining her musical theatre dance class — the one so disapproved of by Daniel. She smiled as she laced up the shoes. Shuffle, tap, ball change, tap step — she still remembered the old routine.