Lately Linda's life had been one disappoint after the next. Things hadn't been great even before her husband left her for a younger, prettier slimmer woman. Now she was struggling at work, and unable to pay for all the groceries in her trolley.

One bright spot was her colleague Tina's stories. You couldn't help listening. They were often amusing, but more frequently downright hilarious. They were wildly exaggerated of course and rarely complimentary, even when they involved herself. Until recently that hadn't seemed to matter.

Tina was one of those held up in the supermarket checkout queue, as Tina explained she didn't have enough money to pack for her children's favourite breakfast cereal. No good could possibly come of it.

This 4400 word short story is also published in one of Patsy's many themed collections of short stories.