The Devil To Pay (Hennessey.)

The Devil To Pay (Hennessey.) by Marnie Perry Read Free Book Online Page B

Book: The Devil To Pay (Hennessey.) by Marnie Perry Read Free Book Online
Authors: Marnie Perry
the same people would see her in her seat or at intermission alone still and think she had been stood up. She couldn’t decide which was sadder, being here alone or being stood up.
    As nonchalantly as she could she strode to an empty table and sat down. She felt better once she was seated, less conspicuous. She opened her bag and took out the programme she had picked up the day she had bought her ticket and feigned great interest in what was written there. When she dared to look up and glance quickly around she saw that no one was looking at her, that they were all to engrossed in their own conversations with their friends or partners. Although this made her feel a little more comfortable she had also never felt so alone.
    Suddenly a loud ringing noise could be heard denoting five minutes to curtain call. Adela finished her drink quickly and half rose from her chair but noticed that no one else seemed to be in a hurry to take their seats so sat back down. After a few seconds she decided to find her seat, that way she would be seated when everyone else took theirs then she wouldn’t have to squeeze past them making it obvious that she was alone.
    She made her way to the door marked “Stalls” which was printed on her ticket along with the number 1F. She showed her ticket to the lady at the door who tore it in half, kept one half and gave the other back to Adela saying, ‘please keep this in case you leave the theatre and want to come back in again.’
    Adela thanked her and the lady’s eyebrows rose a fraction in surprise at Adela’s accent, as did most peoples. The woman then gave her a bright smile and Adela smiled back feeling more relaxed. She found her seat immediately and to her relief did not have to squeeze past anyone as she was in the end seat. She took out her programme again but before long she was joined by a couple in their fifties. The man sat beside her and said, ‘good evening.’
    She said, ‘good evening’ to him then to his wife, well she assumed she was his wife, she was about the same age and he didn’t look the type to sneak around and neither did she.
    As she knew he would the man said, ‘you’re English.’
    ‘Yes, I am.’
    The woman leaning over her husband asked, ‘do you live here in Alabama or are you just visiting?’
    ‘I’m on holiday here; I’m actually doing a mini tour of the southern states, starting here in Alabama then Mississippi and so on, seven states in all.’
    ‘Well that’s mighty nice,’ the man said.’
    Adela smiled, ‘yes it is, ‘mighty nice. I’ve only been here four days but I’ve enjoyed myself very much so far. You have some beautiful scenery here and many interesting tourist attractions.’
    Like Jill the couple seemed very pleased with her assessment of their home state.
    The couple, whose names were Eddie and Christine, chatted with Adela until the lights dimmed and their was just a murmur of voices before all was quiet.
    Adela thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the play which was a kind of farce; it reminded her of the comedy show Frazier which she loved. She laughed along with everyone else.
    At intermission the couple asked if she would like to join them for a drink and she was more than eager to accept their invitation.
    They sat and chatted and discussed the first half of the play and laughed recalling some of the more funny bits.
    The second half was just as good and the audience gave the players a standing ovation.
    Outside the theatre she thanked the couple for their company and turned down their offer of a lift home, mostly because they had told her where they lived and she knew that it was in the opposite direction. They did not like the idea of leaving her there but she assured them that she would be fine. The taxi stand was right outside the theatre, there were plenty of people still around and lots of taxis coming and going. Eventually they said goodbye and left her there.
    There were four people behind her in the taxi stand so she

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