Lonely This Christmas Read Online Free

only just sixty years old when he passed away, she never attempted to find love again. Grandma Brown was a very positive person who accepted what life threw at her and she rarely complained, but if you looked closely there was always a hint of sadness in her eyes. She died peacefully in her sleep at the age of one hundred; and whilst it was sad that she’d died and everyone would miss her, everybody accepted that finally she would be reunited with her one true love.
     

Chapter Seven
     
    At the end of the day, just as she’d promised, Judy headed down to the perfume department. After purchasing a bottle of Charlie perfume, she made sure that the receipt was countersigned by the section supervisor. Judy smiled to herself as she popped the perfume into her bag. Clive the security man was on staff searching duty tonight, so Judy was very careful to keep her receipt handy in the right patch pocket of her wine woolen parka. This once monthly ritual was taken very seriously by the security guards, and conscientious Clive followed the rules to the letter.
    Clive, with his bright orange hair and freckles to match, was a happy soul who was contented with his lot. At least that’s the impression he gave all those that knew him. Whenever shoplifters hurled abuse at him, he contained himself and followed procedure with unwavering professionalism. Even when he caught the raging and inebriated stocky man with a turkey down his sweat pants in the ‘Frozen Food and Provisions’ department, he kept his composure and calmly frogmarched the thief to the manager’s office until the police arrived. He always chatted to the policemen like he was one of their own, and Judy often wondered if he held secret aspirations of joining the police force.
    Standing at the staff exit doorway, Clive waited patiently with his clipboard in one hand and Papermate in the other. Judy stood in line behind her work colleagues who were all anxiously waiting to leave. No matter the protestations about what many workers considered to be a time wasting and pointless monthly event, Clive went through his checklist with military precision. When it was Judy’s turn in the queue Clive smiled, showing his slightly overlapping front teeth, and just for a moment let his guard slip.
    “Nice coat, Judy. New is it? Been meaning to tell you, love the new hair style too,” Clive said as his cheeks suddenly reddened.
    “Come on, what’s the hold up, Clive? Some of us have got homes to go to,” shouted a voice from the back of the queue.
    “Sorry,” Clive apologized as he got back into his security guard mode. Looking down at his clipboard, he read each question from the A4 sheet in a robotic voice that almost sounded as though it were computer generated.
    “Have you anything on your person that you got from this store?”
    “Yes, perfume,” replied Judy as she opened her bag and pointed out the bottle of perfume.
    Clive ticked the relevant box, before swiftly moving on to the next question.
    “Have you got a receipt to prove that you purchased the item?”
    “Yes, Clive,” Judy responded as she reached into her pocket to produce the till receipt.
    Again, Clive ticked the relevant box.
    “Has the receipt been countered signed by a recognized section supervisor?”
    “Yes,” Judy smiled as she handed over the small piece of paper to the ever vigilant Clive.
    Clive took the receipt and examined it closely, before handing it back to Judy. After ticking the final box Clive handed over the clipboard, pointing out where Judy should sign and print her name. Duty done, Clive and Judy said goodnight to each other as he held open the door for her to leave.
    Once sat on the bus, Judy took out her Charlie and sprayed it liberally onto both wrists. On the long bus journey home she continued to periodically raise her wrists to her nose, as though taking in a vital whiff of oxygen. By the time she got home her head was buzzing with memories , and even before the microwave had