Some evenings she just wanted to stretch out on the couch and read a book.
This was one of those nights and she was opening her latest mystery novel at the bookmark when her boyfriend asked her if she wanted a cup of tea. She said she would and soon settled down to reading. As engrossed as she was in the story, she hardly noticed him putting it down, but managed to mumble a belated thanks as he walked away. She fluffed up her cushion and took a sip, quite unaware that he’d returned and sat in the armchair opposite, pretending to read a magazine. He was actually observing her. The book she had was a good read and she found herself getting involved in the plot and the characters without hesitation.
This was certainly one of her favourite things; stretched out, sipping tea, reading a book and getting caught up in a story. She had been reading for half-an-hour, when she looked up from the page with a sudden realisation. One of the main characters in the story had disappeared. He was no longer being mentioned, in fact… he was missing. She kept turning back pages in an attempt to establish when he had dropped out, but he simply wasn’t there. He was no longer in the book!
She took another sip of tea. He must have escaped, she thought, but characters don’t just fall out of a book… do they? She fanned the pages, lifted the book up and began shaking it. Her movements became more and more violent and she began bouncing up and down.
Eventually, she fell off the couch onto the floor, muttering, “I meant to do that. Now, let me see… yes there he is, the swine, he’s hiding under here!”
She lay on her side with her arm stretched out under the couch grasping at something. Gradually, the exhaustion of this made her contorted body movements grow slower and slower until eventually she became still. She slept for a few minutes while he sat watching.
When she came to, she was obviously confused about being on the floor. She struggled up saying, “How did that happen?”
“Not sure,” he said, “I think you fell asleep and rolled off. Are you OK?”
“I think so,” she said, as she made herself comfortable back on the couch. She took a small sip of tea.
“This tea tastes funny,” she said, picking up her book.
He suppressed a giggle. He considered the whole thing to be purely recreational.