£100 prize…

Tess didn’t believe in omens, but with a date to prepare for, she needed a little luck

For your story, like reader Jo Mills!

Ablack cat ran out on to the pavement in front of Tess, before stopping and looking at her quizzically for a moment. Then, almost as quickly as it had arrived, it dashed away across the road. Growing up in the 1970s, Tess had been taught that black cats were lucky: if a witch’s cat crossed your path, it was a sign of good things in your future. A silly superstition that her gran had taught her but, nowadays, everyone seemed to think black cats were bad luck instead. Tess sighed, shook her head and muttered ‘nonsense’ under her breath. She was looking for anything that would add a positive, rosy glow to her day, and if that was a cat, then so be it.

Tess checked her watch and realised she was running late. Breaking into a slight jog, she dashed on towards the high street. Andrew was the third man to contact her through the dating website she’d recently signed up to, and he’d reminder her of a boy she really liked at secondary school, also called Andrew. Again, Tess grasped for any miniscule sign that this date would be different to the catalogue of previous disappointments.

Past encounters seemed to consist of men in their late fifties who had dusted a few years off their profile details but behaved as if Tess should be grateful they were interested in a woman in her forties. She snorted with derision just thinking about their over-confidence.

Andrew’s photo, however, revealed a handsome man in his mid-forties. They had emailed each other a few times and he hadn’t given off any obvious bad vibes, so she agreed to meet up for a coffee. Tess chose her favourite local coffee shop at her favourite time: late afternoon. Her friend Ava had drummed into her that if she was intending to meet men off the internet, then she should ‘bloody well be safe!’, which is what convinced her to dictate the location of the date herself.

Ava and Tess had spent many a night sharing a few glasses of wine since their respective divorces, devising their battle plans for finding love. Tess suspected that their plans were based on one too many romcoms, but she enjoyed the reassurance of company in her quest for romance.

Arriving at the coffee shop right on time, Tess listened to the familiar ring of the bell as she pushed open the door and felt a warm, caffeine-scented cloud embrace her as she stepped inside. She straightened her new blue dress and scanned the room. Most of the tables were taken, but she couldn’t see the

Andrew she recalled from the online photo waiting for her.

She glanced at her watch; perhaps he had been held up?

Tess ordered her usual from Alex at the counter and took her drink to a corner table with a good view of the door.

Then, she waited…

Tess always carried a magazine or book in her bag, but she was too nervous to read now. Every time the door opened and the bell rang, she looked up expectantly to see if Andrew was going to come in. She imagined him spotting her and smiling before striding over confidently with a funny story and an apology for keeping her waiting.

Her coffee grew cold, so she ordered another and quickly drained it. Andrew was now over an hour late. It dawned on Tess that he probably wasn’t coming, but she just couldn’t bring herself to leave.

‘Do you want another coffee before I close up?’ Alex called over to her. Tess jumped slightly and looked up, realising it was 5pm and Alex was clearing the empty tables. Tess nodded, deflated. She had time to have another drink before she returned home. Ava would phone her later to see how things went, but she wasn’t in the mood to laugh about being stood up.

Alex brought her coffee over with a cinnamon bun and set them down before her. Tess raised her eyebrow, but he just smiled. ‘You would be doing me a favour, Tess! I’m changing supplier and I trust your opinion on whether these are any good or not,’ he said.

Tess thanked him and took a bite. The soft bun yielded and the cinnamon was delicious. She nodded, feeling warmed by the gesture and felt a smile creep into her cheeks. She finished the bun and took her crockery up to the counter where Alex was finishing tidying up.

‘Tess, I’m glad you’re here when it’s quiet,’ said Alex, smiling. ‘I’ve been meaning to ask you this for ages, but I never get the chance to speak to you when it’s busy in here. Would you like to go for a drink this evening? On a date, that is...’

Outside, the black cat sat on a fence, washing her paws with intricate care as the woman in the blue dress walked by again. This time, she had a man with her and a wide smile on her face; they were chatting happily. The cat yawned; bringing people luck could be so tiring sometimes.