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101 Word Short Stories

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Separate Holidays

April 5, 2022 8 Comments

By Andy Hedgecock

I’m sipping espresso under an awning on the Boulevard Saint-Germain; footsore, slumped in a wicker chair, and thumbing through the morning’s selfies. One on a Bateau Mouche; another backdropped by the tubular carapace of the Centre Pompidou; and a rushed composition involving the Neptune fountain at Versailles, plumes of water appearing to spurt from my head.

My mobile pings with incoming images of your brunch: oeufs en meurette with espresso and croissant.

Tapping the thumbs-up symbol, something occurs to me. I pick up my chair and move to your side of the table. “Dites fromage,” I say, holding my phone aloft.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Erika says

    April 5, 2022 at 8:38 am

    Haha…Love this. Excellent commentary of the world in which we live. Nice twist at the end. Well done!

    Reply
  2. Andy Hedgecock says

    April 6, 2022 at 2:20 am

    Cheers Erika, very kind comment.

    Reply
  3. Caroline says

    April 6, 2022 at 9:55 am

    Made me laugh – my husband is an amateur photographer and he always says it looks like he hasn’t been on holiday with me!

    Reply
  4. Andy Hedgecock says

    April 6, 2022 at 11:16 am

    Thanks, Caroline. Do you resist the urge to ‘photobomb’ his images? 🙂

    Reply
  5. Christa P. says

    April 6, 2022 at 4:42 pm

    Ce si bon! J’ai beaucoup aimé. I’m always proud when I recall the French I learned in school! But seriously…great story. Speaks truth about society’s obsessional relationships with our cellphones and social media. We forget about the human relationships.

    Reply
  6. Andrew Hedgecock says

    April 7, 2022 at 1:46 pm

    Merci Christa, c’est très gentil. Yes, so many aspects of work and leisure are being stripped of human connection.

    Reply
  7. Andrea Damic says

    April 8, 2022 at 5:55 pm

    Great story, very vivid and so true in many aspects of modern lives these days. We’ll done!

    Reply
  8. Andrew Hedgecock says

    April 10, 2022 at 10:16 am

    Thanks Andrea. My friend Ian is preparing for an exhibition of his photography, and I noticed how many of those featuring people in cities involved more than one mobile phone.

    Reply

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