SHORT STORIES SPECIAL

There’s a stunning twist to Frances Mensah Williams’s tale of the woman who makes up an imaginary boyfriend to save face after being dumped

I will not cry!

Dionne’sheart was racing as she gripped the ceramic coffee mug and tried to will back the unshed tears burning her eyes. She bent her head, letting the heavy braids hide her face while she struggled to catch her breath and suppress the overwhelming urge to sob or – even worse – beg Josh to change his mind.

Yet again, she regretted agreeing to her boyfriend’s – Can I still call him that? – demand to meet for a quick chat. The coffee shop around the corner from the office had been her idea, making it easier for her to sneak out between meetings.

Inside, the comforting smell of roasted coffee beans filled the air and despite the clink of coffee cups and tinkle of teaspoons, with the tables crammed together, it was easy to hear the conversations swirling around them.

The string of clichés he’d just trotted out – did anyone rea lly say: ‘It’s not you, it’s me’? – hung in the air between them

Josh sat facing her, his back to the queue of people waiting at the counter. The string of clichés he’d just trotted out – did anyone really say: “It’s not you, it’s me”? – hung in the air between them.

When she finally looked up, his brown eyes probed her face to gauge her reaction to his bombshell announcement and then narrowed in a clear warning not to embarrass him in public. Had he always been this selfish and – and cruel? How did I not see it? Even now, he was only worried about himself, Dionne thought resentfully.