'Sofa Speak' by J F King

‘Life is too short,’ V said.

There was something - K couldn’t put his finger on it – that irritated him about this style of speaking but to be irritated is to be fascinated. Afraid too, her way of speaking would rub off on him, he would become the kind of man who said he couldn’t put his finger on it.

When V set off for the TV studio that morning K checked in with his own emotions.

‘Knock ‘em dead, hit ‘em for six,’ K said but did that mean he wanted her to succeed or fail?

V hadn’t returned his goodbye kiss, pulling out from the clinch, the expression ‘you only come this way once’ already on her lips.

Only weeks before Veronica had been unemployed, redundant. She’d found a new life as a life coach. Her web site hopespringseternal.com a surprise hit launching her from job centre to TV studio in record time.

The studio light showed green – ‘you never have a second chance to make a first impression, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step’ smiled V as she took her place on the sofa.

‘You ready for this?’ said the presenter, ‘quite a journey you’ve been on.’

‘Life isn’t a rehearsal,’ V shot back.

K put his finger on the remote.