Overheard: In a pub car park. "Hi, can I speak to Brenda, please?" "Brenda here." "Hi, I got your name from Gerry Bell." "Ok, Gerry from the Corpo? About the insulation?" "The very man." "What's wrong?" "Oh, nothing, really; he asked me to contact you about a survey of the house before he starts work." "Ah, feck! Yeah, he told me to ring you. I forgot." "Not to worry, women usually forget to ring me. I'm used to it." "Poo...

"Howaya, Mick. Pissy day out." "You're late, Davy. Did we not say 7:00?” “Sorry, I’d a bit of trouble with the wife’s birthday present.” “Oh, what happened?” “It’s a long story, Mick.” “Well it’s early yet and there’s drink to be drunk.” “Ok, well she wanted a pet for her birthday, Mick.” “A pet?” “Yes. But it had to be some kind of exotic pet.” “Exotic? Like a fucking giraffe or something?” “No, it couldn’t be a giraffe,...

"Do you like my tits?" Holly asked with a giggle, looking at Simon and watching him blush instantly with a smile. Holly had chosen a busy time to grab lunch at the department store's café, and the only seat that seemed to be free was the one across from Simon. She placed the print of two birds that she had mentioned in her introduction on the table, putting the sandwich she had bought next to it as she took a seat. "At le...

Overheard: In a Chinese Takeaway. "Here we are now, Willie, The New Emperor." "Wasn't this the Welcome at one stage, Jimmy? "It was, but it was sold and they revamped it." "I remember that, it was closed for the guts of a year." "Yeah, but it's a lot nicer now." "But, should they not have called it the New Welcome, as opposed to the New Emperor?" "What?" "They called it the New Emperor, but it wasn't called the Emperor be...

Coconut Curry Soup. Did we use too much lemon grass? Yeah, definitely too much lemongrass. Too late now. Add the ginger. OK. … Why are you staring at it? The ginger reminded me of that thing we read about. You know. … You need to stop thinking about that. You know. On the Salacious Inquiry. I know what you’re talking about, but maybe… don’t? Figging. Yeah, I told you. I know. Weird, right? Yes, yes, it is. So, why are we...

Overheard: Mick and Danny meet in the street “Danny? How’s it goin’? I haven’t seen you in ages.” “Mick? What the fuck are you doin’ over this side of the city?” “I’ll give you two clues. Are you ready?” “Yes.” “First, I’m leaning on this ladder with a fuckin’ paintbrush in my hand.” “Ok, I could see you were nearly working.” “Here hold this brush for a minute will you?” “It’s full of paint, Mick.” “Just hold it, will you...

“Howaya, Kevin?” “Howaya, Mick, are you putting it in, or taking it out?” “I don’t have much to put in these days. How’s it going?” “All good, Mick, you’re looking well, are you sick?” “You always look your best on the day you die.” “Tell that to John Dowling.” “How do I tell him that? In a séance?” “That, or a medium.” “Ronnie went to see a medium a few weeks ago.” “How is Ronnie? Has she not left you yet?” “We have a si...

I hadn't visited The Coffee Drop in over three weeks. It was with an anticipation, bordering on dread, that I pushed the door to enter the shop. It wouldn't budge. I stepped back, thinking the shop was closed. The lights were on and the interior was brightly lit, a film of condensation covering the bottom half of the big shop window. A green sign hung from a rubber suction cup stuck to the glass of the door. "Come In We'r...

Daniel grabbed his buzzing cell phone from the coffee table and his mother’s words spilled out at an incomprehensible pace. He said ‘okay’ several times and listened carefully for clues that might explain her hysteria. She had taken his sister, Beth, to Hartford General Hospital, where she gave birth to a 9 lb baby boy. The City of Hartford, population 130,000, was a captivating blend of heritage and art, colleges and mus...

In a bit of a hurry on a Friday morning, I zoomed into a parking space outside The Coffee Drop, high on life and low on energy. I was depending on an infusion of caffeine and The Coffee Drop was just the ticket this morning. In my haste to get to the door while the queue was short, I bumped into a woman who was leaving, almost spilling the drinks she was carrying in her hands. "Hey!" she said, "Mind where you're going." "...

"Who made the rules?" he asked her. "We should make our own instead." He said as eccentricity drew her into his bed. "I take your point," she told him as they talked about their writing. And took a break to ponder matters equally exciting. She loved his intonation, his smooth rhythm, and his stress. But not as much as feeling touches slip into her dress. "Do we scan well? Our formatting? Will we get our wrists slapped?" S...

As I walked into The Coffee Drop, the morning sky was stretching its limbs of light, casting an eerie glow on the streets of north Dublin City. It was a chilly April morning and I was wearing just a suit jacket with a light shirt and tie underneath. There were two customers waiting for their morning caffeine fix and I joined them at the register, where Tina was busily attending to them. "There you are, Dreamboat," she sai...