Free A Roast on Sunday by Tammy Robinson

one of her soaps, creamy white with purple flecks. She sniffed it. Lilac. Even though she knew exactly what it would say she crossed the room and picked up the card he had been reading.
    ‘Purple Lilac – widely considered to be a harbinger of spring. If you are experiencing the first flushes of a love affair, bathe with this beautiful soap and it will greatly enhance your exhilarating and beautiful new emotions. Be warned though, you will be unable to contain yourself from declaring your new love, so use only if a declaration is considered appropriate’
    What the hell was he playing at? She put the soap back where it had come from, but not before smelling it again. As well as the lilac there was a trace of something else; his scent still lingered, she realised. It hinted at sandalwood and mint, earthy and woody tones.
    “First flushes of a love affair my ass,” she muttered. “One second he says he’s moved then the next he’s giving me soap with a meaning like that? Stupid man. Makes no sense.”
    She carried on mut tering along the same lines as she attempted to go back to unpacking the soaps, but when she realised that she was mixing them all up, she threw her hands up in frustration.
    “ Damn him,” she said, knowing it was Jack that had left her so flustered.
    “Well I guess there’s no point trying to work today,” she decided, and she switched off the radio and left the room. She was hoping to avoid everyone but as she walked through to the living/dining/kitchen area her parents and Jack were all there, seated around the table and chatting as if old friends. Her mother really wanted to impress, Maggie noted. The table was set with a jaunty red and white checker tablecloth and bowls of fresh whipped cream and saucers of jam adorned the top, as did matching plates and cutlery. Maggie briefly wondered how her mother had managed to find a matching set; the drawers and cupboards in this house were so stuffed full with an assortment of crockery and cutlery acquired over the years that it was rare to find two pieces the same.
    “Darling,” her mother said, oven mitts protecting her hands as she held a tray of hot, steaming scones straight from the oven. “I was just about to come and fetch you.”
    “Thanks , but I’m going out,” Maggie answered, grabbing her keys from the hook by the front door.
    “I thought we would all have a nice lunch together, get to know our guest a little better” her mother said, raising her eyebrows and nodding sideways towards Jack. 
    “I’m pretty sure I know all I need to know. Besides, I’ve lost my appetite.” Then she left, letting the screen door bang shut behind her.
    Dot sighed and looked apologetically at Jack.
    “Was it something I said?” he asked.

Chapter eight
     
    “He thinks he knows everything and that he’s oh so irresistible, but worse than that, he thinks he’s better than everyone around here,” Maggie fumed, as she nursed a cold coke and dangled her legs off a tall bar stool.
    Her friend Harper was behind the bar, pretending to wipe the counter top for her bosses benefit, but really just consoling her friend.
    “He sounds like a giant pain in the ass,” she observed. “I hate men who think they know everything.”
    “What I don’t understand is why he keeps hanging around? I’ve made it perfectly clear I can’t stand him.”
    “Perhaps he’s one of those men who get off on the thrill of being rejected?”
    “Maybe. He seems slightly smarter than that though.”
    “Perhaps he thinks he can win you over then, are you sure you made it crystal clear?”
    “I told him I wouldn’t date him even if he was the last man left alive on earth.”
    “Right. But did you say it like you really meant it?”
    “Of course I did.”
    “Well then honey, I don’t know what his problem is,” Harper declared. A man came up to the bar for a refill and she quickly served him then turned her attention back to Maggie.
    “So is he just passing through