As is my custom, I am serialising one of my past books here on the blog, and over the next few weeks, stories from my 2020 collection, Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries, Sometimes Bitter, Sometimes Sweet. I hope you will enjoy.

Animal Magic – The Night Shift

The corridors of the care home were silent, with only the soft sound of the night-matron’s rubber soled shoes on the tiles. Everyone was asleep by now, televisions switched off, a last cup of cocoa and biscuit consumed, along with a sleeping pill for those elderly who suffered from insomnia.

Jessica had worked in this elderly care home for the last ten years since she retired from nursing and, as the night shift was not popular, she had been welcomed with open arms by the manager. The home was just around the corner from her flat where she lived with…