The Weekend

by Sue Smith
‘I’ve envied you all so much because you could live all the parts of your lives. I think I’ve… I think I’ve lived a kind of half life.’
Lifelong friends Jude, Wendy and Adele convene at their late friend Sylvie’s beach house to pack up her belongings over Christmas break. The house is falling apart, and frankly, so are they. The senile Finn, Wendy’s beloved dog, stumbles around after them. Now condemned to the ‘crone years’ of their lives, Jude was once a prominent restaurateur, Wendy a celebrated academic and Adele a high-profile actor. Wendy is widowed, Jude is casually single, and Adele’s partner Liz just kicked her out. With the recent loss of Sylvie to ovarian cancer, the spectre of death joins them for the weekend — along with many belly laughs, tears, and terrible cocktail ideas. The Christmas heat is no competition: their friendship will always burn warmer. And as the waves break upon the shore, so do many secrets they’ve long hidden in the deep.