Publisher's Synopsis
This short story adaptation of the award-winning play Cuthbert's Last Stand is now available in this new anthology of comedic short stories from the pen of author and playwright Andrew Biss. Cuthbert's Last Stand: Mrs. Pennington-South has succeeded in coercing a handsome young man - Tristram - back to her home to have tea with her and her ill-tempered son, Cuthbert. What the shy, rather awkward Tristram doesn't realise is that he is, in fact, being presented as a possible suitor for Cuthbert. His mother's matchmaking arrangements, however, have become increasingly intolerable for Cuthbert and as the tea progresses and the intimations and pressures are ratcheted up, Cuthbert finally reaches breaking point. Exasperated and angry, he decides that the time has come at last to confront his mother with the shocking truth that he knows can only break her heart: the open admittance of his heterosexuality. Also included in this collection are: The Love Bite: Two uptight urbanites struggle to survive the rigors of a camping trip in the country, while inadvertently shifting their relationship to a level of intimacy that had once seemed unattainable. Foreign Bodies: An exotic bargain-priced getaway turns out to be a far more hazardous endeavor than anticipated for a semi-estranged husband and wife, but when a group of locals who they take to be traveling players appear on the scene, they at last begin to feel as though things are about to brighten up for them...as indeed they are! A Slip of the Tongue: Miss Perkins, tired of the constant innuendos and sexual insinuations of her employer, Mr. Reams, has decided to hand in her notice. On this particular morning, however, Mr. Reams decides to take things one step further. Unfortunately, due to Miss Perkins' nervous disposition and a telephone that rings at a disturbingly high pitch, he soon discovers he's bitten off more than he can chew...or at least, one of them has.
