The Incubus

Chapter 2, Scene 13

'Oooh, what's that delicious smell?' Rebecca asked as she entered the apartment.

'I call it Justin-ala-surprise,' Justin said and hugged his wife.

'I can get used to this,' she said and giggled. Rebecca stopped in mid-smile and frowned. She took a step back and tilted her head only slightly. 'Okay,' she said. 'What do you want and how much is it going to cost us?'

Justin laughed. 'It's not that,' he said. 'I got a call today.'

Rebecca held her hand to her mouth. 'You got the job?'

'I got the job!'

Rebecca shrieked with utter delight and flung her arms around Justin's neck. 'I'm so happy for you, baby.'

Justin led Rebecca to the living room where a candle-lit dinner had been prepared. 'For the mommy,' he said and pulled out a chair.

'I...I don't know what to say...' she said. Tears brimmed in her eyes.

'You don't have to say anything,' Justin said. 'It's about time that I treated you for a change. Just sit back and enjoy it.'

They both did. For the first time since Justin lost his job did both fully enjoy dinner and relax in each other's presence. After dinner, Justin brought Rebecca a warm pudding, after which they watched some television as they snuggled on the couch. After taking a bath, Rebecca ordered Justin to wait in the living room until she called him. When she finally did, he entered the bedroom to find that she wanted to return his dinner surprise by wearing lingerie that she bought for their anniversary weekend away.

'Hey you,' Justin said and embraced his wife. They both kissed passionately and as they got into bed, Rebecca switched off the lamp. They kissed some more, but after a while, something started bothering Justin. He couldn't figure out what it was, but he felt a definite presence in the room. An image of Megan flashed through his mind and he abruptly stopped kissing Rebecca.

'What's wrong?' she asked.

'Turn on the light,' Justin said and Rebecca did so.

'What's wrong?' she asked again.

Justin looked at the corner of the room. There was nothing there.

'Talk to me—'

'Shush!'

Rebecca kept quiet. She hated being afraid, and the fact that Justin didn't tell her what was wrong frightened her even more.

Justin turned around and lay with his back turned to Rebecca. She gently touched his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. Rebecca didn't want to upset him even more, so instead, she switched off the light and placed her arm carefully around his waist.

From the corner of the room, two glowing eyes observed the pair on the bed. It advanced and then stopped short at the foot of the bed, still observing. It watched them for a while longer before fading away.