The Incubus

Chapter 7, Scene 7

Justin watched the news while Rebecca prepared dinner. As long as the dishes were done, his part of kitchen duty was fulfilled. The smell of home-made Lasagne flushed out the aroma of dirty socks and other damp smells. In the kitchen, Rebecca was softly humming to herself. An image on the television caught his attention and he turned up the volume.

'Rick and Martha Evans continue the battle with medical staff and lawyers even a week after their son, Timmy Evans, had allegedly been brought back from the dead by an unknown man.'

'Yeah, right,' Justin said.

'Discrepancies about the Timmy Evans Trust Fund will be settled by the High Court Judge this coming Friday.'

The telephone rang. Justin muted the television and answered the phone with a curt, 'Hello?'

'Hello, Justin?'

'Yes...?'

'This is Lance.'

Justin flinched. His boss calling him at home after hours could not be good. 'Hey Lance. What can I do for you?'

Lance hesitated. 'I...the company needs you to go to another site.'

Justin didn't say anything.

'One of the engineers on a mine that we do outsourcing for is going on leave for a week and we need someone reliable and able to fill his spot.'

Justin paused for a moment. Long enough for Rebecca's humming to fill his ears. 'By when do you need an answer?'

'Right now, if possible,' Lance said. 'Look, I know this is short notice, but we need the replacement on site by tomorrow morning.'

Justin bit his lip. Rebecca wasn't going to like this. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She probably needs the time alone anyway, he thought.

'Justin...?'

'I...erm...all right. I'll go,' Justin said. 'Where's the mine?'

'Wonderful,' Lance said and let out a sigh of relief. He supplied the necessary directions and contact names and numbers of people that Justin would be working with during the coming week. Justin scribbled it down as quickly as possible, making a mental note to write it over more intelligibly just before he went to bed. 'Just give me a call if you need anything, okay?' Lance said.

'I will; thanks.'

Justin replaced the receiver and drew another deep breath. Getting this past Rebecca wasn't going to be easy. He closed his eyes for a moment, and for that one specific moment in time everything was perfect again. He still had his old job. The two of them were still madly in love, like dating school children on a Friday afternoon. He missed those days where he was the man in the house, and wondered what went wrong. Losing the job was what went wrong. That's what! He opened his eyes again to the reality of his life and reluctantly made his way to the kitchen.