The Seeding

Chapter 13 - Where's Jean?

Dave was an early riser, always had been, ever since he was a small boy he would be up and out of bed ready for the days adventure. Nowadays there wasn’t the thrill of an adventure, no trees to climb, no fish to catch or birds nests to be found, Nowadays there wasn’t even a job to go to but it was still hard wired into Dave’s system to be up and about early. This Monday morning was no different from any other morning or was it?

‘Jean, Jean, where are you luv? Not like you to up early, where are you luv? Dave was calling down the stairs as he struggled to get his socks on. ‘Jean, Jean where are you luv couldn’t you sleep?’ Dave listened but there was no response.

‘Luv where are you girl?’ Dave headed into the bathroom ‘how’s about a cuppa luv?’ still no answer. A few minutes later after his overly noisy bathroom ablutions, Dave headed back to the bedroom to get dressed when he noticed Jeans nightie, still neatly folded away on the dresser. Normally when she was up it would have been discarded lazily on the floor by the door. ‘Oh eck what’s happened?’ his voiced cracked with worry,  then realising her dressing gown was still hanging on the back of the bedroom door his concerned, stress levels went through the roof ‘Owe heck’ he blubbered again.‘som’ats not right she aint been to bed.’ Dave rushed of down the stairs faster than he had moved in years. ‘Jean, luv where are you?’ he shouted, still there was no response. ‘She must’ve gone out’ thought Dave ‘but out where? and if er aint been to bed when did er go out? if twas last night where’s er stayed? On reaching the kitchen Dave realised with horror that the back door was wide open ‘bloody ell luv’ he moaned ‘what you doing leaving the bloody door open, any little bastard could’ve been in here and cleared us out’.  Turning he rushed into the lounge worried that the telly might have been nicked. It wasn’t the TV was still in its usual place and was still on, albeit with the screen frozen, showing the two smug telly sales women frozen in time with wide grinning smiles as they held up a string of pearls. . Dave turned the tele off then noticed Jeans handbag on the floor with all its contents strewn across the carpet, her purse was there and her credit card discarded next it. Dave quickly gathered the contents and shoved them back into the bag, inside he was in turmoil, ‘what the heck is that woman up to’ he worried to himself, ‘this aint like my Jean’

Heading back to the kitchen all Dave could think of was tea. ‘Best put the kettle on’ he muttered to himself as he turned to the sink to fill the kettle. ‘What the?’ he noticed something off across the lawn, ‘what’s that then?’ he muttered still staring as the kettle overfilled splashing water down the front of his trousers, ‘owe shit – its going to be one of them f’ing days’ he cursed  as he sponged up the water then peering back across the garden with a puzzled look, ‘what is that?’ but a sudden spark of recognition blazed into life ‘Jeeeze is that what I think it is?’ flicking the switch on the kettle he headed out into the garden ‘Oh no! no! no! no!’ he cried ‘bloody cat what have you gone and done?’ Dave rushed across the lawn and peered down at the stiff lifeless form of Ginge, still held rigid in the last contorted, arching death throw. The cats once lustrous ginger fur was wet and matted flat against the very dead body.    ‘Oh hell, no wonder she’s gone off’ he thought ‘poor luv, she thought the world of that bloody cat, what the ell could’ve happened?’

            ‘Sue its Dave here, I’m glad I caught you in, thought you might have gone to work already’ said Dave over the phone, ‘It’s Dave, Jean’s Dave. Listen have you seen my Jean this morning? Only something’s happened to the cat and I can’t find her’. Sue was wittering on about there always being something up with that cat, when Dave cut in ‘Sue please shut up a minute, cause I’m worried, I’m real worried she’s been out all bloody night and left the bloody back door open, what with the cat being dead on the back lawn I’m real worried’.

With that the back door flung open, Jean stepped in – eyes starring into nothingness and sporadically  flicking from side to side unnaturally. Her face was ashen, her hair and clothes soaking wet and hanging lank, her mouth open and quivering. Dave simply starred at her, with a sudden and overwhelming sense of relief.