The Incubus

Chapter 7, Scene 10

Becky won't really leave, Justin thought as he lay on the bed in the four star hotel room that Cybernetics Computers booked him into. She might go to her parents' place, but she won't leave for good.

He sat up and flung his legs over the side of the bed. He had a few minutes to brush his hair and teeth, get dressed, and have a rushed breakfast before taking the twenty minute drive to the mine.

Despite their few minor setbacks the past few months, there weren't any real concerns for either of them. All married couples had their bumps in the road. It was part of life. He didn't understand how Rebecca could get so upset about the whole on-site thing. It was just for a week. At least he now had a job. He didn't like the idea of going away any more than she did, but he had to do it. Everything he did, he did for her.

'What are you looking at?' he asked the reflection in the mirror with a frown. The reflection frowned back. Justin brushed his teeth and then combed his hair. It had grown quite a bit over the past few weeks. He would have to make another appointment with the barber sooner or later. Justin flicked on his watch and only then did he realize that his wedding ring wasn't on his finger.

'Now where did I put it?' Justin asked and looked around. He closed his eyes and tried to visualize what he did the previous evening. No. He could distinctly remember going to bed with it. He yanked the blankets from the bed and flapped it around to see if it didn't perhaps fall off while he was sleeping. Did he go to sleep with it on? Now he couldn't remember. Memories overlapped. It didn't make any sense. He knew for certain that he didn't leave the ring at home, because he could recall spinning it on the counter at the reception desk when he booked into his room. Or was it the previous time he booked into a room? He thought harder, but the more he tried to remember, the more images muddled his memory.

'Oh well. I'll have to look for it when I get back,' Justin said and headed for the door. The ring could have been in one of the pockets in the clothing he wore the previous evening. It could be under the bed; wrapped between the blankets. Anything. Perhaps room service would find it and leave it on the bed stand for him. No time to look for it now.

He was about to leave when his cell phone rang.