The Weeper by R. H. Dixon

Author:R. H. Dixon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Corvus Corone Press

18

It Calls

Hugh Carter stepped into the bath. The water was too hot, stinging his feet and lower legs with a sharpness that made him hiss through his teeth. Why hadn’t he checked the temperature first? Lately, I’d forget my head if it wasn’t screwed on, he thought, bending to crank the cold water tap on. He swished the stream of coldness about with his hand till the level of heat in the tub felt right, then he eased himself down and lay back.

Beyond the subtle crackle of bubble bath, silence filled the house. On any other day Hugh would have relished the peace, but the hush this evening was fuzzy, like a headful of cotton wool balls, and loaded with too much anxiety. Perhaps the beginning of a headache. The boys had gone to bed, excited for their camping trip the next day. Usually it made Hugh happy to see them happy, but this time he felt only apprehension. He wasn’t sure that letting them go was the right thing to do. If Vera Barker had given the go-ahead for Arthur to go camping, then it must be okay because she was never anything but dedicated in her role as a caring grandmother-come-mother and certainly seemed stricter than Hugh and Catherine had ever been. Besides, despite everything that had happened last year, Sully was a well-rounded, smart kid. Hugh had to entrust him with a little more independence and have faith that he would take care of Colton too.

Sully was doing okay.

Wasn’t he?

He always got on with things without complaint.

Hugh sighed. That didn’t mean his older son was okay beneath the surface of his supposed resilience, did it? Colton wore his emotions on his sleeve, so when he was upset everyone else knew it. And that was good, Hugh supposed, because it was easy to identify whenever he struggled and needed help. As for Sully, he was more like Hugh. He kept things bottled up. No one knew what was really going on in his head. And that could be dangerous. Hugh decided he’d need to keep more of a careful eye on Sully. Couldn’t take anything for granted.

Sully might not be okay.

After washing himself with a bar of Imperial Leather, the smell of which reminded him of Catherine, Hugh closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. Mustn’t allow himself to get so worked up about everything. He lay there for a long while thinking about all the things he had to do, and all the things he hadn’t done and probably wouldn’t. Life was tough without Catherine to keep him on track and the household well run.

At some point, Hugh fell asleep. He rarely dreamt of his late wife, and this time was no different. He’d always presumed it was his subconscious’ way of protecting him. Instead it fed him dreams that were nondescript and bland enough to not remember. When he awoke sometime later, the bath water was lukewarm and all the bubbles had disappeared into the soapy murk in which he lay.

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