The Guest & The Change - By M. D. Bowden Page 0,2

looking away and had to remember to breathe.

‘I just started working at his office,’ he replied in a smooth southern drawl, ‘selling the cabins in the woods.’

This sounded like an entirely ordinary thing to say, it was almost unbelievable. - How could someone with such an extraordinary presence do something so ordinary?

As her father started talking about work Sarah helped her mom, Alice. Alice had made a chicken casserole; Sarah lifted the lid and it smelt delicious. She opened the oven to check the potatoes. They were done and just keeping warm, so she busied herself with setting the table. Alice had gone into the living room to entertain Megan and Bea. They were pulling numerous toys and games off the shelves onto the wooden floor and being very noisy - as per usual.

Alone in the dining room Sarah sat down and drank some more wine. I’m crazy, how can someone affect me so much? I’m hardly going to be able to eat! Poor Jo, at least he’s not here to see me act like this.

Sarah got up and poked her head around the door, ‘Hey mom, can we stay tonight so I can drink?’

Megan and Bea proceeded to jump up and down echoing - ‘Stay night. Stay night. Stay night.’

Alice laughed and said that it was fine, then silently mouthed, ‘Gorgeous isn’t he?’ and winked, making Sarah feel even guiltier.

She mouthed back, ‘That’s not the reason.’ But her mother just laughed and went back to playing with the kids.

***

Jo opened his front door. It was now dark and his way was lit by Victorian style street lights. He walked down the path, as quickly as he dared without actually running, and rounded the corner where his car was parked. Fumbling to find his car key he inserted it into the lock and climbed inside. Once inside he immediately reached for the internal lock, pressed it down and all four doors locked simultaneously. Jo sighed in relief, heart still pounding.

Something caught his attention - a dark shape materializing to his left. He felt nausea threatening to rise and swallowed. Then he realized what he was seeing was a bat. It flew down then swooped up towards the roof. There it landed and hung upside down. Jo could have sworn it was looking at him. Its eyes glinted in the lamp light. It was the largest bat he had ever seen, not that he saw them often. This new presence calmed him; he felt like he wasn’t alone. This gave him the confidence to insert his key in the ignition and turn, starting the engine. Jo eased off the clutch as he accelerated and drove up the drive to the main road. Here he paused wandering which way to go. He had two options. He could either drive through town, or go via Quarry Bridge where the road would be more precarious, and more fun. As he took the second route he saw the bat swoop down behind him and felt comfort in the knowledge it would stay with him.

***

Sarah finished setting the table and opened another bottle of red wine. She breathed in the scent before heading to the bathroom to refresh herself. In there she looked herself over critically. At least she’d put on something half decent before heading out. She was wearing her nicest skinny jeans which showed off how toned her legs were from all that hiking in the woods, Bea and Megan in toe. Well, she tended to carry Bea in a big rambling backpack especially designed for the purpose. It kept her fit, and kept Bea and Megan occupied during long hours when Jo was working. It allowed her space to breathe in fresh air.

On top she was wearing an antique cream top with a floaty Pre-Raphaelite vibe. She felt tired though and was wearing minimal makeup. Ferreting in her bag she dug out some tinted lip-balm and a little eyeliner, and set to work. She also put on some perfume she found at the back of the cupboard - probably a gift her mother had never bothered to wear. Sarah smoothed her naturally blond hair with her fingers to tame fly-aways and finally felt a little happier about her appearance. She hoped it wasn’t too obvious she’d made the extra effort. She headed back to the dining room, lit some candles and put on some classical music.

Taking a deep breath she wiped her clammy hands on her jeans and shouted, ‘Dinners ready’. She did