A Cold Cup of Tea - Chapter 1
By Clem Winfield
John was awake long before his alarm rang at seven thirty.
His bedroom was a bomb-site. Muddy footprints paced back and forth across the floor boards. By the door, a few empty pill bottles lay in a heap. When he reached out to turn off the alarm, he knocked over a cup of cold coffee. He watched uncaring as it pooled out onto the ground.
He was lying on his bed. The sheets rippled out from his body and the end of the bed was dirty from where his boot-clad feet had touched it. The room was dark and musty. A beam of light stretched out across his face from a gap in his curtains. He winced at the light but made no effort to move.
It wouldn't be long before he dragged himself downstairs. There wasn't much need for him to get up any earlier than nine, especially not during the weekend. Even so, he could only lie awake for so long before he succumbed to routine. Sleeping in had never been one of his strong points. So at quarter to eight he found himself in the kitchen, surrounded by unwashed dishes and the smell of instant coffee.
The newspaper was devoid of anything worth reading. John had lost his desire for the media soon after the incident, making watching the news impossible too. The TV was dull; that sounded like something He would have said. And books, well, they reminded him too much of the past. This left only his thoughts to occupy him. It wasn't long before he realised he'd wasted another cup of coffee. The sink gurgled as the cold beverage swirled down the drain.
As he sat back down in his armchair a shocking thought crossed his mind. He hurried to the calendar that hung on the wall. Scanning down the page, he soon found the date he was looking for. It was July 7th.
It was his birthday.
How could he forget his own birthday? The thought almost brought a smile to his lips. His life had blurred into a mess of days and nights. It was a wonder he had remembered to change the calendar at all. But now he knew, he felt the upset sinking in. Mrs. Hudson would definitely know and she'd probably try to make an event of it. She'd invite all the people he hadn't talked to for months. Greg would be there, and Molly. She'd probably even invite Mycroft. It wouldn't be long before He was brought up.
John didn't think he could do it. He couldn't face all of those people. He'd go straight over to Mrs. Hudson and have a word with her. He didn't want a party. In fact, he'd rather no-one acknowledged his birthday at all. It would be easier that way.
Yes, that was it. He'd go to Mrs. Hudson right away. But first, he'd better clean up a bit.