Candles on the Doorstep - Chapter 2
Disclaimer : This story is for non-profit fan purposes only. The characters were created by Colin Dexter, and as far as I know they belong to ITV. I only borrowed them.
All mistakes are mine ...
Robbie Lewis made his tour through all the rooms of the house immediately after Laura Hobson had left for work. It was their first normal working day in the house they had bought together. And it was his first full day as a pensioner and "houseman" - he was not sure how you called it these days. Robbie knew that he still had to learn a few household things. He was good at ironing, knew how to operate a washing machine and a microwave and he had worked out an effective system of cleaning his old flat in a minimum of time.
He opened the windows of the bedroom to let the cool autumn air in and started to make the beds. There was only the faintest hint of Laura's perfume lingering on her pillow but it made his heart jump a little bit. He tenderly smoothed out the sheets and the duvet and temporarily got distracted by the image of his fingertips gliding lightly over Laura's silky skin... "Aah, come off it man, it's early in the morning..." he admonished himself and resolutely went on to his next task, cleaning the bathroom. The bedroom and bathroom were already perfectly habitable only three days after they had moved in.
It felt strange to stay at home alone at their new place. Robbie made a list of things he wanted to do. They needed a few brighter lightbulbs for the hallway, a complete set of new bulbs for the outdoor lamps and a bit of paint to repair the little scratches that had been caused when the boxes and furniture had been carried into the house. He wanted the paint to be completely dry before the last bits of new furniture would be delivered within the next few days. Robbie wanted to make tea in the late afternoon - cake or sandwiches, something that was easy to make. The most important thing however was to work out what was wrong with the heating. Laura had not complained but she had been wearing her warmest knitted cardigan and wollen socks all the time since they had moved in.
The house looked a bit untidy. Robbie did not like packing and unpacking but he couldn't avoid it. There was not much left to stow away - the removal company had done a very good job, worth every penny. Laura had been right to book the all-inclusive removal service.
The stereo could wait, Robbie decided to concentrate on the essential things of life. He started unpacking the last boxes filled with kitchen equipment from Laura's house and from his flat. Laura would probably put most of it somewhere else anyway. They had already sorted out everything that they owned in duplicate. Laura's household appliances were modern, easy to use and easy to clean. Robbie had rented his old flat nearly fully equipped, and as a single bloke he had only bought additional things that were absolutely necessary. He only kept some pieces of porcelain that had been in his family for ages and the popcorn maker that the kids had loved.
Robbie had been excited and nervous when Laura and he had talked about moving in together. He had assumed Laura was asking him to move in with her and in return he had offered to help pay the mortgage when he wasn't paying rent anymore. Robbie had been more than surprised to learn that Laura was planning to sell her house and find a new place for them to live together. He had immediately loved the idea.
Robbie and Laura were overjoyed when after a couple of months of househunting they found exactly the place they both liked at first sight and from that moment on Robbie had looked forward to the day the removal van would arrive outside his flat.
While they were making plans where to put the furniture, what to keep and what to give away, Robbie had wondered whether it would be easy for Laura to live with him. Laura had never had a husband or kids, never had a domestic life with a "significant other" who had been around for a longer period. Had she ever known how it felt to live with someone you love?
Did she know how it felt to come home to a brightly lit house that was filled with the fragrance of food, where laughter, loud music, and sometimes a row waited just behind the door? Had there ever been someone who looked after her when she was ill? Robbie wasn't sure whether it was alright to ask Laura these questions.
It was in this moment that Robbie realized he possibly had taken on a few odd habits in the years he had spent alone.
Robbie remembered something he used to do as a husband and father. As soon as he had entered the front door of the family home, he had done his best to leave the job behind - he had not allowed his work to intrude his home. He never wanted his family to know details about the cruel things he was dealing with at work. Val had known of course how much it affected Robbie to see the worst side of human nature every day.
It had been horrible to come home into an empty house after Val had died and the children had gone their own ways. Robbie remembered how it had felt and shuddered. He had sold the family home, was seconded to the British Virgin Islands not quite voluntarily and when he came back, he had moved into a tiny flat hoping that it would not feel quite as bad to come home to a smaller place. But the feeling had been the same in all the flats he had lived in. He had learnt to live with it.
Robbie got rid of these sinister thoughts of the past, focussed on the very near future and headed for the nearest Tesco. He intended to get something to eat that was easy to make. He grabbed a bacon roll for his lunch. After looking around for a while he found pre-baked applepies. He chose an applepie that looked tasty. He made a mental note to check with Laura what kind of food he should buy tomorrow. Now that he would be at home most of the time, he might as well try to cook a few meals. A sign "Fresh pizza, pasta and garlic bread" caught his attention. He took two fresh pizzas and a small garlic butter baguette. Then he needed a few minutes to find a bag of salad to show Laura he was willing to eat healthy food. She had changed a few things in his life - one of them was feeding him a healthy diet. He always grumbled a bit (he knew that Laura expected this) but he also knew why she was doing it. Before going to the checkout he finally put a bottle of red wine into his basket.
Then he drove to the DIY store to get the wall paint and hurried home. Hurried towards their home. He liked the sound of the word home in this new context.
He re-painted the scratches on the walls after having a mug of tea and his sandwich for lunch. Then he started to make himself acquainted with the secrets of the heating system. He was lucky to find a detailed manual, nevertheless adjusting all the switches, controllers and thermostats took him longer than expected. After a few hours everything was in good working order. Robbie wanted the place to be cosy and warm when Laura came back from work. It was always cool in her morgue.
Of course Robbie knew that she was used to living alone and probably did not really want anyone to fuss about her. But in some mysterious way the family man in him had found his way to the surface after all this time. Robbie felt the need to make Laura feel comfortable. And he was sure that she would let him.
It was getting dark and Robbie went to switch the outdoor lights on. On his way to the door it hit him that he hadn't bought the lightbulbs. That would be one item on his to-do-list for tomorrow. He remembered having seen a big glass lantern with three large white candles in the patio. He took the lantern, cleaned it, placed it outside near the front door on a small stool and lit the candles. Then he switched on the dim light in the hallway. The candlelight outside wasn't very bright either but at least Laura would be able to see the keyhole and wouldn't trip over the doormat. Apart from that it looked nice.
Robbie just managed to unpack one box of books before it was time to have a look at the applepie. He studied the instructions on the package carefully, pre-heated the oven and set the table.
He switched the small radio in the kitchen on. Robbie placed a chair in front of the oven. He would not take his eyes off the pie. It said something about a "golden brown surface" in the instructions and he didn't want to miss that.
He heard the key in the front door and then there was silence.
After a little while he heard Laura's footsteps and felt her arms wrap around him from behind, her soft lips on his cheek. When he turned his head to kiss her, one look at Laura told him that today must have been a really bad day. Her tense voice and her curt answer "Accident involving a child" to his question was all he needed to know. They had worked together for so many years that it felt wrong somehow to be at home while Laura was out in the field. He did not expect her to leave work at the door but he could offer his support whenever she wanted it.
Robbie had not quite figured out what his new life as a pensioner would be like but he had already made up his mind on one thing: he wanted to be there when Laura needed someone to rub her back.