My apologies for not posting this sooner. I was distracted with another fic.
Chapter 3
Johnny listened to the radio as he drove over to the Bannerman house for dinner. The weather forecast was for more humidity and thunderstorms. Fresher weather wasn't due until the beginning of next week. He pulled up outside the house and stared at the outside for a few minutes. He felt a stab of jealousy when he saw the police cruiser parked in the driveway. Although he liked and respected Walt he was envious that the man had what he wanted most. Sarah and a family.
"I thought you wanted me to fix the A/C tonight," Walt said to his wife as she prepared Chilli dogs for dinner.
"I do!" exclaimed Sarah. A fan whirled noiselessly over the sink but it didn't create the cool air that she wanted.
Walt took a beer out of the fridge and opened it. He took a long drink from it and set the bottle down on the table. "So why did you invite Johnny over?"
"He's all alone in that house. Thought he could do with a home cooked meal," replied Sarah. She picked up the bottle that Walt had set down and took a drink from it. She smiled innocently at her husband.
He took the bottle from her. "If you wanted one why didn't you ask?"
"I only wanted a sip," laughed Sarah. She turned around and started to wash some dishes. Walt grinned and sneaked up to his wife and nuzzled her neck. She giggled and turned around. He placed a tender kiss on her lips.
"Um…" A voice said suddenly broke the moment. They both turned to see Johnny standing at the door. He seemed ill at ease at intruding at such a time. "The door was open."
Sarah pushed a piece of hair behind her ear and seemed uncomfortable as well. Walt noticed her discomfort. A palpable silence descended on the three until Walt moved over to the fridge. "Beer, Johnny?"
Johnny nodded. "Yeah."
Walt handed him the beer. The minute Johnny took the bottle a vision came to him.
//
thunder and lightening … trees… fast flowing water…body taken out of the river… fast flowing water… thunder and lightening…trees…body taken out of the river… thunder and lightening …fast flowing water…trees… body taken out of the river…fast flowing water…trees… thunder and lightening… body taken out of the river.
//
Walt saw the glazed expression on Johnny's face and realised he was having a vision. He looked over at Sarah but she was busying herself around the oven. "So the weather isn't supposed to cool down till next week." He noticed that Johnny face became more relaxed as he snapped out of the vision. He looked at Walt with slight confusion.
"It's supposed to cool down next week," Walt repeated.
"Um…yeah," replied Johnny. He was now even more spooked since Walt was involved in what was going to happen.
"JJ and I are going camping at the weekend," Walt said by way of starting a conversation.
"Oh really?"
"Thought we would go up to the White Mountains in New Hampshire. Take in some fishing. Do a bit of hiking. Sarah hasn't decided if she's coming yet."
At the mention of her name Sarah turned around to look at the two men. "So when do you plan to fix the A/c?"
Walt let out a small laugh. "Later, honey. Sarah's been nagging me to fix it all week."
Johnny let his mouth go into a tight line as he sat down at the table. "I heard there was gonna be heavy rain at the weekend."
"Ah. It won't be that bad. JJ wants to get some camping in before the holidays finish."
Another wave of jealousy washed over Johnny when he heard Walt talking about his son. He took another swig from his beer.
Sarah walked over to the back door and opened it. "Johnny, dinner's ready!"
"Coming mom," a little boy's voice called back. Sarah looked over at Johnny and saw his face look apprehensive when he heard his son's voice.
"He and his friends have built a tree house in the garden. They spend hours up there."
Johnny nodded but said nothing. Then the back door burst open and the six year old boy came running through the door. He came to a sudden stop when he saw Johnny sitting at the table. He looked at his mom who smiled. "Look who's here!"
JJ said nothing but moved over to Walt and put an arm across Walt's knee. Walt ruffled his hair playfully.
"So your mom tells me you've built a tree house," Johnny said to his son. He tried not to resent the relationship Walt had with JJ. The little boy nodded hesitantly.
"Maybe after dinner you can show it to me."
JJ didn't reply and Walt saw the disappointed look on Johnny's face. "Sure he will. Won't you champ?" JJ started to laugh as Walt began to tickle the little boy. The laugh was so infectious that it soon a smile was on Johnny's face.
"After dinner," JJ said. He looked at his Mom and thought she looked a little sad. "Mom!"
"What honey?" asked Sarah.
"Pete wants to know can he play in the tree house while we go camping."
"I don't know, sweetie. He'll have to ask his own mom," replied Sarah.
"Ok."
"Now will you go and wash up for dinner?"
"Ok." JJ went through the kitchen door and the three adults could hear him running up the stairs.
"He's grown a lot," Johnny said.
Walt looked at the man at the table and felt sympathy for him.
"He has. He'll be as tall as his fath…" Sarah's voice trailer off when she realised what she was going to say. Walt glanced over at his wife with annoyance while Johnny pretended that he hadn't heard the comment.
When dinner was finished Sarah watched through the window as the men in her life went out to the back garden to have a look at the tree house. She could always see a resemblance between Johnny and JJ but as the days went by it was becoming more apparent. She smiled as her son scrambled up the tree to the wooden hut balanced on the big branches.
"Do you want to come up?" JJ shouted down to Johnny.
Johnny smiled and held up his cane. "I'd love to but I can't." He thought he saw a look of disappointment on the little boy's face as he said Ok.
"It's quite easy to climb," Walt said to Johnny. "It's not that far if you fall."
Johnny realised that Walt was giving him permission to get to know his son. He nodded with a wry grin. "Have the ambulance waiting for me." The two men laughed.
Johnny handed Walt the cane and began to climb the tree. He realised he hadn't climbed a tree since the week before the car accident. The week everything in his life changed. As soon as he put his foot on a foothold he got a vision.
//
A little boy falls from the tree. He lands on the ground with a bump. His leg is twisted. He's crying.
//
Johnny glanced back at Walt. "You better tell Peter not to play up here at the weekend."
Walt nodded his head. "I'll do that!"
Johnny managed to climb all the way up to the tree house. His leg throbbed a bit but he ignored the pain. He sat in the tree with his son for a few minutes.
Sarah looked out the window and was horrified to see Johnny sitting in the tree. She threw down the dishcloth and ran out the back door.
"Are you crazy? He could hurt himself," she blurted out before she could stop herself. Walt turned to look at her and then back at the two in the tree. He didn't say anything and Sarah realised she had put her foot in her mouth again. She ran her hand through her hair and then linked her husband in the arm.
"Coming down now!" Johnny said letting little Johnny climb down first.
"Can Johnny come camping with us at the weekend?" Little Johnny asked as he jumped onto the ground. Sarah and Walt looked at each other and then at Johnny. He had a look of surprise on his face.
"I don't know, sweetie," replied Sarah.
Johnny smiled. "I'm really not the camping type. I've had a lot of bad experiences in the wood recently."
"Yeah. Remember what happened the last time you were out in the woods? You got lost and hurt yourself," Walt reminded Johnny who nodded.
"It wasn't just that time. There was the time I took that trip and was lost in the woods," said Johnny.
Little Johnny frowned. "What's a trip?"
The three adults looked at each other and grinned. "They'll tell you when you're older," replied Johnny. He placed his hand on Little Johnny's shoulder before he realised what he was doing.
//
Thunder and lightening…trees… fast flowing water…body falling into the water and being swept away… Thunder and lightening …trees…fast flowing water…body falling into the water and being swept away… Thunder and lightening …trees…fast flowing water…body falling into the water and being swept away…
//
TBC