"How's your knee?" Robbie said glancing at Laura as they both sat on the small but very comfy sofa in the sitting room of the cottage.
"It's fine. Well, a little bruised but the stinging has stopped. You make a good doctor Robbie" she said looking at him with a smile that made her eyes sparkle
"Dunno about that. Nurse, maybe" Robbie said with a bashful look on his face.
"Yes, perhaps you're right. You've too much compassion for a doctor. Your go"
It was early evening and after a hot shower and something to eat Laura felt restored if not fully recovered from the puzzling afternoon events.
After she had showered and changed Robbie had insisted she got on the sofa in front of the fire. Robbie had made them cheese on toast for supper and opened a bottle of red wine from the bags of shopping.
The fire in the stove was burning brightly and the room was cozy and warm. On the table in front of them was a scrabble board and the open bottle of wine. Laura watched with an affectionate smirk as Robbie studied his scrabble tiles, frowning and then pursing his lips in what looked like irritation as he looked at the board and then his tiles again.
It seemed odd to think that it was Christmas eve. Laura thought of her family; her brother would have just landed in New York and her other brother would be celebrating Christmas with his wife and her family in New Zealand. She felt for Robbie, not getting to see Lyn at Christmas but he seemed quite happy at the predicament they had both found themselves in. She stretched her legs and felt a tightness over her knee where she had fallen. There was still no plausible explanation to what she had seen earlier in the day. Could she have imagined it all? Perhaps she should see her counsellor in the new year, she thought; maybe the stress of a couple of recent cases had affected her more than she had realised. She watched Robbie study his tiles. He looked relaxed and she found herself thinking how he always seemed unaffected by his line of work; at least he never seemed to show that anything affected him.
She took a sip of wine and chuckled as he frowned once more in consternation at his scrabble tiles.
"Bloody hell" he said with resigned irritation as he scratched his ear
"That's the best I can do" and he put his tiles down on the board, spelling the word thrice. He felt relaxed and was glad that Laura seemed a bit better after her fall. He didn't pursue the puzzle of the disappearing girl, understanding that Laura couldn't explain it and sensed she was uncomfortable with the fact. He also didn't want to think too much about what he had seen and he certainly didn't want to tell Laura about it.
As Laura studied her scrabble tiles, she recognised how relaxed and contented she felt, just spending time in Robbie's company. In the warmth of the room and after a glass of wine she felt the attaction between them growing.
Robbie felt it too and realised how close they kept getting, the feel of their bodies touching when there was no real need for them to do so; a lingering press of her shoulder on his when she reached out to place a scrabble piece or her hand remaining a little longer than was needed on his when she filled up his wine glass.
He found himself gazing at Laura as she assessed her tiles briefly before she rapidly and efficiently laid them down on the board. He saw how the firelight caught her face and made her eyes shine even more than they usually did. With a thrill and an excited understanding he realised that he hadn't had these sorts of feelings for years, since he'd fallen in love with Val.
"There" Laura said with a triumphant and cheeky smile as she placed the last tile down
"Zymurgy? What the hell is that?" Robbie said as he read out the word she'd placed on the scrabble board
"It's the chemistry of fermentation"
"Yeah, of course it is. Silly me." Robbie said, shaking his head
Laura chuckled "I'm Sorry" she said through her chuckle which then turned to full-on laughter as she saw Robbie's face
"I should have bloody known better than to play scrabble with you!" Robbie said, frowning at first before breaking into a laugh as Laura continued to laugh at his irritation which was partly genuine and partly full of affection at the scrabble game.
As they laughed together the lights of the cottage flickered a few times, blinking on and off and momentarily plunging the room into darkness, save for the glow of the fire.
"I wondered if we might get a power cut" Robbie said as the light fluttered out once more before they seemed restored back to normal
"I suppose it's to be expected in this weather" Laura said and as the evening passed by the lights periodically guttered and blinked on and off and they had both relaxed on the little sofa and their bodies were closer than they had been. The sofa, although small had deep soft cushions and they had both sunk into the middle, together, their thighs and arms touching. Robbie felt a frisson from the touch and, with a warm feeling, he realised he didn't want the sensation to stop. He also could tell that Laura was receptive to his touch too, she hadn't moved away, if anything she had gently pushed closer to him. He thought about the night before, how his feelings had risen to the surface unbidden and how he had freely allowed them to do so and felt the thrill of their presence.
"It's odd to think it's Christmas eve, eh?" He said after a while. The scrabble game had come to an end and it was getting late, although there was still a good fire burning and wine left in their glasses and the bottle.
"It certainly is" Laura replied with a thoughtful tone in her voice as she looked at the fire. Robbie was about to ask her what she would have been doing in New York had she made it there when the lights flickered again. They guttered on and off and then cut out completely and this time they stayed off.
"Damn" said Robbie softly. "Hopefully it's just a temporary thing" he continued
"I hope so, we've not got any candles or anything, I suppose we can use our phone lights or. . ."
Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam
As the night before, there was a loud knocking sound.
"Oh god, Robbie not again?" Laura said, almost jumping in fright, her voice low and full of panic.
Robbie said nothing. He had also jumped out of his skin when he heard the knocking.
"Who is it!?" Laura said, gripping onto his arm in the almost darkness save the glow of the fire.
"I don't know" He said, realising that his words weren't much of a resolution or a comfort to Laura. He held onto her arm to try and calm her.
Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam
The knocking came again, louder and quicker. Then it stopped.
Robbie and Laura looked at each other, both realising their shared fear. For a few moments the only sound was their breathing, short and shallow. Robbie's eyes darted around as, much like the night before, his mind desperately searched for a reason behind the knocking. The seconds seemed to pass like hours, so potent was the lack of more noise until suddenly it came again
Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam Bam
"Robbie who is it, what is it?" Laura said, he voice ragged with fear
"I'll go and have a look" he said, squeezing her arm in what he hoped was a reassurance.
"It sounds like its coming from the front door again" She said, he voice low and quick through short panicked breaths. In the darkness Laura could just make out Robbie nodding in agreement. the knocking sound was identical to the night before.
Suddenly the lights flickered back on. Robbie and Laura looked at each other, both coming to the same chilling conclusion. With a quiet, terrified voice it was Laura who voiced their shared realisation
"Robbie, it can't be from the front door. It's blocked with snow"