Home coming - a short story by Charles Roberts

 

Home coming  a short story by Charles Roberts

 

She’d been away on 'business' for a month, the taxi dropped her off at the house, she was so tired, jet lagged, and felt nauseous, the taxi ride hadn’t helped at all.  All she wanted to do was have a cold drink and get into her bed and sleep for a week.  She found her house keys in her handbag, then unlocked the front door, opening it she entered the hallway, put her kit bag down, and closed the door quietly behind her, then kicked off her shoes and hung her beret on the hat stand.  She knew that everyone would be sleeping and didn’t want to disturb them.  She didn’t put the lights on because she knew the layout of the house like the back of her hand.  Straight down the hall to the kitchen, there was a door to her left which led to the dining room.  Another door on her right was the lounge, then a third door, just right of the kitchen door, led to the utility room.

          She opened the kitchen door and entered, closed the door behind her, then switched on the lights.  Leaning against the door she breathed deeply, tossed her handbag towards the island unit; she missed, that's a good shot from a sniper, she thought smiling.  The first thing she thought of was a drink, then she remembered that there should be some ice cream in the freezer, that would go down better, she thought, cool me down more and possibly get rid of the nauseousness.   She was sick and tired of the heat, she had spent six months in the Middle East and didn’t like the heat anyway.  Now she was home and it was the middle of a hot summers night.

          She opened the freezer and reached in for the tub of ice-cream, then looked round for the scoop.  Not seeing it hanging where it should be, she went to the dish-washer, there it was with all the days’ dirty pots.  Taking both it and a bowl out she scooped some ice-cream into the bowl and put the tub back in the freezer.  She leant against the back door frame to feel any coolness as it found its’ was round the closed door.  Closing her eyes she put her forehead to the inset glass of the back door hoping that would help cool her down a bit.

          The glass shattered, the bowl of ice-cream fell as the crossbow bolt penetrated her head and stuck in the door frame.  Her life ebbed away as the ice-cream slowly melted.