Chapter 5: Chain Letter by Stephen Simpson
Beth and Bobby had joined her a while ago already and they
are lying on the carpet in the middle of the lounge, but when Marlene gets up,
Beth gets up and follows her.
Beth has always been like that, if Marlene did not close the bathroom door behind her, Beth would surely follow her in there as well. Bobby usually stays, because he is a lazy one and has some problems with his shoulders, a common ailment with bullmastiffs.
Tonight though, Bobby gets up with a sigh and follows
Marlene to the kitchen, he flops down on the floor by the door and Marlene
looks at him amused, wondering what could have brought on this change in
habits.
When she has finished washing the few dishes, she walks down
the hall deeper into the house. She could not change her clothes when she got
home, because she did not want to disrupt the dogs and their routine, so her
clothes still feel slightly damp and her hair is hanging down her neck,
clinging to her skin in an irritating way.
Bobby and Beth have followed her to the bathroom and she
gently moves them out of the way, as she closes the door, leaving them out in
the hall.
She turns on the taps in the shower. She takes off her
clothes, throwing them into the hamper in the corner, thinking that she must
remember to put those in the washer before they are ruined.
When she gets in under the water, immediately the warmth of
the water penetrates her skin, through her muscles and into her bones. Wetting
her hair, she puts some shampoo in the palm of her hand and then with her eyes
closed, she washes her hair. She suddenly has the most awkward and awful
feeling that someone is watching her, but if she looked, the soap would run
into her eyes and sting, so she feels undecided. The feeling is getting
stronger though. Even with her eyes closed it feels to her as if she can sense
that the bathroom is getting darker.
She can hear Bobby moaning on the other side of the door.
Marlene abruptly turns around towards the glass door.
Squinting through her one eye, she tries to peer through the glass shower-door
– nothing.
She wipes the steam off the door with her hand and looks
through again, more thoroughly this time – nothing.
The soap is running into her eyes now and a sudden burning
sensation makes her turn back towards the water falling from the shower head.
She rinses her eyes vigorously.
She washes the soap out of her hair, facing the glass door,
keeping her eyes open, because now that her eyes are sore and red, they seem
immune to further onslaughts from the foam running down from the top of her
head.
Quickly she gets out of the shower, drying herself as fast
as possible, and then puts on her pyjamas.
A billowing cloud of steam follows her out of the room when
she opens the door. Weirdly she feels relieved to be out of the bathroom.
She has never felt like that before, as if someone is
watching her, as if someone unseen wants to do her harm.
She would usually go to bed now, but it has been such a
strange day, the odd feeling in the shower, Bobby that is following her
everywhere, the sudden turn in weather, the email she received that still gives
her the goose bumps when she thinks about it, and she does not feel tired at
all.
The movie that will be following the current program on the television looks like a good one, and a film she has not seen before, so she decides to make it a late night.
*
She gets up off the couch, straightens out the cushions. She
switches off the lights as she walks out of the room, down the hall to the
bathroom to brush her teeth, with Bobby still following her every step.
“Bobby, what is wrong with you tonight, boy?” she asks the
dog, exasperated, after she switches off the bathroom light.
Nothing, he just lowers his head slightly and Marlene leans
down to scratch him between his ears.
“Come, bedtime,” she says as she walks towards her bedroom.
Bobby usually sleeps in front of her bed, but tonight he
jumps on the bed.
“No, Bobby, off!” she says in a stern voice, but he ignores
her and lies down.
She does not allow them to sleep on the bed, because they
are too big and if she lets one sleep on the bed, she will have to let the
other sleep on the bed and then there would be no space for her.
She shoves him repeatedly with both her hands pushed against
his side, but he does not budge.
“Fine,” she exclaims after a while. “But only this once,
it’s late and I have to almost wake up again for work.”
Marlene looks towards Beth, feeling guilty she says firmly,
“Don't get any ideas, young lady.”
Beth just sighs and looks towards the wall, pretending not
to care.
Marlene slides in between the cool covers and then turns
onto her back. After exhaling all the way out, she takes a deep breath, while
closing her eyes.
She has always been someone who could just fall asleep once
she was in bed, and tonight was no different from other nights.
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