Hug

Chapter 6

They walked back the way they had come along the cliff. The sun had gone in and the breeze was cold. A few spots of rain started to fall as they reached the town. Nothing more depressing than a seaside town in the rain, Grace always thought.

She would have liked to leave Ed there, to go home on her own and think about the bombshell he had just dropped on her. But he'd offered to change the battery in her tablet, as it had stopped working, so they walked on up the hill to her flat.

"Nice!" Ed said, looking round her living room. "How long have you lived here?"

"Coming up for a year now I guess,  - cup of tea or coffee?"

"Tea please...milk and one sugar."

The cat jumped down off the sofa and greeted them. Ed picked him up, something he never usually liked strangers to do, but this time he appeared to tolerate Ed's attentions. Must have a way with animals, Grace thought, Jasper had taken to him as well earlier.

She went into the kitchen, filled and turned on the kettle and put teabags in a couple of mugs. Glancing sideways through the doorway Ed seemed to be searching for something on his phone.
He caught her eye, looking sheepish.

"Just checking exactly how to do this!" he laughed. "I'm sure there'll be a demonstration video on You Tube. You're sure you've got the right battery?"

"Yes, of course," she said. What kind of an idiot does he think I am?  I could probably have fitted it myself too - why did I have to mention it to him? Then she felt mean, after all, he was only trying to help.

She put the tea down on the coffee table and smiled at him.

"It's really nice of you to do this." she said. "I'll get my tablet."

It didn't take long for Ed to prise the back off her tablet with the help of one of her kitchen knives. He was right - he found a You Tube video on his phone which explained exactly what to do. Grace sat next to him on the couch feeling a bit useless, watching and sipping her tea.

He'd just opened the box that contained the new battery when Grace's mobile rang. It was Jen, sounding flustered.

"Oh Grace, I've lost Jasper!" she wailed plaintively. She was obviously still outside as Grace had a job to hear her over the noise of the wind.

"Oh no Jen! Where?"

"We were just taking a short cut across the field - you know the one I mean, and he saw a rabbit and was off! I called and called, but the little bugger would not come back!"

"That's not like him, is it?" Grace asked, but Jen was still talking.

"I'm walking back towards town now, and I don't think he could have got past me without me seeing him." The wind drowned out her next words.

"............find him?"

"Sorry Jen, I missed that - do you want a hand looking for him?"

Ed looked up from the tablet with an enquiring face.

"Jen's lost Jasper." Grace told him quickly. He rolled his eyes.

"Well, I think he's probably making his way back home, but I'm worried the stupid dog'll get run over in the process," Jen continued agitatedly.

"Do you think you could just pop out and have a look around the bottom of the hill in the square? He'll come to you if he sees you."

"Yes, of course, I'll go now," Grace said, grabbing her jacket from the back of the sofa.

"Oh thanks...I'm only about 5 minutes away, so I'll see you there."

Grace hung up, and turned to Ed.