Seven Days With A Demon

Chapter Five

WEDNESDAY

The alarm clock said 9:14 a.m.

Jen groaned and tried to push herself upright. The migraine was gone, but her body felt heavy and sluggish. Once upright, she froze for a moment and let her body adjust. After a few seconds she set her feet onto the carpet.

"So far so good."

Slowly she levered herself up and stood still. No whirlies.

"Thank God for small favors."

Step by halting step she went to the dresser, selected clean clothes, then shut herself up in the bathroom. A hot shower helped soothe her stiff muscles. By the time she reached the kitchen she was feeling much better.

Tea, toast, jelly please. Still no Earl Grey.

Her laptop was on the table, and she surfed the 'net as she ate. Soon she was back on the chat site about migraine sufferers and their escapades. Four pages through the postings she came across something disturbing.

The woman who posted was named Vera. "My husband is a demon."

Jen's jaw dropped.

"I woke up this morning and turned over to see if he was awake. Gawd did I get the shock of my life! He had horns and blood red skin. His eyes were still closed but his mouth was open just a little and I saw his teeth. It was like he'd become a shark!"

"Oh. . . my . . . God."

"It's a good thing he didn't see me," the post went on. "I did my best to slip out of bed and go hide in the bathroom."

Jen kept reading.

"Then I realized we had just the one bathroom in the house, and I couldn't hide in there forever."

Jen's eyes were wide and her brows were high on her forehead.

"So I used the toilet as quietly as I could, then opened the door and peered out at him. Tim had turned over and was looking right at me. But he didn't have horns or teeth like that."

"I get it. Hallucination."

"It was Saturday morning, and lately we'd been spending the morning fooling around together. Tim works long hours, and is usually too tired at the end of the day. So we've been cuddling either Saturday morning or evening."

"Good idea."

"But that morning I couldn't get the image of his demonic face out of my head. I made some excuse, grabbed some clean clothes and turned on the shower."

Jen nodded.

"All through the day I kind of avoided him. I went to the grocery, and ran some errands while Tim went to the gym and played hoops with his buddies. When the sun went down Tim grilled hamburgers outside and we sat quietly together and ate. The little area behind our duplex is nice. The yard is tiny but it's secluded. We often sit and chat and let the sun go down. I knew Tim wanted me, and all day I'd been thinking of his horrible face and hoping he would be too tired. As we sat in the dark I wondered if I would be okay if we made love but didn't turn on the light."

"Hmm." Jen kept reading.

"Then I realized that he might not know that I saw him like that. And maybe, if I was a good enough actress, he wouldn't suspect anything. Maybe I could get through it without screaming."

"I couldn't," Jen quipped.

"Tim and I cleaned up after ourselves and went inside. The kitchen lights were off as we stacked our plates. I turned around and Tim slipped his arms around me. Without thinking I leaned into him and we kissed. Twenty years of marriage and I've never hesitated. That night I almost pulled back from him, then realized I might tip my hand. I pressed my lips into his and it felt as good as ever." "After a long and deep kiss, he nuzzled my ear. 'Let's go into the bedroom' he said."