The Incubus

Chapter 1, Scene 6

'Another hole in one?' Justin asked, bewildered that his wife had such a keen sense of miniature golf. 'That's the third one in a row now.'

Rebecca did a little twirl with her putter. 'Are you ready to give up yet?'

'Never!' Justin shouted in an over-dramatic voice. 'You won't take me alive!'

Her mouth twisted into a sly grin. 'Then prepare to die.'

They whacked it out over the last few holes of the game, and finally, a humbled husband had to admit defeat to his wife. Through the jokes and laughter something bothered Justin. He wondered how he would be able to apologize to his wife without bringing up the subject of the previous evening. He realized that talking to her about it was inevitable, and sooner or later, he would have to face the music.

'What should we do now?' she asked.

Justin looked around. Go-carts would have been great. Stupid maintenance. 'I don't know,' he said. 'Maybe we should go for a swim.'

Rebecca's eyes lit up. 'Heated pools?'

'Sure,' he said. 'Why not?'

They followed the footpath hand-in-hand until they reached their cabin. It took them twenty minutes to get dressed and walk up another path until they reached the massive, heated swimming pools.

'Gonna join me?' Justin asked as they stood on the edge of the pool.

'In a moment,' she said. 'I just want to sit down for a minute or two first. You go ahead, okay?'

'Is everything all right?' Justin asked. 'Are you okay? You look a little pale, baby.'

Rebecca nodded faintly.

'You really don't look too good, Baby,' he said and pressed his hand against her forehead. 'You're burning up.'

'I'll be fine,' she said and smiled weakly at him. 'I just need to sit down for a while.'

Justin frowned. 'I don't know,' he said. 'I think I should take you back to the cabin.'

'No,' she protested. 'I'll be fine in a minute. Really. Go, swim so long. I'll be right with you.'

He ignored her and helped her to her feet. 'Let's get you into bed,' he said and gently helped her down the path to their cabin.

'I don't want to ruin the weekend,' Rebecca said as Justin tucked her into bed.

'Nonsense,' he said. 'Just try and get some rest while I make you a nice cup of tea, okay?' She nodded, but Justin doubted that she registered anything he said to her. He waited until her eyes were closed before he left the room to boil some water. When he returned with her tea, she was fast asleep. He placed the cup down next to her on the bedside table and picked up his novel. He then lay down next to her, and three turns and one pillow fluffing later continued with the story. Justin read for most of the afternoon before taking a half an hour nap after which he read some more.

'Justin...?' Rebecca said softly when she woke up.

'Yes, baby?'

'I...I have to prepare dinner...'

Justin put down the novel and walked around to her side of the bed. He touched her forehead and frowned. The fever showed no sign of breaking. 'Stay in bed,' he said. 'I'll get us something to eat from the restaurant. What would you like?'

She didn't answer. She merely smiled and then closed her eyes. Within seconds she was asleep again. Justin switched off the lights and closed the bedroom door. He took some money from Rebecca's purse, locked the door and headed for the restaurant.