Tuesday was uneventful for Alice. She worked part-time at the local supermarket. A social butterfly, she enjoyed the banter between her work colleagues as much as the gossip from the church congregation.
By late afternoon, the sky grew steadily darker.
That evening, Alice was slumped on the couch, idly checking her smartphone. Mike hadn't bothered to call once. She was used to that. But for one brief email explaining that he was going to be away for another week, there'd been no further contact. Cordless vacuum cleaners were obviously more important than she ever imagined. She didn't care any more. Her marriage was all but dead.
Outside, rain was lashing against the windows. She was half-watching an old movie -- Sudden Impact, staring Clint Eastwood in another of his outings as Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan.
In the kitchen, The sound of the cat flap door clicking shut was heard. Binx hated the rain. Moments later, the cat came padding into the lounge.
"Hello cutie-pie!" She made some clucking noises and he jumped up on the couch, purring at her. His black fur glistened with raindrops. "How's my good boy?"
Binx nuzzled her.
Alice sighed. She was really missing Ray right now. Craving him. But he'd been unable to call round tonight as he'd gone to visit his son. She'd see him at church tomorrow and would have to make do for now.
On the TV, Harry Callahan shot dead a trio of hitmen.
When Emily woke up in the early hours of Wednesday morning, she discovered she had been sleepwalking. She was in the vicarage's kitchen, but she couldn't recall getting out of bed and coming downstairs. The kitchen was silent. The only sound was from the softly humming motor of the refrigerator. She was standing near the sink. She had opened one of the drawers and had taken a carving knife out of it. She stared down at the knife, startled to find it in her hand. Pale moonlight glinted on the cold blade. She returned the knife to the drawer. Closed the drawer. She had been gripping the knife so tightly that her hand ached.
"Why did I want a knife?"
A chill scuttled like a spider along her spine.
Her bare arms and legs broke out in goosebumps, and she was suddenly very aware that she was nude.
Outside, a dog barked in the distance.
Then wind. The patter of rain. The branches of a tree scraping lightly against an outside wall.
She hurried back upstairs. Obviously she'd been sleepwalking. When she returned to the bedroom, she realised her heart was pounding. Fumbling for the bedside lamp, she switched it on.
The light didn't disturb Reverend Hosking. He mumbled in his sleep but didn't wake. Emily leant back against the headboard and listened to her racing heart as it gradually slowed to normal.
"Just a bit of sleepwalking, nothing more."
She looked at the vicar and whispered, "I love you." She'd been staying here since Monday night and was so relieved that she'd never have to live in the lonely terraced house she'd bought after selling her parents' home and moving up north. Reverend Hosking had asked her to marry him and she'd said yes. It was meant to be. God had meant for this to happen.
He continued to snore softly. Smiling, Emily clicked off the light and settled under the covers again. For a couple of minutes she listened to the rain and to her new partner's rhythmic breathing, then she drifted into a satisfying sleep.
Reverend Hosking had stopped having nightmares since losing his virginity on Monday afternoon. He slept deeply, peacefully, without interruption. He quickly forgot about the flickering, silvery blade of the knife, the fire and the severed head.
Meanwhile, Alice was in bed, flat on her back, one arm raised and angled across her face as if she were warding off a blow. Her other hand was gripping the mattress. She had kicked the duvet off. She tossed her head violently from side to side, gasping, pleading with an imaginary person.
"Don't do it. He's not your father!"
She let out a yell. "No! Don't! It was an accident!"
Gradually, however, she shook off the nightmare and calmed down.
"I've...got to stop it happening. It's going to happen again. She's come back..."
Alice woke up. Another nightmare. "Now it's all starting to make sense," she gasped. She looked at the bedside clock. It was just after seven, and sunlight was filtering through the gap in the curtains.
Suddenly, there was a thump as something swift and black jumped on the bed. Alice screamed and almost had a heart attack.
It was her cat, Binx.
"Jesus!" she gasped, as the sleek, black feline moved closer, cocked his head and stared at her with intense green eyes. He miaowed and nuzzled her, as if to say,
"Come on you lazy hooman! I am a cat, a superior species and don't you forget it. I am overdue for my morning dose of attention. You are failing in your duties."
"You got me!" Alice said, stroking him. He purred happily.
She'd got adopted Binx at the end of 2019. He'd belonged to her neighbour Alan, an elderly widower who lived alone and whom she'd been very fond of. He was a gentle, frail man and a devoted churchgoer. When Alan discovered he had terminal cancer, it was his express wish that Alice adopt his beloved pet, seeing as he had no other family. She'd been more than honoured to do so. Mike viewed the cat with indifference; it was less demanding than a dog and could mostly look after itself. When the lockdowns began, Binx had been a godsend during those long, isolating weeks.
The cat pawed her again.
"Okay, you win. I'm getting up."
Binx jumped off the bed and headed out of the room. Alice shuddered as she stood up. Her heart was racing and she felt tingly all over. That nightmare was still haunting her.
"It's a warning. I've got to tell Ray."
The weather had improved. Wednesday was shaping up to be summery and blue.
"You're getting married?" Ray gasped as the vicar shared his happy news just before the start of the midweek Eucharist. "To a woman you've known for a barely a week? Are you absolutely sure about this?"
"I've never been more sure about anything," Reverend Hosking replied. "Emily is The One. I've waited so long, and now God has delivered this beautiful angel to me."
"Of course, I'm thrilled for you, Graham...but...don't you think you're rushing into things? How well do you know her?"
His words were falling on deaf ears. The man was hopelessly infatuated by this woman. Presently, she appeared by his side.
"I've handed out some hymn books."
