Would he ever feel differently? Would it ever be home for him?
Brushing the thought aside, he got out of the car. He was surprised not to see Saffy at the window. Whenever she heard his car pull up on the gravel outside, she would usually appear to acknowledge him, greeting his arrival with a broad smile, minus the front teeth these days, and an enthusiastic wave. Saffy had just turned eight and was arguably going on twelve, but she still had her childish exuberance, the spark that set her aside from the other children he knew. His pride in her couldn't be greater, even if things were different and she was his own daughter. Aside from the days where he came back after bedtime, she never missed his arrival. Even when he slotted the key into the front door, he still cast a glance to the lounge window half expecting her to be watching him.
Inside, he was greeted by silence. Taking his coat, hanging across his forearm, he looped it over one of the pegs at the foot of the stairs and headed for the kitchen. Hearing the patter of clawed paws on the wooden floor as he approached, he was met in the doorway of the kitchen by Russell. The terrier stopped short of him, leaning back and stretching out his front paws accompanied by a yawn. Tom's arrival must have woken him from his slumber in the dining room. The dog was a recent addition to their hybrid family. Previously belonging to a figure in a recent case, a man who knew he would soon be serving time in prison, to whom Tom had made a promise to find the dog a home. Only, as he was to learn from the rescue centre, there wouldn't be a great deal of interest in a terrier of unknown mixed breeding who was unused to being around people, and particularly families with young children. And these were the people most likely to adopt a rescue dog.
As it turned out, Russell, as he came to be known to them, was very good with Saffy. The two of them took to one another almost immediately and, were Alice and Tom to allow it, both would happily have the dog sleep in the little girl's bedroom, if not on her bed. Ultimately, the thought of separating the two of them was summarily dismissed within a few days and they had to find ways not only to manage their conflicting shift patterns and childcare, but also see to the needs of their new addition.
Tom lowered himself onto his haunches and Russell lifted his front legs onto his knee and extended his head for a welcome scratch behind his unusually long ears: yet another sign that he wasn't your everyday Jack Russell.
"How are you, little man?"
The dog readily accepted the attention, leaning his head into Tom's hand until the novelty wore off and he dropped down, returning to his bed on the far side of the room.
"Any idea where the ladies are?" Tom asked as Russell dropped his chin to the cushion, still keeping his eyes trained on him just in case he should alter direction and head for the fridge.
The crockery from breakfast was stacked up on the worktop alongside the sink, waiting to be loaded into the dishwasher. Alice's everyday shoulder bag was sitting on a chair in the dining room, her car keys on the table. Tom placed his mobile, keys and wallet on the breakfast bar before retreating from the kitchen into the hall. Making his way upstairs, he crossed the landing to their bedroom. The sound of running water ceased as the shower switched off and the sliding doors rumbled open. Crossing to the front window, he put his hands in his pockets and looked out over the farmland towards the coast.
Alice stepped out into the bedroom, startled by his presence.
"Sorry. I thought you would have heard me come in."
"I didn't realise the time," she said, glancing at the clock on their bedside table before tilting her head to one side and using a towel to dry her hair.
"Where's Saffy?"
"At Mum's." Alice tossed the towel to the bed and moved to the vanity table, picking up a large-tooth comb.
She seemed aloof, distracted perhaps. Far more so than usual. He walked towards her, planning to give her a hug despite the probability of getting wet. Putting a hand on the small of her back, she turned to him and briefly smiled. He leaned in and she met his lips with hers, pulling away after the briefest contact and addressing her reflection in the mirror as she drew the comb through her shoulder length hair, grimacing as the teeth caught in the knots.
"Rough day?" he asked.
"Oh… not too bad. Irritating more than anything else."
Alice's role in the Cromer and District Hospital was challenging. At first, she'd moved from working at the local medical centre back into the hospital to ease financial pressures, but these days her commitment and dedication were recognised with two successive promotions. He was pleased for her, knowing as he did how much satisfaction she derived from her job. What had been a necessity had flourished into a career, and he recognised the positive impact on both her confidence and personal self-esteem. The downside, if there was one, was they were seeing less of one another. Had he remained living on the boat, they'd likely see each other only a couple of times in a week at best.
"You?" she asked, without breaking the gaze on her own reflection, still struggling with the entangled knots in her hair.
"Drowning in paperwork."
He didn't really want to speak about it. Glancing at his watch, he saw her glance in his direction.
"I'll get dressed and then I'll have to go and pick up Saffy."
"She's not stopping there for dinner?"
"No.
