The Storm Before The Calm Read online



  THE STORM BEFORE THE CALM

  A SHORT STORY BY

  D. DONOVAN

  PUBLISHED BY D. DONOVAN

  COPYRIGHT © 2015 D. DONOVAN

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, without prior permission in writing of the author, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  License Notes

  Thank you for downloading this e-book. Please be aware that it remains the copyrighted property of the author and may not be reproduced, copied or distributed for commercial or non-commercial purposes. Thank you for respecting the hard work of the author.

  All characters and events in this publication, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Meredith and Sam were sitting on the sofa laughing at the antics of Jenny, their five-month old baby. They’d bought her a bouncing chair last week and she was jiggling herself up and down and chuckling.

  It was nearly seven-thirty. Meredith yawned. It would soon be time for bed. She was a weather presenter with Channel 7 news on their breakfast show and started work at five in the morning. Having only been back at work for a week and a half after six-months maternity leave she was finding it difficult to get into a routine; not to mention tiring looking after Jenny and the house too, but she loved her job. She’d never even considered giving it up to stay home with her daughter.

  “Do you still want to go to the gym on Saturday morning?” Sam asked, breaking through her thoughts.

  “Mmmm, yes,” Meredith said, preoccupied with watching their daughter.

  “I just thought that now you’re back at work you might want to spend more time with Jenny for the first week or two.”

  She reflected upon what Sam said before deciding that as much as she loved spending time with her daughter she really needed some time with her friends too. She’d barely seen her friends since Christmas, apart from them visiting in February when Jenny was born and the odd flying visit from some of them from time to time. No, she thought, I really need some time away from home, family and work for a change.

  “As lovely as it would be to spend time with this little darling,” Meredith said as she leaned over to tickle under Jenny’s chin, “I still need some time with my friends, space to do my own thing. After all, I do have her to myself every afternoon. Besides, I’m meeting Alice there. It’s all arranged and then we’re going shopping. I’m so looking forward to having a good old gossip with her. There’s never enough time when we’re at work to chat.”

  “Oh, I just wondered,” Sam said, disappointed with Meredith’s answer. “The guys from work are having a five-a side tournament on Saturday; a team building thing and I said I’d try to be there. Would you swap weeks with me and you could go the following two weeks or maybe meet Alice in the afternoon instead?”

  “Aaah, so you have ulterior motives,” Meredith smiled, turning to look at Sam as she spoke. “The answer’s still no I’m afraid. It’s all arranged and you know Alice; she’ll have something else planned with her boys later in the day. How about asking Chloe if she wants some overtime?”

  Chloe was their child minder and house keeper. She was studying for her post graduate degree and the job fitted in perfectly with her university commitments, allowing her to study part of the time she was at work. She was the daughter of Meredith’s mum’s friend so Meredith had known her for a long time and was happy to trust her with Jenny.

  “I asked Chloe this morning but she has a night out on Friday so she’s not able to help,” Sam replied.

  “Mmm, it’s a pity our parents are so far away. They’d jump at the chance to look after her. Looks like you’ll just have to miss out.”

  “Please, Meredith, it would mean a lot to me,” Sam pleaded

  “It means a lot to me too. You’re forgetting I haven’t been out much since Jenny was born and I’ve hardly spent any time with my friends.”

  Sam looked dejectedly at Meredith but she wasn’t about to change her mind.

  “I just thought you might want more time with Jenny,” Sam replied, hoping Meredith might feel a little guilty but he should have known better.

  “I would have thought you would want more time with her too.” Meredith was starting to get annoyed. They’d agreed that they would have alternate weekends to spend time with their friends once she was back to work but Sam seemed to be struggling with his side of the bargain already. She sat there fuming in silence and would have become really annoyed if he had tried to persuade her to change her mind again but Sam decided to leave it for the moment. Meredith was clearly tired and grumpy in his opinion and he thought he might have more luck if he tried again earlier in the evening tomorrow.

  Sam’s mobile phone rang breaking the silence that had settled after their brief conversation. Meredith could hear Sam’s side of the conversation and realised it was John, Sam’s best mate. Sam seemed to be making arrangements to meet him. He ended the call after telling John he would meet him there and turned to Meredith.

  “That was John. He’s down the pub just now and looking for some company. No-one else is in. I said I’d go down there. You don’t mind, do you?” Sam enquired, getting up from the sofa and heading for the hallway to collect his jacket.

  “You’ll need to put Jenny to bed first. Won’t it be a little late by then?”

  Sam stopped mid-stride. He’d just assumed Meredith would agree. I’ve been doing the bedtimes for over a week now. Surely she could do just one night, he thought, feeling a little annoyed that he was even having to ask before he could go out.

  “Couldn’t you do the bed time routine tonight? I’d really like to get out of the house for a while.” Sam tried to keep his annoyance hidden.

  “Sam, we agreed our routine. You know I’m up at half past three in the morning. I’m already yawning so much that I’m in danger of breaking my jaw and it’s only just left half seven. By the time I get Jenny fed and asleep it will be after nine. Five or six hours sleep just isn’t enough. You’ll have to call him back and cancel.”

  “Just this once, Meredith, that’s all I’m asking,” Sam pleaded.

  “Sorry, Sam, but it’s just not on. I need my sleep. I’m finding the routine of work and family difficult enough as it is without ending up exhausted all day. In fact, I’m just about to start readying myself for bed. I’ll be down to say goodnight to Jenny in five minutes.” Meredith stood as she spoke and passed Sam on her way to the door. That should sort him out, she thought as she headed upstairs. She knew he’d just taken it for granted that she would say yes but she wasn’t about to back down. ‘Just this once’ could quickly turn into once a week and before I know it I’ll be doing all the bath times, she fumed as she headed for the bathroom.

  Five minutes later Meredith returned to the lounge. Picking Jenny up to have a last cuddle before she turned in for the night, she turned to Sam and asked, “Any ideas what you’d like for dinner tomorrow?”

  “No,” was all Sam said.

  Meredith glanced at him and took in the sullen look on his face.

  “You’re not sulking because you can’t meet John, are you?”

  “No, of course not,” retorted Sam, even though he knew he was. Meredith could have had one late night, surely, he thought, but knew that if he said it out loud he would sound like the unreasonable one. He had helped Meredith work out their rota afte
r all but hadn’t realised at the time that she would stick to it so rigidly.

  Meredith had a quick game of peek-a-boo with Jenny before placung her back in the chair.

  “I’m off to bed then,” she announced, leaning over to give Sam a goodnight kiss. Sam gave her a little peck on the cheek. Meredith picked up on his reluctance even to do that much.

  “You are in a huff, aren’t you?” Meredith said, putting her hands on her hips as she stood upright.

  “No, honestly, I’m not. It’s just a bit frustrating is all,” Sam replied, hoping the statement would cover up his annoyance with Meredith.

  “Yeah, it is a bit,” Meredith agreed, “but we both knew that having a family would mean giving up some of our freedom. Anyway, I’m off to bed. Goodnight.”

  “Night,” Sam called after her as she disappeared out the door.

  As he sat there griping to himself about how unreasonable Meredith was being an idea sprung to his mind. He phoned John, hoping he would hear his mobile over the noise in the pub. John answered after a couple of rings.

  “Hi mate, it’s me” Sam said quietly into the phone. “Listen, something’s come up. I won’t make it for an hour or so. Will you still be there?”

  “Sure. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. I’ll see you in an hour or so then.”

  “No worries.” Sam hung up. Now all he had to do was get Jenny bathed, fed and sleeping by nine and he could get out for a few pints after all.

  Picking Jenny up, he headed for the main bathroom. Half an hour later, Jenny was ready for bed and Sam was trying to feed her. Jenny was playing up, spitting out the milk and chewing on the teat of the bottle. It was about an hour before her normal feeding time and she was making it clear she wasn’t hungry yet. A few minutes later Sam put her on the floor to play with the toys she’d thrown around earlier, deciding to wait another fifteen minutes or so before trying again. That would still give him plenty of time, he figured.

  The second time Sam tried feeding Jenny she was much more obliging and even fell asleep when there was still about a quarter of the milk left in her bottle. Carrying her gently upstairs, he made sure she was settled before heading down again, grabbing his jacket and closing the front door quietly behind him.