too, and you, David.' She bent down to shake his small, wet hand and afforded him a gentle, loving smile. 'Come on through.'
The trio walked silently in single file across the smooth carpeted floor, past potted plants that had their own little shelves to call home, and into the living room.
'This is our daughter, Lizzy,' Julie introduced. 'Say hello, Lizzy.'
Lizzy was sitting on the floor, a scowl locked on her face that started to dissipate as David walked through the door, the wrinkles in her face ironing themselves out.
She rose to her feet, straightening out the creases in her tee-shirt and patting her jeans down.
'Hello, I'm Lizzy,' she offered, still making herself presentable for her guests. 'Nice to meet you.'
'Hello, Lizzy, my name is Walter,' he returned, bending down to her level, 'and this is my son, David. It's great to meet you.'
She blushed and turned her head to her shoulders.
Walter straightened up, his back cricking.
'Why don't you pair sit down, honestly, don't mind the sofas. My husband should be back with a towel and nice hot drinks for you both any minute now. You look exhausted,' Julie admitted.
'Thank you both, you're too kind. Come, David.'
Jack sat down on the plush grey settee, sinking deep into the warm, velvety embrace of the cushions, his feet unable to touch the floor. He watched the dancing embers of the fire, captivated by their hypnotic performance. Walter sat next to him and relaxed, leaning backwards. He crossed his leg over his opposite knee, threw a displeasing arm around Jack and drew him closer.
Andrew came through the door, back first, a towel tossed over his shoulder and two mugs of hot drinks in his hands. He handed the towel to Jack.
'There you go, guys. You must be freezing. Dry yourselves off and warm yourselves up.'
'Thank you.'
Jack accepted the towel, starting with his face and hair, cautiously patting down his wounded head. It was still tender and sore to the touch.
Andrew took a seat next to Lizzy on the floor, put a loving arm around her and watched as the two travellers as they tended to their worn out bodies.
'So what happened to you two? Looks like you've had yourselves one hell of a night.'
Walter brought himself forward, removing his arm from around Jack, and picked up his mug, blowing the steam away.
'You can say that again.'
He laughed.
The Dunn family laughed with him.
'We had a bit of a nightmare, didn't we, David?'
Jack slowly agreed with a nod of his head.
'We kinda got caught up in the storm, I was taking David to visit his grandmother. It's my fault really,' he explained, casually, taking the first sip of his drink. 'I should have checked the forecast before setting out. Anyway, a mile or so back, my blasted car broke down. Typical. We had no idea where we were. I think we were a little bit lost, although I hate to admit that, being a man and all.' Walter chuckled, wiping his forehead with the back of his palm.
'We had to brave the weather, it was not at all pleasant, was it, David?' he asked without waiting for an answer. 'We saw a sign post and instead of following the road, I tried our luck on the path, and lo and behold, we found you. Once again, I can't express our gratitude enough. How's your head, son? Does it still hurt?' he asked, changing the subject.
Jack paused, longer than he probably should have.
'It's a lot better now, thanks… Dad,' he exclaimed, the lie falling from his mouth without so much as a hint of sarcasm,
'That's good to hear, I'm glad.' Walter smiled and tussled Jack's hair with a heavy hand. 'Had a bit of an accident, didn't you, David? He wasn't looking where he was going and took a tumble, nothing too serious, thank God.'
The Dunns watched the father and son as colour and life allowed itself to penetrate their delicate exteriors.
Mrs Julie Dunn stood the whole time, listening intently to Walter's story of how he arrived at their house.
'You two must be starved to
The trio walked silently in single file across the smooth carpeted floor, past potted plants that had their own little shelves to call home, and into the living room.
'This is our daughter, Lizzy,' Julie introduced. 'Say hello, Lizzy.'
Lizzy was sitting on the floor, a scowl locked on her face that started to dissipate as David walked through the door, the wrinkles in her face ironing themselves out.
She rose to her feet, straightening out the creases in her tee-shirt and patting her jeans down.
'Hello, I'm Lizzy,' she offered, still making herself presentable for her guests. 'Nice to meet you.'
'Hello, Lizzy, my name is Walter,' he returned, bending down to her level, 'and this is my son, David. It's great to meet you.'
She blushed and turned her head to her shoulders.
Walter straightened up, his back cricking.
'Why don't you pair sit down, honestly, don't mind the sofas. My husband should be back with a towel and nice hot drinks for you both any minute now. You look exhausted,' Julie admitted.
'Thank you both, you're too kind. Come, David.'
Jack sat down on the plush grey settee, sinking deep into the warm, velvety embrace of the cushions, his feet unable to touch the floor. He watched the dancing embers of the fire, captivated by their hypnotic performance. Walter sat next to him and relaxed, leaning backwards. He crossed his leg over his opposite knee, threw a displeasing arm around Jack and drew him closer.
Andrew came through the door, back first, a towel tossed over his shoulder and two mugs of hot drinks in his hands. He handed the towel to Jack.
'There you go, guys. You must be freezing. Dry yourselves off and warm yourselves up.'
'Thank you.'
Jack accepted the towel, starting with his face and hair, cautiously patting down his wounded head. It was still tender and sore to the touch.
Andrew took a seat next to Lizzy on the floor, put a loving arm around her and watched as the two travellers as they tended to their worn out bodies.
'So what happened to you two? Looks like you've had yourselves one hell of a night.'
Walter brought himself forward, removing his arm from around Jack, and picked up his mug, blowing the steam away.
'You can say that again.'
He laughed.
The Dunn family laughed with him.
'We had a bit of a nightmare, didn't we, David?'
Jack slowly agreed with a nod of his head.
'We kinda got caught up in the storm, I was taking David to visit his grandmother. It's my fault really,' he explained, casually, taking the first sip of his drink. 'I should have checked the forecast before setting out. Anyway, a mile or so back, my blasted car broke down. Typical. We had no idea where we were. I think we were a little bit lost, although I hate to admit that, being a man and all.' Walter chuckled, wiping his forehead with the back of his palm.
'We had to brave the weather, it was not at all pleasant, was it, David?' he asked without waiting for an answer. 'We saw a sign post and instead of following the road, I tried our luck on the path, and lo and behold, we found you. Once again, I can't express our gratitude enough. How's your head, son? Does it still hurt?' he asked, changing the subject.
Jack paused, longer than he probably should have.
'It's a lot better now, thanks… Dad,' he exclaimed, the lie falling from his mouth without so much as a hint of sarcasm,
'That's good to hear, I'm glad.' Walter smiled and tussled Jack's hair with a heavy hand. 'Had a bit of an accident, didn't you, David? He wasn't looking where he was going and took a tumble, nothing too serious, thank God.'
The Dunns watched the father and son as colour and life allowed itself to penetrate their delicate exteriors.
Mrs Julie Dunn stood the whole time, listening intently to Walter's story of how he arrived at their house.
'You two must be starved to
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