Chapter 4

It was early Friday morning when the sun gleamed through the windows of the Edison's new home. The promising light pouring into the room woke Emily. It was a crisp morning. Although she had a weird feeling she was being watched through the dark windows the night before, she was excited to explore their new home and go for a stroll on the beach once she unpacked the rest of her belongings.

'Morning dear,' Sarah greeted as Emily entered the kitchen. She was preparing something to eat from all the leftovers she found packed away in some boxes.

'Morning mom.'

'Did you sleep well?' Sarah hoped that her daughter had a better night's sleep than she did.

'Yeah, not too bad. Tonight will be better once everything's in place, the way it should be.' Emily did not want to share that she might have had a watcher last night. It might have been her imagination, but then again she had never slept without curtains covering her bedroom windows before. The exposure and vulnerability alone could have anyone paranoid. 'You need any help?'

'Not really, thank you, love. I'm almost done here.'

'Morning my angels,' Craig said from behind them.

'Hungry?' Sarah asked turning towards Craig. She noticed the sags under his puffy eyes.

'Starving.'

'I got a few leftovers from the boxes but we will need bread and some eggs.'

'Okay, I think we passed a seven-eleven on the way here last night. I'll pop in there,' Craig said looking around the empty kitchen. It would take about a week before their new house would become homely. At the moment it was nothing more than a shell echoing their voices through the empty rooms. He spotted the Kombi keys on the table and reached for it. 'Bread and eggs,' he repeated almost to himself.

'Get us some bacon as well,' Sarah said.

'Will do,' Craig said heading towards the door. He locked the front door behind him and scanned the house from the outside. It was a great piece of work. There was no doubt in Craig's mind that the house was built many years ago when people still had pride in their work. With its thick walls, Craig couldn't help to wonder how long the builders waited for the foundation to set before erecting the walls, but he imagined nothing less than a year. The problem with the fast-moving world was that quality turned to quantity. Builders should know that if a foundation was not properly rested, cracks will appear in erected walls about six months after, but money had to be made and the poor middle class needed houses quicker than the spreading of HIV. Craig regarded the house's windows with thick wooden frames. Several steps led to the solid front door. Craig liked the face-bricked walls because it meant minimising on maintenance. It was a rustic but neat look which Craig appreciated. Although the house was in good condition, it needed a little maintenance. A loose gutter was hanging from the roof. The grass was hungry for a lawnmower and a garden with some trees and shrubs would complement the house even more. All in good time Craig thought. He nodded. Satisfied with the money well spent. The best part was that they had a view of the ocean even if it was only a thin line glinting in the distance.

Craig soon found the Seven-Eleven he thought they had passed the night before. They only had the necessary stuff, but that was good enough for him. There ought to be larger shopping centres for their monthly shopping, but for now, the Seven-Eleven will do just fine. He grabbed a few things from the half-empty shelves and chucked them in a shopping basket he got near the entrance.

On his way to the cash register, he almost got knocked off-balance by a stranger wearing a brown coat. The hoody on the stranger's head made it hard to see his face.

'Sorry,' Craig apologised, a little annoyed with the stranger's crudity. The passages were not too wide, but good enough for two people to pass one another without any problems. What annoyed Craig more than anything else was that the stranger did not apologise or even glanced back. The stranger simply walked on like nothing ever happened.

Craig grabbed a few chocolates and some small packets of chips from the last shelf near the cash register and unpacked his shopping basket's content onto the counter.

'Morning,' he said to an attractive female attendant behind the counter.

'Hi,' she smiled. 'Would you like bags?'

'Yes please.'

Craig watched her scanning the bar codes of the items when he noticed her beautiful breasts through her loose blouse. Two firm hand-size toys built for horny men. She had a permanent tan with a good skin complexion. He wondered what the rest of her body looked like, but from what he could see, he judged a tight little ass and a great fuck. Young, horny and always willing. Craig noticed the chipped Cutex on her nails as she punched in some codes of the items that did not scan. He was meticulous about women taking care of their hands and toenails, but in this case, he dismissed the neglect as low income. She would be even better-looking if she had the funds to take better care of herself. Craig felt a stab of guilt as he thought about her lovely lips wrapped around his penis with a little help from those long fingers. God, why do I love women so much? Craig thought. He had a good wife and besides that, she was quite a bomb in bed, but somehow she could not please his deep dark desires the same way a young horny woman could. He could never expect his wife to do those things his mind desired and nor will he ever ask her to.

'One-hundred-and-forty-six Rand and ninety cents sir,' she interrupted his thoughts with a smile that ended up in a small dimple on the left of her face. Her brown eyes regarded him. Soft pools of sensation. Craig knew they have seen many hard erections before.

'Sure,' Craig said taking a few notes from his wallet. He handed it to her and noticed the man that bumped into him earlier at the counter next to him. Craig never liked it when people wore hoodies. They looked suspect and possibly hiding something from the world. Craig remembered telling Andrew and Patrick to get rid of the hoodies they were sometimes tempted to wear. They make you look like sly criminals.

'Thank you, sir,' the lady said handing Craig some change.

Craig thanked her and returned the money to his wallet. As he arranged the bags to disperse the load across his two hands, he heard the attendant's voice again.

'You are one-Rand-fifty short,' she said.

Craig turned towards the man with the hoody and noticed a pack of Rothmans cigarettes, biltong and some other smaller items on the counter. Craig thought the items were not exactly necessities, but everyone had certain rights to please their desires. Besides, rude or not, he was human, even though he looked like a criminal.

'Here you go.' Craig handed a twenty Rand note to the girl behind the counter.

She was a little taken aback by his kindness. She hesitantly took the money regarding him closely.

'Well, in that case, give me a pie and a few of those lovely-looking sweets over there,' the voice came from behind the hoody.

'That's very rude,' she said.

'And while you at it, throw in a pack of those red Rizla papers.'

'Sir?' she said looking at Craig.

'Keep the change,' Craig said lifting the bags from the counter and heading towards the door. What he wanted to do instead was to turn back and slap the man around a little, but then again, he wanted no trouble, not after less than a day in town.

Craig placed the last bag on the back seat when he heard a voice behind him.

'Not from around here are you?' the hoody man said.

Craig was not much in the mood for this scum and he did not intend to give him any more money either.

'No, I'm not,' Craig said. He slid the Kombi door shut and turned to face the man in the hoody. The first thing he noticed was his odd eyes. They were something between blue and grey circled with dark rims. There were signs of bad acne probably from his teen years.

'Saldanha is not as bad as they say,' the hoody man said.

'Not sure anybody told me it was a bad place. I intend to stay here until the end of days.'

The hoody man nodded. A faint smile formed from the left of his mouth. 'Jacob is the name,' he said extending his hand.

'Please to meet you, Jacob, I'm Craig,' Craig shook his hand, deliberately squeezing harder than usual. It might have something to do with the human's primitive side, but Craig deemed it necessary to meet strengths with the young fella. Sort of an intimidation technique to put him in his place.

'Where're you from?'

'All over really, but I was born and raised in Johannesburg.'

'I see. So what brings you to Saldanha?'

'Got a job here at Ore Refineries Inc.'

'Welcome here brother,' Jacob said patting Craig on his shoulder, 'and thank you for helping me out back there,' he tilted his head towards Seven-Eleven.

'No problem.'

'Maybe I can roll a rock out of your way someday.' Jacob regarded Craig with penetrating eyes.

Craig could not place the stranger, but he thought it might take a little time to get used to the people in town.

'You take care now.' Craig remembered how hungry he was. His wife was probably wondering why he stayed away so long. Craig slammed the door and started the kombi. He drove off. Jacob was standing at the same place where Craig left him. His eyes were fixed on the kombi. Craig could not help to wonder if Jacob had some mental condition.