Creature Comforts Part Three

Standing at the door that led off from the kitchen down to what her husband called, 'the wine cellar,' Alice bit her bottom lip feeling a slight edge of guilt, lingering with key in hand and wondering if she was doing the right thing in getting wine at such an early hour. She couldn't believe her daughter hadn't woken up with all the toing and froing up and down the stairs, but then Alice knew Wendy was a heavy sleeper, unlike herself and her son.

 

She turned the key in the lock as the door creaked open. In the dark silence it sounded pretty eerie with the dank musty odor that had built up over the years, especially as there wasn't any heat down there.

 

Pondering on the idea of oiling the hinges the next day, she flicked the light switch that was located on the wall beside the door, the stairs lit up as the florescent lighting flickered, leading down into the huge roomy basement. It wasn't a place that the family entered that often anymore and certainly not at this hour.

 

Alice remembered when her daughter and son were young, they'd used the space as a play area and for birthday parties, it had been a place of much fun and atmosphere, unlike now. Feeling slightly nervous in the dead of night, Alice shivered uncertain, the feeling was menacing. “I must stop watching creepy films,” she mumbled to herself as she took each step carefully, aware of every creaky floor board.

 

Finally at the bottom on solid ground, she sauntered slowly along the rows of dusty shelves that held bottle after wine bottle, some were very rare and expensive that William had picked up on his travels, then there was the cheap plonk her husband reserved for casual parties they would have when he was home on leave.

 

The basement ran along the whole length of the house and there was plenty of room for barrels of beer William had proudly brewed himself.

 

Alice stumbled on an expensive bottle of 1987 Louis Jadot and smiled at the thought of drinking it, but then had second thoughts, knowing her husband would hit the roof if she dared to casually drink it alone. “Such a costly exceptional wine should be shared and savoured,” he would utter.

 

Alice carried on her search, fingering the bottles as she went until she came to a bottle of bulls blood. Sliding it out she decided that would do fine for now. One of my favorites! She thought with a big Cheshire cat grin, while wiping the dreadful dust off the glass, leaving the sleeve of her dressing gown covered in black stuff. “Oh, well, can't be helped,” she whispered to herself, breathing on the bottle and again wiping until it was shiny and new.

 

Clutching the wine for dear life not wanting to drop it, Alice mounted the stairs two at a time, excited at the prospect of her bounty, suddenly all her earlier fears were diminished.

 

Finally back in the kitchen she switched out the light and locked the door, deciding to place the key in her bag on the kitchen work top.

“I'm bound to remember to put the key back on top of the wardrobe, if it's in there,” she whispered to herself.

 

Fumbling in the kitchen drawer, Alice found what she was looking for. Unscrewing the cork she got her favorite wine glass down from the cupboard and took them through to the lounge feeling pleased with herself.

 

“Let's have some music on. I think I fancy some Stevie Wonder.” She said to herself, fingering through her record collection. “Songs In The Key Of Life. That will do nicely.” Alice took the record out of the sleeve and placed it on the turntable. She always kept her albums spotless and clear of dust, cleaning them with every play. Switching on the sound system, Alice lovingly let the cleaning cloth run over the vinyl as it went round, then placed the needle on the record. The first track was; Love's In Need Of Love Today. Alice closed her eyes and glided over to her glass and bottle that sat on the coffee table, swaying to the rhythm and singing the lyrics she knew so well.

 

Sitting down she poured the first glass, enjoying the glug, glug sound as the full bodied red wine left the bottle. She was ready to strut her stuff as the first track came to an end, then: Have A Talk With God came on. Singing along with glass in hand, Alice uttered to herself, “Yes! That would be so cool to have a talk with god...but would he really listen to my words? I wonder!”

 

The music was taking her back to 1976, when she was at Uni and having the time of her life. She remembered gate crashing parties and having gatherings in their dorms which would go on all night if they never had any classes.

 

Alice laughed at the memory of trying to take on a hairdressing career that very same year, what a shambles that turned out to be, but the music of Stevie Wonder would always be playing in the shop. She remembered leaving a color in a woman's hair too long, not realizing it had to only stay in for twenty minutes, Alice had left it in for an hour, which got her instant dismissal, not that it worried her in the least. “Hair is definitely not my bag,” she pondered.

 

“Oh! How I wish those days would come back again indeed.” She declared, as the track: 'I Wish,' came on. Her glass now empty, Alice poured more wine and got up and danced again, loving the next track: Knocks Me Off My Feet, which was her favorite and was played at her wedding to William as their first dance. Her beautiful white wedding dress and veil flowing across the dance floor, they'd been so happy back then.

 

Closing her eyes and pretending William was there, Alice began waltzing around the room, spinning while singing, “I love you William, whatever happens in our lives.” She knocked the second glass straight back, ready for another. The drink was hitting the spot now as Alice reached that place so loved, where she didn't have a care in the world, just her reflecting the wine and the music.

 

~~~

 

 

Wendy was just waking up from a deep sleep. Turning and yawning she switched on her bedside lamp. Checking the time it was 6.30am, normally she'd spend an extra half hour lazing under the covers, but this morning music was drifting up the stairs, Wendy wondered if her mum had actually been to sleep at all that night.

 

Scowling with annoyance and maneuvering herself out of bed, she made her way to the bathroom. William had insisted that Wendy needed her own space, so had turned a small box room into an on suite, complete with bath, shower, toilet and basin.

 

Wendy gazed at her reflection in the cupboard mirror above the sink. Picking up her brush she swept hair out of her eyes and gathered it into a ponytail with a scrunchy, then began the usual regime of washing her face, cleaning teeth and creaming up to give her dry skin a sheen. Having a shower was definitely not on her agenda this morning.

 

The dread of going downstairs and finding her mum in a drunken state was the last thing Wendy needed, especially as she had to be on top of her game at college today. She'd made arrangements to take her music students in to the studio to record some tracks the kids had written themselves. Knowing studio time was precious at the college, the four hours allotted them would need to be used wisely.

 

Wendy entered her bedroom and searched her wardrobe for something to wear. She decided on black trousers and a white blouse, even though it was summer she still liked to look smart. Gazing in her bedroom mirror and admiring her reflection, Wendy brushed herself down then left her room.

 

Taking a deep breath she prepared to descend the stairs, her mother's high pitched voice singing along to Stevie Wonder. It wasn't that she didn't liked the music, but not this early in the morning and her mum's voice rang in her ears, grating like chalk down a board.

 

The clock ticked away in the hallway as she entered the living room, her mum swaying to the rhythm with her back to her daughter.

“Mum!” Wendy called out in a disgruntled fashion. “Do you know what time it is?”

 

Alice turned to face her daughter, a glass of wine in her hand, her eyes bleary and red. “Wendy! Darling daughter of mine, you've come to dance with me.” Words slurred as Alice reached out for her daughter staggering towards her.

 

“Stop it mum, you're drunk and it's only 7.30am. How could you do this after being clean for so long.”

 

Alice's voice deepened. “Look honey,” she replied taking another sip. “This is my house and I'm not about to harm anyone. Can't a mother just have a drink and reminisce about her younger days?” Her head shook with exasperation as she spoke.

 

At this point Wendy backed away. “Okay, you do what you want, but don't blame me when everything goes wrong for you.”

 

“Oh for heaven's sake, come on honey loosen up and give me a hug, you know your mum loves you loads.” As Alice came closer trying to reach out, Wendy wasn't having any of it and pulled away.

 

“No! Not when you're in this state. I love you too mum, but I have to go to work and I've got a busy day ahead of me.” Wendy turned and walked out into the kitchen, not giving Alice a chance to speak further on the matter, but leaving mum to her memories.

 

Alice was tempted to follow her out, but even in her drunk state she knew it would be a waste of time, only ending up in a full blown argument, so she just shrugged and carried on with her singing and dancing.

 

 

Alice was remembering being part of a swarm of screaming teenagers at a Stevie Wonder concert as she swayed around the room. She was only sixteen at the time and could feel the atmosphere right there and then. It had been an electric time in her life, she felt those tingles running through her body right at that moment, as if she were back there in 1972, with her bedroom wall covered in posters of the great man himself.

 

Completely forgetting about her daughter, she flaked out sinking into the sofa. Reaching over to place her glass on the coffee table Alice began closing her eyes, avoiding the sound of the telephone ringing as a dizzy feeling started to come over her. “Wendy will get that,” she mumbled to herself. It wasn't long before she was fast asleep and snoring.

 

To be continued...