Laura is appalled

He was in a hurry, because he had to rush back home to receive a guest.

He seemed so preoccupied by this appointment of his that he did not ask about Blake's whereabouts.

"Well, maybe he just does not wish to cause me unnecessary concern," Laura thought.

After Mr. Edwards left, Laura gave the baby a bath and fed her some of the cooked vegetables, which she had mashed.

Monique did not want much. So this meant that she had eaten already.

Soon afterwards, she fell asleep. Just as Laura was preparing to play with her, while watching television.

Laura could not bring herself to eat and she had to use Monique as a means of distraction. Otherwise she would start acting really crazy.

"Why are Blake's parents not concerned about the fact that he was not home yet?" she asked herself.

Laura therefore drew the conclusion that she must (as usual), just be worrying for no reason.

When she checked the time on the clock on the wall in the lounge however, she realized that she did perhaps have cause for concern.

It was already half past eight and Blake really was not irresponsible. She decided to call his mother for advice after all.

"Okay, dear. Wait until at least half past nine and if you have not heard from him yet by then, please do call me again and we can decide what to do.

I hope that he'll be home soon, though," Mrs. Edwards advised.

***

Later on, Laura called Jared's home number for the third time since coming in from work and still there was no reply. "So, they could just be out together, but where are Jared's parents? Probably out as well," she decided.

The phone rang the moment she replaced the receiver.

It was Blake, as she had hoped. She was close to tears with relief. He seemed to be in a pretty elated mood.

On second thought, he sounded drunk. The realization struck Laura with horror.

This was definitely not a situation that she was going to be able to handle. She never knew what to do when anyone was intoxicated, least of all, Blake.

It had happened twice before, but that was before his studies and before they got married.

"Yes hello, darling. I'm here with Jerry… dear, you hear?" Blake slurred into Laura's ear and she closed her eyes with distaste.

"How could he?" she asked herself in despair.

"Well where are you, Laurie baby?" he continued.

"I think I'm talking to someone here?"

"Yes I'm listening," Laura replied through clenched jaws.

"Blake just come home okay," she begged in a tone of despair.

She was beginning to cry and it would serve no good, she knew. Not when dealing with a drunken person, she thought angrily as she replaced the receiver.

She had laid Monique down in her cot earlier.

Right now, the knowledge that her baby was contentedly settled down made Laura experience a comfortable sense of fulfilment.

This was in spite of her sad situation.

So, she returned to her seat in front of the television set and resumed her waiting.

On one side of her mind, she knew that it would make more sense to take a bath and wash her hair. It was better to be getting ready for bed, but on the other side of her mind, she felt that it was better to just remain seated.

Preparing for bed was an activity which always made her feel so much better when she was feeling down and had to prepare for the following workday.

However, tonight she could not summon up the courage to go to the bathroom.

She was going to be late for work tomorrow, she just knew it.

***

When Laura awoke with a start a while later, she realized that she was exhausted, but she simply had to go and prepare herself for going to work tomorrow.

She went to the kitchen to clean Monique's baby bottles and prepare her milk for the following day.

Then she glanced at the clock and her mouth hung open in shock. It was two o' clock in the morning!

Laura had dozed off for much longer than she had thought. "Where on earth is Blake?" she wondered, scratching her head.

She now regretted not having spoken to him for long enough to determine where he was.

This left her feeling really worried. "Perhaps Blake is so drunk that he had to sleep over for the night, wherever he found himself.

He is not at Jared's family home. That's for sure.

He was with Jared though, as he had said himself.

It was strange though, that there were no partying sounds coming from the background while he spoke. Not even plain loud music.

Are they at another friend's place perhaps?" she wondered.

"What could possibly have happened to cause Blake to act so strangely? It's so very unlike him."

For the first time in a very long while, Laura decided to call her friend and ex-boyfriend, Rene. He had told her to feel free to call him at any time and any place, if she ever needed him.

Laura was very afraid and stressed out about her circumstances now and therefore she knew that this was the right thing to do. She really needed a friend at this moment and she inwardly prayed that Rene would be home.

***

Rene Shaw was on the phone speaking to his friend Ike, who was in London. Rene was working on material for a new music album and he frequently held meetings with the members of his rock band called 'Golden Angels'. He did this in order to keep in touch with them and to keep up the team spirit.

He would discuss his feelings concerning the music he was currently working on, while the rest of the band were on an annual three month vacation.

Today he only had to speak to Ike, the band's flamboyant drummer.

The reports that Rene read in the tabloid newspapers lately, were just not good for the band's image and Ike knew it.

It was time to give him a good hard talk.