Home Safe

Stevo pulled up outside his house as quietly as he could. He couldn’t believe that it was almost 2:00am. He and Tom had left Travis’ BBQ mid afternoon, and the shout was a bad one; a bus and a truck had crashed head on outside Coffs. It had taken about 90 minutes to make the scene safe before they could even check for survivors. The bus and truck drives had both perished in the collision, and half of the passengers were trapped inside the mangled wreckage. By the time the last victim was released, there was a fleet of ambo’s waiting to ferry them into Coffs. Stevo and Tom didn’t even stop to change out of their bloodied uniforms. Tom was in a worst state than Stevo, he’s had to deal with a gusher, and his shirt was soaked in blood.

Stevo sighed as he dragged himself up onto the front porch and opened the door slowly. There was a dimmed light coming from the lounge room and he could see his mother sitting on one of the sofa’s. On hearing the door open, she turned slightly and smiled at her son.

“Sorry, mum; you didn’t need to wait up.”

“Hush,” Meri replied softly.

Stevo walked into the lounge room and stood behind his mother, stroking her hair, then he looked over her shoulder and smiled. Walking round to the front of the sofa, he squatted down in front of his mum and reached out to Jeff, who was fast asleep, his head in Meri’s lap.

“He gave up the ghost about an hour ago,” Mindi smiled, brushing the hair out of Jeff’s eyes. “He was determined to keep me company until you got back.”

“He’s been working so hard this week, I guess it finally caught up with him,” Stevo replied.

“Darling, you’re covered in blood!” Meri exclaimed when she took a good luck at her son.

“None of it’s mine, mum.”

“Get changed…right now,” Meri demanded, gently easing herself out from under Jeff’s head, trying not to wake him.

Stevo recognised that tone. When she said right now, she meant it, no time to go to the bathroom to change in private. He began to unbutton his shirt while she rushed out to the laundry room for a washing basket. He dropped to soiled shirt in the basket and started on his trousers, then allowed himself to be herded into the bathroom.

“Have a good shower, and I’ll get you a bite to eat.”

“One of your special hot chocolates would go down better than food right now, mum,” he said, kissing his mum and shooing her out of the bathroom.

Ten minutes later he was back in a comfortable faded pair of sweat pants and t-shirt. Meri kissed him as she made her way out to the kitchen. “Shall I make one for Jeff as well, or leave him to sleep?”

“Make him one please, mum. He’ll be awake in a tick,” Stevo smiled.

“Meanie,” Meri laughed, punching her son playfully on the arm. “Go sit down and wait for your drink.”

He walked over to the sofa and gently sat down by Jeff, raising his head to place it on his lap. He stroked Jeff’s hair and bent forward to kiss him softly. Jeff smiled in his sleep and stirred, making himself more comfortable.

Meri smiled at her two boys when she walked back from the kitchen with a tray containing three steaming mugs. “I thought you said he would be awake by the time I got back,” she grinned.

“Hand me a mug, mum,” Stevo winked. He moved the mug back and forth under Jeff’s nose and waited. Jeff’s nose began to twitch and he licked his lips. Slowly he opened one eye to investigate the rich chocolate aroma. The first thing that came into focus was Stevo.

“Seb! When did you get back?”

“About twenty minutes ago. Thanks for waiting up for me.”

“I conked out, what time is it?”

“2:30; mum’s made some hot choc.”

“Bonzer,” Jeff exclaimed, struggling to sit up. He kissed Meri as she handed him his mug, adding extra marshmallow and stirring it with a cinnamon stick. “Ta, mum,” he smiled up at her, before turning to Stevo and kissing him too. “Welcome home, Seb. Glad you’re safe.”