to speak, forming his mouth around the letter A. It was no more than a whisper, and they strained to hear what he was trying to say.
The policewoman held his hand, rubbing her cheek against his, as she placed her ear over his mouth. Bob tried to speak again, but no sound would come out.
Reggie had never seen anything quite like this before, and watched as her skirt rode up, as she perched on his lap. Uncle Bob took a deep breath, trying to force the words out. The policewoman massaged his hand again, as he managed to mumble out something.
She then turned her head, looking equally as dazed.
“He said the word aliens!’
Two
The interview room was filled with an almost deafening silence, as a sense of disbelief numbed its occupants. Reggie’s mother sank down on one of the other chairs, wondering what she was going to say to her sister. Even the policewoman was at a loss. She had been in the Special Constabulary for several years, and although she had dealt with everything from a drunk to shop lifter, this was one thing they had never prepared her for. Studying a print-out of Bob’s naval record, she noticed all the commendations, everything pointed to a normal, sober, hard working individual. Perhaps it was pressure of work… or maybe there was trouble at home?
Being his sister-in-law, Reggie’s mother was able to reassure her that everything was fine, even though he had been found in this state wondering about in his underclothes.
Reggie leaned against the wall, as Bob spoke again, in a soft gentle voice.
"Aliens!"
The policewoman moved closer. She was being very comforting - too comforting for his mother's liking. She was slim and attractive with short dark hair, and big brown admiring eyes. Uncle Bob was quite a handsome man, with a good physique for someone the wrong side of forty. He was quite swarthy with rugged features that made her sister the envy of several ladies at the Scrabble club. She suspected that that was probably one of the main reasons why she had been accepted, although he had never given any of them the slightest bit of encouragement.
The desk sergeant suddenly entered the room with several mugs of tea on a rusting tray. The policewoman quickly moved away from Bob, blushing slightly as the sergeant gave her a disapproving look. They both left the room for a moment, holding a conversation on the other side of the door. Reggie tried to eavesdrop, but the only thing he learned was that her name was Heather.
Heather returned with the doctor, who gave Bob a brief examination.
"He's in shock, and seams to have several strange indentations on his body!"
The doctor nearly dropped his medical bag when Bob pointed to the ceiling, saying the word aliens again.
"Do you think he's ill?"
Reggie's mother looked concerned, but not as much as Heather, who appeared to be forming quite an attachment to him.
The doctor coughed, not wanting to say anything in front of his patient.
"I suggest that you take him home, and then arrange for him to see his own doctor."
The doctor began packing his things away, and they helped Bob on with his clothes, Reggie noticed one of the indentations on his arm; it formed a strange shape in his skin, a bit like an inoculation mark. He had one of them on his own arm from a recent TB jab that he had had to have at school, but it was not shaped anything like that.
Bob was soon dressed, and tottered around the room like he was on stilts. Heather was supporting him, as his mother slipped his arms into his coat. Reggie had never seen anyone in this state before, and wondered what he meant by aliens?
The journey back seemed to take forever, as the car splashed its way through the town’s puddled streets. His mother did not say anything, and when Reggie opened his mouth she gave him a withering look, so he closed it quickly before he got into any trouble. Bob was quiet too, although he did point upwards at the sky, mumbling the word aliens on more than one occasion.
When they finally pulled up outside Auntie Val's, his mother ordered him to stay in the car as she quickly escorted Bob inside. Reggie watched as the neighbours’ curtains parted, showing a chink of light, as Bob and his mother ran the gauntlet of peering eyes.
Reggie’s mother had only spent a few minutes inside, before Auntie Val arrived home in a taxi. Reggie looked at the clock on the dashboard; it showed 12.16am, which was a good hour past his normal bedtime. 12.18 and his mother reappeared, leaving her sister to try and make sense of the evening’s events.
It was not long before they were turning into their drive. Within about twenty minutes Reggie was tucked up in bed, with a stern warning from his mother not to mention anything to anyone. He must have gone straight to sleep, as the next thing he heard was the alarm, signalling morning. It was Friday, which meant he had to go to school. Fortunately it appeared to be dry, in contrast to Thursday, which had been a real washout.
Reggie was still getting ready upstairs, when he heard his mother talking to someone on the phone, but when he came down all went quiet. Breakfast had an uneasy feel about it, particularly when he asked his mother about his uncle. She frowned, ushering him out of the door without much of an answer, only a reminder not to mention anything again.
School was boring as usual, and he found himself staring out of the window during his first lesson. The teacher spotted him, and made one of her usual sarcastic remarks.
"Looking for aliens are we?"
Everyone laughed and Reggie’s face went bright red, as he wondered if she knew anything, or was just trying to belittle him as usual. He decided to rise above it - Miss Jennings smelt of cheap coffee, and he did not want her to come to near, as it always made him feel sick. The bell suddenly rang, much to his relief - only another five hours before he could go home.
The rest of the day was extremely tedious and dragged on relentlessly slowly. He could hardly wait to get home to find out how his uncle was. It had started raining again, which reminded him of yesterday, although hopefully he would not end up back at the police station!
"Reggie is that you?"
His mother heard the front door close, as he dropped his school bag down by the coat stand. They lived in a typical thirties semi, and were fortunate to have a large hallway. He really liked his house and was particularly fond of the leaded glass, which formed a sunburst picture in the panel at the top of the door. His father had just finished decorating and everything looked bright and cheerful, apart that was from the atmosphere!
"Yes.”
Reggie called back, as he placed his coat on the stand.
“How's Uncle Bob?"
The lounge door suddenly opened to reveal his mother’s panicked face.
"Ssh, Val's here!"
From the tone of her voice he could tell there was something wrong.
His mother closed the door behind her whispering.
"Val's thrown him out!"
Reggie could not believe it; Uncle Bob had always been so kind to her, and it could not have been easy putting up with her social climbing or her snooty friends.
The sound of sobbing came from the lounge, as Auntie Val broke down.
"The shame of it, wandering about in his underclothes, whatever will Mrs Featherstone think?"
She was clearly more interested in public opinion than she was about her husband. He loved his uncle Bob, but did not think much of his aunt, particularly since she had started putting on a false accent.
"Where's he gone?"
Reggie was very concerned, although deep down he was quite glad that his uncle would finally get a bit of peace. Val used to nag him constantly, always wanting this and that in an effort to keep up with her social climbing friends.
"To the shop, I think he's staying there for a few days."
Reggie felt reassured, and it was not long before he had changed out of his school uniform and was on his bicycle, riding down the high street.
When he arrived the grill shutters were down, so he decided to go round the back. There was a passageway down the side, which led to the small delivery lane, running beh
ind the parade of shops. Fortunately the gate was open so he guided his bicycle into the yard, propping it up against the wall.
Normally he would have knocked on the door, but he thought that his uncle might be resting, and he did not want to disturb him. There was a light on inside though, so he climbed up onto a dustbin to look through the narrow window. The back room was quite big, filled with a multitude of tools, and several items that were in for repair.
It was just as well that he did, as Bob was not alone. Heather the policewoman was inside, and they were talking. The window was slightly ajar and Reggie was just able to listen to their conversation.
"I'm sorry, but I had to take you in to the station last night - you don’t know what a stickler my sergeant is!"
Bob nodded. He seemed a little better, although he was clearly not his normal self.
"You gave me quite a shock last night, suddenly walking out in front of the area car like that!"
“I’m sorry.”
He apologised, still looking a little dazed.
Heather was standing facing the window, but she had not noticed Reggie, being far more interested in his uncle. She was out of uniform, wearing a provocative little jumper that showed off her ample cleavage!
"My wife's thrown me out!"
Bob looked stunned.
Heather’s whole face lit up and she was clearly delighted with the news.
"I don't think she realises just what she's missing!"
Reggie could sense that there was something developing between them, and that maybe this was more than just a courtesy call. He had been