Home at Last

Chapter 1: Miles Apart

Vera sat on the red sofa in her hotel suite, tapping her fingers on the end table while some Lacrosse game played on the television in front of her. She'd been away from her husband, Renn, and kids, Gytta and Fynn. She missed their smiles, Renn's warm hugs when she was having 'one of those days'.

   Vera cracked her knuckles before standing up from the sofa and walking outside to her balcony, feeling the cool Toronto air hit her face as the wind blew. She looked down at her plants, the cabbages she grew herself. Taking pride in her work, she watered her plants before taking a seat on the balcony. Looking over the city, she wondered why she took this project, she remembered Renn saying "it would be fine, I'll miss you but you can come see me or I can come see you!", how she wished her husband had been correct.

   Before she could give it another thought, she heard a knock at her hotel door "Room service!" A foreign lady's voice called. "Coming!" Vera called back. She opened the door to see a average height woman with winged eyeliner and dressed head to toe in mostly dark colored clothes with an apron on over them. "Sorry to bother you ma'am" she said, "I have to clean the suite once a week, just take a look around and be sure it's all tidy. And to bring you new sheets" Vera sighed and opened the door wider gesturing for her to come in, "come on in, I think I'm gonna head out. I need some air, and I'm sure you'd rather have some privacy" the woman looked at her with a warm smile and pulled the cleaning cart piled with fresh sheets and various cleaning supplies through the door behind her "I'm Stephanie, I've seen your stay will be long, so we might as well be on a first name basis" "I'm Vera, it's very nice to meet you dear." Vera patted her shoulder and smiled before grabbing her purse and walking out into the empty space outside her room, she pushed the elevator button and waited patiently for it to take her down to the ground.  She thought about Stephanie and how she was the closest thing she had to a friend here, no other moment had she ever felt so alone.