Celestial Worlds

Chapter Nineteen

I wake up, my eyes dry and swollen.

    I wash my face and change into jeans and a tank top.

    I’m going to Eisenhower.

    When I go down, I see Debby busying herself with the phone and there goes the instinct that my eyes still have, excluding the fact that he, Jonathan Anderson, made them cry. They’re that stupid. I see him, on the couch, not sprawled like usual but sat quite formally. With his hands at his sides and hair tousled in every direction. My hands ache to run through them. Just looking at him hurts.

    Debby sees me and mouths “Are you going somewhere?”

    I nod and give a small smile.

    Have fun, she mouths. 

    And I’m off.

The moment I arrive at Eisenhower, the gates are tall and intimidating. The guard manipulating the gate turns his grumpy and beaten face at us.

    “Sorry, residents without stickers cannot be permitted to go inside,” he says glumly. He turns back to his computer, completely ignoring us.

    I clear my throat. “I’m…not a resident. I’m a visitor. Here to see Daniel Miller,” I announce with authority lingering in my tone. He looks unconcerned at me and turns to type something back on his computer.

    “Please wait while I make a call,” he says blankly, reaching for a telephone and quickly dialling a number. The receiver picks up and the guard engages in conversation.

    “Good day Mr. Miller, there is someone here at the gate to see you. Yes, yes. Sector 5. Yes. Oh, okay wait,” he stops turn to me and says, “Ms…?”

    “Ms. Victoria. Royce.” I say with faint enthusiasm. The guard turns back to the phone and makes his tone business like. He keeps on saying yes and of course.

    He turns to me reluctantly and pulls on the lever of the gate. He tips his head at the direction gesturing for us to go but not before he says, “Mr. Miller is at Maple street, 67th house,” he says this time. Then for the first time in five minutes, he smiles a warm smile. I wonder what Daniel told him.

    We turn a left at Maple and look for the 67th house. We pass 59, 61, 63, 65, then 67th. The house is huge, bigger than Debby’s. This house is antique and sentimental compare to Debby’s which are white and black and silver that looks robotic and still. Here, the house is full of wood, marble and antique statues outside the door. The plants are well treated and grown significantly, bursting more colour to the lively house. The windowsills are black and curtained red from the inside. There’s a gate before the front door so I click on the doorbell. And there emerges a newly showered, newly dresses, Daniel. He approaches the gate while running a vigorous hand over his hair, scattering droplets of water around. He laughs nervously and excitedly at the same time.

    He reaches for the gate lock and fumbles with it while saying, “I had to take a shower, didn’t know you were coming over.” He laughs and opens the door widely, gesturing me to come in. I smell his scent again, vanilla and soap and this time, shampoo. His shampoo is like the one in the commercials with the mint and spearmint scent. The one with the anti-dandruff thing. I wait for him to close the gate and we head inside the door and I’m shocked by what I see. The house is practically screaming the word colour. The walls are painted sun yellow and the floors are carpeted red. The fireplace is decorated with green and red socks hung probably from last winter. The fridge has magnets, tons and tons of magnets. Macau, Boston, New York, Alaska, Hawaii, and other block magnets. There are some notes there, held too by magnet. The counters neat and the dishes clean, colourful and clean. This is a win-win.