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Her dress and shoes were on.
After Alex had retreated to his study, she petted Max for a while, the adorable dog wiggling his tail nonstop for ages. Then the early light came out, the sun peeking from the bottom of the closed blinds signaling the break of a new day.
The worst possible day.
The hand on the soft fur, bandaged, formed a fist on its own, her mind too focused on the rays reflected to notice the action. The sad thing was that the excruciating pain did not startle her. She was already feeling it on the inside. So when she left for the guest room to prepare and picked up the crimson gown, she only sighed at the red dot forming in the middle of her palm.
And now she waited.
The minutes rolled by tortuously slowly, Rose tapping impatiently at the satchel on her lap. The bed was made, the towel and everything else she had touched put away at exactly the same spot. It took some time to remember where it all went. And that was good. The usual trick; overstimulate the brain. Which included calculating the seconds between each number change on the clock once she was done with the clean-up.
It was exhausting, working so hard mentally, and she was on it for about an hour.
Just till I get home.
The wondrous salvation of the pills in the pouch under the bathroom sink boosted her energy.
6:59, only a minute left.
She got up, fixing her wrinkly tulle dress skirt, and readied her thump over the button of the Uber application.
Thirty seconds.
The warm fur covered her shoulders, buttons done one by one.
Three
Two
One
She unlocked the door, Max lying under the casing and hopping up as he saw her. He woofed, rolling his tongue out and raising his paw to her good hand. She would have awed at his cuteness, got down and played with him till he was too tired to stand. But in her state, she just patted his temple, walking by him.
The plan was simple. Call for a pickup. Apologize for the inconvenience to Alexander and thank him immensely for the chivalrous gesture. Linger by the road for the car.
Fix your face!
Fake smiling and false cheerfulness.
"Just till I get home." She whispered.
There was no need for the automated lights anymore. The blinds from the main room were raised and natural light reached the long corridor. She halted at the narrow opening of the office door.
A deep breath.
She reviewed her inviting expression on a framed artwork, the reflection on the glass adequate. "Okay."
