In Between

Chapter 2: Like Nothing Ever Happened

Sun cascades through the thin, yellow shades filling the room with warmth. A slight breeze sweeps through the large windows behind me, tickling my eyelids open. As much as I'd like to stay asleep under my cozy, leaf green comforter, the smell of sizzling bacon urges me to awaken. He must be cooking. The sunflower carpet feels soft beneath my feet as I roll out of bed.

My eyes are still half closed as I slip my feet into my cushy slippers and head towards my dresser. I feel the silk of my favorite blue nightgown and throw it over my head. The emerald green of the walls bounce off of my vanity mirror as I catch a glimpse of my morning self. I need a shower, jeeze. Grabbing a used makeup wipe, I attempt to clean yesterday's makeup off of my caramel skin. I'm a fucking mess. Look at your hair! My long, black hair looks like a ball hanging off of my head. My solution was to simply throw it in a bun atop my head, hiding the mess with a blue scrunchie.

The scent of bacon grows stronger as I make my way into the dark hall. It's so dark that I can barely see the bathroom door to my right. We should really brighten this hallway up, maybe add some pictures or something. The wood steps creak underneath me as I head downstairs where I can hear him shuffling through the fridge. I reach the bottom of the stairs and turn the corner into the kitchen where his butt is sticking out past the open, white door; the rest of him illuminated by the crappy light bulb inside. His patched pajama pants wiggle as he searches for something deep inside of the refrigerator. What a bubble butt.

"Morning!" I chipper. He closes the fridge door, coffee creamer in his hand.
"Good morning, my love. How did you sleep?" His voice is still grungy from waking.
"Eh, you got coffee going? I could use some, it was a late night."
"I do and I agree. Way too much to drink last night. Wanna grab us mugs?" He chuckles. I walk further into the kitchen and reach for the wood cabinet above the island. The kitchen is outdated, but it could be worse for wear. I grab our daily "his" and "hers" mugs and begin pouring us each coffee while he places the creamer on the counter and softly places his kisses on my cheek. "I love you." He whispers. I responded, "I love you too." As I pull the clear sugar container closer across the light, faux marble countertop, toast pops up from the toaster nearby. "Two sugars?" I ask despite the fact that I know that's how he likes his coffee. "You know me so well." He looks up from buttering the toast, "shit, the bacon!" He moves so quickly that I flinch. He didn't notice, but I feel anxiety climb out of my chest. The bacon was starting to burn, that's all. After making my coffee just how I like it, I bring it over to the dining table on the other side of the island. The kitchen and dining area are basically one big room, the stairs to the second floor lead you directly into the dining area. The living room is to the right of them, just a couple of stairs down from here. There's not much separation between the areas of the house. There is, however, a door that sits just before the stairs to the living room that leads to the basement where I do laundry. The front door is snug against the stairs going up leaving very little room for entry. That's why we prefer to use the sliding door to the back porch.

I set the small, cheap wood table for breakfast. There's a lot of wood in this house, not enough color; you can tell I didn't choose the furniture or decor down here. We eat breakfast together in silence; all of his attention is locked into his phone. I don't complain, though. The silence can be kind of nice. I don't really have anything of interest on my phone. Instead, I scan my surroundings. Our living room is so prim and proper. It's almost as if no one lives here. The deep blue couches have no rips or tears. The white carpet has no stains. The entertainment center is spotless and the bookshelves have not a speck of dust. He always says a clean home is a safe home. He breaks the silence, "Brent is having a fire at his place tonight. Let's shower and you can do the dishes while I grab some drinks for tonight." Great, another night out. I put a smile on my face, "sure thing."