I woke up to find Claudia still sound asleep beside me. She must have been exhausted from yesterday, so I quietly slipped out of bed and headed to the bathroom, careful not to disturb her. After freshening up, I went to the kitchen. Cooking didn't appeal to me, and I didn't want to rummage through her cabinets while she was still asleep, so I decided to order pancakes for us. I knew I'd have to wake her soon since we were heading to Seville, but I figured I could wait until breakfast arrived.
I closed the kitchen door softly, hoping it would muffle the noise, and started slicing oranges to make fresh juice. The juicer's loud whirring set my nerves on edge. I was sure it would wake her. It wasn't long before Claudia appeared in the doorway, causing me to let out a sigh.
"Good morning. The juicer woke you up, didn't it?" I asked, glancing over at her.
Claudia nodded, rubbing her eyes. "Yeah, but I needed to get up anyway," she shrugged, heading to the bathroom.
Her sleepy face reminded me how she liked to have her 15 minutes in the morning to ease into her day, so I let her be. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang, signaling that our pancakes had arrived. I was about to answer it when Claudia emerged from the bathroom, her skin glowing from her routine, looking like a glazed donut.
"You ordered something?" she asked softly, then added, "Shouldn't I get the door? What if—"
I shrugged. "They're not going to jump me. I'll be fine," I said, opening the door.
The delivery man handed me the food, his eyes scanning my face with a hint of recognition.
"Thank you. Have a great day," I said, smiling as I started to close the door.
