Glass Walls

Chapter 1

The maids come on Tuesday mornings, cleaning floors and polishing the walls where necessary. Though the glass isn't supposed to gather spots, it often does. Since the maids are over, Tuesdays are normally the days I go out. I slip off the white bikini from the night before and get dressed for the day. A black tank top and sports bra with white yoga pants should be fine. I have friends outside of the house, but I don't see them often. The normal routine is coffee, walk, and lunch. So, I follow the street down to the coffee shop and get my regular order, Mocha Frappuccino with whipped cream. Sitting in the coffee shop is relaxing. The window in the front looks over the street where people move back and forth on their way to work. I love watching the people, everyone has a story just as complex as the next. I find myself looking for hints as to what they do, I'll never know if my guesses are correct or not, and I'm pretty sure they rarely are, but this doesn't stop me. If a man wears a watch but checks his phone for the time, I quickly assume he doesn't dress often and is either: dressing for a job, or dressing for a date. The coffee shop is loud, and nobody seems to care about the other people in the room. If you listen you can pick up on conversations between two strangers or phone calls that are obviously one-sided. With enough time spent you can begin to piece together the people's days and lives. One phone call goes something like "-And I was in shock! I mean could you believe her? She just decided that just because she was teaching my kid that she had the RIGHT-" I tuned this call out, there wasn't much to that call other than a bad day. I left a tip for the barista and carried my drink down the street. Walking helps me clear my mind before I meet for my weekly lunch date with some of the girls from the yoga class. Some might find it odd that all of my friends are from a yoga class I don't go to, but for some reason they found me entertaining. They seem to enjoy my stories of home and the latest update on my relationships. I've never explained to them the situation of living in my mirrored oasis, I fear they'll find it too... invasive. Most people ask me if I need help, or ask me if I need somewhere else to stay. Everybody acts like I'm not happy where I am, or like I'm looking for a way out. But I can really blame them. Before I was used to the idea I was confused, and then a little frightened. At first glance the house doesn't look like much, the living room walls are solid on two sides and mirrored on the other two, but it's not until you enter the master suite that the mirrors become windows. The house was designed with an open living style, not many walls to begin with. But from the master suite, you can see through the backs of the mirrors, down the hallways, into the bedrooms, through the living room, and into the kitchen. It seemed odd at first. The house seemed open, but still confined. But the first time I saw through the walls, I was confused. I was told the man who built the house was an architect. He wanted to give a new meaning to "open living". The house was built as a livable art piece. Nobody understands that, after a while, I became used to the mirrored walls and transparent lifestyle and by the time I moved in I had begun to enjoy it. So, I never explain my living to the girls in the yoga class, and we always meet at a location in the city or one of their townhouses. Nobody needs to come to my house, nobody ever asks to.

Lunch goes as usual, just endless conversations and mundane stories of parties and people. By the time I returned home the maids had finished cleaning and had already left. Nick wasn't home from work yet, so I was alone in the house. I aimlessly walk through the house before finding one of the touch panels on the wall and turning on some light music. He prefers classical music or some other kind of relaxed and peaceful sound. But when there's no one else around I play more exited artist. Today's mix includes quite a few songs by Queen. After setting the music I walk to my room. The weather outside is a little hotter than I was expecting, I decide to change out of the active clothes in favor of an oversized white button up, which is more comfortable than the form-fitting clothes I was wearing before. Sliding the door to the pool back, I step out onto the deck and walk around the pool, watch the waves for a second, then turn to watch my reflection as I'm moving. I realize I never fixed my hair so it's still a little tangled from last night's swim, but all things considered, not too bad. I end up sitting in a chair beside the pool and close my eyes for what I thought was only a second.