Learning How to Bend

NaNo - Day 1 (What are chapter titles?)

My windchime ringtone woke me from my nightmare. Normally, I hated the buzzing and blaring which signaled to me it was time to get up and start the day, but today...today, I welcomed it like it was a trumpet heralding an army of angels coming to save the day. Sweat caused my thin cotton t-shirt to cling to my chest and abdomen as though it were part of my skin, not separate. Taking a few breaths to try to calm my pounding heart, I ran my fingers through my hair once before pressing the button on my old-fashioned flip phone to answer the call.

"Hello?"

"Did I wake you?"

"Maybe." I sighed, hoping my voice didn't sound as shaky to Joey as it did in my own ears. "What's up, Joe?"

"Are you coming to the company barbecue this afternoon? You promised you would. Katherine's been talking about it the past eight days. If you don't take a cab here, I swear I'll drive over there and drag you there myself."

"You hate driving."

"That should tell you how serious I am about you being there."

"Usually I'm not exactly the type to attend social gatherings. Of any sort."

"You don't think I figured that out when you were eight years old?"

"Maybe." I stifled a smile. "What time does it start again?"

"Three o'clock. I tried really hard to put this whole thing together—well, the parts I handled, anyway—and I want to share it with you. After all, you're the one that keeps me sane at Andino."

"I thought that was Kat's job."

"Kat ensures I stay insane." Joe's voice raised in both volume and pitch, which meant he wanted his wife to hear what he was saying.

"Not true!" That came from Kat, almost indistinguishable in the background, but I knew her well enough to decipher what she said.

Joe chuckled before turning his attention back to me. "Come on, please? You helped plan this thing, too. Practically rented out the whole park."

"I just knew the right people." I shrugged, reaching down to the bottom of the bed where my golden retriever, Chelise, usually slept. Scratching behind her ear, I had to hold back a small giggle of my own as she stood up and lied down beside my criss-crossed legs with her head in my lap. "You're lucky I care about you."

"Is that a yes? You'll be there?" There was excitement in his voice.

"Yes, it's a yes. But you better not make some speech about me or something like that. I don't want any 'thanks for doing this, Lily," or 'we couldn't have done this without you, Lily,' or some plastic award I'll just throw away because I can't read what it says on it anyway."

Joe snapped his fingers. "Darn, you've foiled my whole plan!"

"I'll see you later." I did not give him the opportunity to answer; instead, I simply flipped the phone closed and put the phone back on the nightstand to the left of my queen-sized bed. Leaning over, I pressed a button on the alarm clock, and it announced the time aloud in a robotic, syncopated tone.

7:12AM.

Flipping the sheets off my bare legs, I wandered to the kitchen with Chelise happily trotting by my side. Opening the pantry door, I leaned down and popped open the lid to her food container, at which point I heard her skid on the wood floor to her bowl. I put my hand into the container only to find the measuring cup missing.

I clicked. It was not a loud sound, just a simple cluck of my tongue, but it displayed the contents of the bottom shelf with silhouetted clarity. Echolocation was a skill an absolutely incredible therapist had taught me in my youth. It allowed me to live mostly in independence, with the exception of the occasional check-in from Joe and using Chelise when I really needed her out in public. She was more to me than just my guide dog; the retriever was also my emotional support animal. She kept my anxiety manageable, and sometimes Chelise would wake me from my nightmares if I thrashed around too much.