Happy ever ... after

Chapter 20

If someone had told Emily that she seemed happier than usual, she would probably have denied it. What she was feeling was not joy. No, she was relieved. She had managed to break off her relationship with Olivier without hurting him too much, at least, that's what she thought. She did feel somewhat bad; after all, he had helped her progress in her life, and she was grateful to him for that.

What gave her inner peace was that she had found her answers. After weeks of uncertainty, of oscillation between different possibilities, she had made a choice. She had found within herself strength and determination, and she had followed through with her decision. She was proud of herself. She had finally come to believe that her monster, so often destructive, had proved itself creative. She could learn from this and adopt the monster as a robust alarm system.

It was a serene, free and independent woman that returned home after talking to Olivier for the last time.

She went to knock on her neighbour's door and was surprised to find it was Martha who opened it. The old woman was supposed to be resting. The news was good, Martha was feeling much better. Her first set test results were positive, but she still had an appointment later in the week at the hospital. She seemed confident about it though. She then asked Emily to wait and went back inside. After a few seconds, she returned with a bottle of Chardonnay, Emily's favourite. The little note attached to it thanked her for her help on Sunday evening. The card was signed Martha, but she knew from the handwriting who it came from. She thanked her in turn and said there was no need for the bottle, but Martha dismissed her objection. As if reading her mind, she explained that Matt had just popped out to the shop and would be back shortly if she wanted to wait.

Having experienced enough emotion for one evening, Emily wished her neighbour a good night after expressing her pleasure at seeing her on her feet so soon.

She entered her apartment with renewed happiness. Tonight, more than ever before, it felt it was her place, her home. She was going to relax in hot bubbles, but caught sight of herself in the mirror and stopped right in front of it. She was naked and usually didn't enjoy looking at herself. But this was different. She was drawn into observing her own body. It had not changed much recently, but she had. She stood upright and in a firm voice, asserted to her refection, 'I was raped. I was twenty-two years old, and I was raped. I am now thirty, and I am alive and well.'

As a result, she received an instant hit of energy, intense and boundless. She put on her dressing gown and went to the sofa with her book. The earlier need for a bath had vanished.

***

She woke up early, with a spring in her step. Even the situation at work couldn't sap her energy. She opened the door to leave and saw Matt doing the same.

'Oh!' he said, sounding surprised. 'Morning, Emily, how are you?'

'Hello, Matt, great. Thanks for the wine, it's very generous.'

'No, it's me who must thank you, it was kind of you to help with my mother on Sunday. It wasn't the quiet evening we had planned!'

'How is she?'

'Much better. She told me you popped in yesterday, thank you for checking on her.'

'No worries, it was good to see her. Oh, and I wanted to say thank you for the concert tickets, too... I know it was you.'

Was he blushing? No, it must just be the lighting, she thought to herself.

'Ah, yes. Actually, I must confess something to you about that.'

She wanted to know what he was going to say, but at the same time, she was worried about being late for work. As much as she could have spent the whole day chatting with Matt, she still had to go to the office.