Something woke her, an unfamiliar noise. It sounded like the slamming of a door, and it sounded very close.But, that couldn’t be right, her bedroom had sliding doors, and this wasn’t a noise she’d ever heard in her home. Struggling to open her eyes at the alarm of the noise, she quickly closed them again – they hurt! The light, the bright light, sent daggers into her head, and she took a deep breath with the relief that returned with darkness. Where was this light coming from?
It was sunlight, bright sunlight; almost like she was sitting on a beach without sunglasses.Lying still, and searching her mind, she tried to recall the most recent events in her life – it wasn’t working. Her head hurt, her body hurt, she was dying of thirst, her mouth tasted like an old dirty sock and she needed to pee.All of these, along with the glaring light were making thinking impossible.
Rolling over, she slowly brought her head up and managed to open sore, bloodshot eyes. She was staring at a rumpled pillow covered by a flowered pillowcase, and flanked by a matching bedspread. This wasn’t something she remembered and not something she’d ever seen before - at least she didn’t think so.
Somehow managing to get eyes fully open, she turned back over and surveyed her surroundings; nothing looked familiar. She was on a bed, a large bed, and evidently in a motel/hotel room - based upon the furniture her eyes could focus on. Sitting on the edge of the bed and putting her feet on the floor, she glanced around the room searching for a door – there were two. One was in the corner of the room and partially open, it must be a bathroom. Using the bed and furniture for support, she stumbled into the small bathroom and leaned against the sink. That’s when she realized she was fully dressed, except for shoes – which was odd.
Sitting on the commode, things slowly began to come back to her cloudy mind. She had been at the Country Club drinking with her husband, Roger. They argued and she left, taking the car and leaving him to find his own way home. Mad at Roger, and not ready to end the evening, she stopped at the VFW to have another drink and visit with friends. The place was crowded, and she recalled sitting at the bar – visiting with John, C.P., Travis and some other people.
But then what?
What happened then? She didn’t recall driving home and she didn’t remember seeing Roger again. She couldn’t remember anything past sitting at the VFW and visiting with friends. And, where was she now? This definitely wasn’t home!
Finished, she cupped her hands and used the sink faucet to get a drink – it was refreshing, but didn’t do much for the terrible taste in her mouth. She wasn’t sure why she was so thirsty, but it could be the whiskey. She’d definitely had her share last night, that part she did remember! Too much whiskey she told herself, shaking her head trying to remove the hangover cobwebs. Her senses were slowly returning, and she rubbed sore eyes using the remaining dampness on her hands – trying not to smear make-up, assuming any remained.
But, the odor of perfume caught her nose, and she casually glanced around the small bathroom for its source – there was none. A pleasant fragrance, but definitely not one she used or had smelled before. A woman, a woman other than her, had recently used this bathroom and left the lingering aroma of her perfume behind. Wonder who?
Standing in front of the mirror, she checked her clothes and body – everything seemed to be in order except for the large red mark under her right eye. It was just a bruise, the skin wasn’t broken and, like everything else that had occurred over the past few hours, she had no idea where it came from. With that thought, she glanced at her watch, it was still on her wrist where it should be. Through blurry, but clearing eyes she read 10:45, and based upon the bright sunlight coming in the room, it must be AM.
