Future Days

With Or Without The Mask?

My eyes fluttered open, squinting at the glow of the morning light that filled the unfamiliar room. My body was submerged and tangled in a sea of plush blankets and silky soft sheets. I stretched out the best night sleep I've probably ever gotten when it dawned on me I was alone in the immense king sized bed.

I sat up seeing my clothes clean and neatly folded on the corner of the bed. Oh yeah. I'm still in a bathrobe. I grabbed my clothes and wandered into the bathroom to change into my clean and fresh smelling band tee and tucked it into my shorts. I brushed my teeth with the complimentary toiletries the hotel had left on the marble counter tops in the bathroom.

I studied myself in the mirror for a moment. For once I didn't see a haggard sea witch in the mirror in front of me. I see a well rested, and clean sea witch. The bags that have found a home under my eyes seem to have left on vacation for the night and I didn't completely hate the way I looked. Not completely.

I reached into my always faithful Jansport backpack and pulled out my green and yellow flannel and threw it on over my outfit.

Finally I hear Eddie talking. I walked up to the open patio doors the led to the balcony that looked over Seattle's nicest park. Eddie sat on a white iron chair with his legs crossed looking out towards the park with a mug of coffee in one hand and his phone pressed to his ear in the other.

"Yes, Id like it all delivered by this evening. Whatever you have to do to get it done. Thank you." Eddie spoke with authority into his phone. He hadn't yet noticed my presence and I was talking the opportunity to study every inch of him and drink in every one of his handsome features. Rooster, who was laying at his feet, noticed me first and jumped up rushing over to greet me with morning kisses.

"Good morning sweet boy!" I ruffled his fur and kissed him on his snout.

Eddie stood to greet me. "How did you sleep? Rooster and I woke up and went for a walk to the cafe around the corner this morning to get breakfast." He reached over the table revealing three dishes of breakfast foods that were each under their own stainless steal covers keeping warm. "I hope you're hungry, sweetheart." He smiled at me that classic Vedder smile and my insides melted.

"Famished." I beamed back at him.

"Who's the third plate for? Is your girlfriend joining us for breakfast?" Smooth, Sydney. Real smooth.

Eddie sputtered into his coffee mug, almost spitting it out and spilling. "No girlfriend, Syd. Rooster informed me he was also hungry so I got him his own plate." He answered matter of factly before grabbing a plate and placing it on the ground for him to eat.

I giggled at Rooster gobbling up his food like it would surly disappear before he could finish.

"I love that sound." Eddie voiced, breaking my attention on the ill mannered pup.

"What sound? A hungry hungry hippo?" I giggled again covering my mouth with my hand.

"Your laugh, Syd. It's quickly becoming one of my favorite things. Can I ask you something?"

I was staring at him awestruck at how kind he was being. "Uhm..Thank you, Eddie." I can feel the blush on my cheeks. "What do you want to ask?"

"Why do you cover your smile when you laugh?"

"Oh..Uhm. I don't know. Habit?" I shrugged it off not wanting to get to the root of all my issues before breakfast.

"We're going to break you of that. That smile could change the world, love. It's certainly changing mine." Eddie reaches over to me, gently tugging at my hand that I had subconsciously held over my mouth revealing my shy smile I was hiding underneath.