“Are you okay?” Bernice leaned in. “You don’t look so good.”
“I’m just.” She leaned against the car for support. “I didn’t eat yesterday. I just need some coffee.” She blinked away the stars in her vision and started for the house. Suddenly the cold air felt good against her skin.
“Wait..” Bernice called after her but it was like white noise in Carolina’s ears.
She had to keep walking. She had to escape while she could.
She quickly unlocked the front door and stepped inside.
The water in the pot had grown deeper, but she couldn’t worry about that right now. She needed to sit down first.
She collapsed on the couch and thought she saw a cloud of dust rise out of the cushions.
She put her head in her hands and took some deep breaths. Her vision slowly cleared.
She smelled the familiar and very welcoming aroma of freshly-made coffee. Her spirits lifted slightly. Thankfully she’d had the coffee set before she went to sleep last night. It was a habit she had yet to break.
She stood and walked into the kitchen to fix a cup of coffee in the broken mug.
Adding some milk to the coffee she went out onto the back deck. Leaves were scattered about but the wrought iron furniture looked to be in good shape. She scraped some leaves off an orange cushion and settled into the chair.
Sipping on her coffee she tried to force her mind to go blank. For once she didn’t want to think about her problems and her future. She just wanted to be okay.
She closed her eyes and sat in the silence until the cold was too much to bear.
Shivering, she went back inside and looked for her phone.
She dialed her attorney’s office and was immediately put on hold. When the secretary, Jennifer, came back on, Carolina explained her situation with the lake house. The secretary assured her that she would pass on the information once her attorney was back in the office after court.
Feeling a bit defeated, Carolina slumped down on the dusty couch and sighed.
The house smelled.
She lifted her arm and sniffed.
She smelled too.
She stood and wandered into the bathroom. In the tiny linen closet she found some towels and washcloths but they were pretty worn out. She also found a half-used bottle of shampoo underneath the sink and a sliver of soap.
First things first.
She needed to shower and get a fresh change of clothes on.
Carolina headed out to her car and brought in the rest of her things stuffed in pillowcases and sheets.
She quickly pulled out some jeans, sneakers, and a long sleeve T-shirt. She left her phone on the bathroom sink and turned the volume all the way up in case her attorney called while she was in the shower.
Turning on the faucet, she made sure the water was hot before jumping in. When the temperature was right, she got in and let the water run over her while she attempted to scrub her troubles away.
By the time she got out, the water was cold.
She quickly toweled off and dressed.
She found a hair dryer in the drawer and plugged it in. She turned it on and aimed it at her head. It made a few grinding noises before blowing out some smelly blue sparks.
She quickly unplugged it and threw it in the garbage can and then waved her hand in the air to disburse the smoke.
Could anything else go wrong?
