Good morning one and all. It feels very good to be home again. I loved the trip, but it was nice to sleep in my own bed. Especially since I made sure thy had fresh sheets before we left. I love the feel of freshly washed sheets. There is something about the complete lack of wrinkles or creasing that just sends delicious shivers up my spine. So now that we are back to the regular work week, shall we see what our first prompt brings us? Time to wiggle those fingers and stretch those brains. And we are off!
Okay I like this. I don’t know what her ex has in store but it is nothing good. I like Petra through. she needs a story. Especially once i figure out what curve ball gets thrown her way.
Monday, November 28th: It felt like a first date.
It felt like a first date. ‘Which is absurd,’ she thought. Still she could feel the nervous butterflies starting a tentative dance as she slipped her earrings into her ears and reached for her necklace.
“It isn’t a date,” she told her reflection as she lifted the necklace from it’s case and slipped it around her neck. She saw the stones in the pendant catch the light and after it was fastened she touched them. She hadn’t meant to pick out this necklace. In fact she was certain she chose another one to wear.
She let her fingers flutter away.
‘The necklace goes with the dress,’ she decided.
It was the first piece of jewelry she ever bought herself. Alex was fond of buying her jewelry when they were married. When they were first married she considered them tokens of affection. Soon they turned to apologies for missing important dinners and forgetting events like anniversaries and birthdays. Later they became apologies for other things. She still thought they were for forgetfulness and minor mishaps. She learned only later that they were to assuage his guilt for cheating on her. Looking back, all the way back, even to the simple tokens. She found out they had always been apologies for his affairs, she just hadn’t known.
None of the jewelry Alex bought her was for her taste. She accepted them as tokens from him but after wearing them once to show the apology was accepted, she loekd them away. Keeoing them safe she called it.
After the divorce, the final recriminations and the official end. She took all of them to the jeweler and sold them back wanting nothing more than to never see any of them again. While there she spotted a necklace she liked, this necklace and purchased it, finally getting something she liked.
Petra was never sure if she intended a statement by it or not. Mostly she just liked the necklace.
But now Alex had called. Requested a dinner. He sounded eager, anticipatory. Perhaps that was why she felt the butterflies of a first date stirring. He had the same tone she remembered from long ago.
There was nothing connecting them now. They had no children, something she tried during their marriage to remedy and something she found out was impossible in the divorce. He had a vasectomy three weeks before their wedding and decided it was best not to tell her. In the divorce she took a lump settlement, not wanting to deal with him every month. The property was divided, assets split and they were no longer connected. It had been three years since their last conversation.
Petra slipped on her shoes and looked herself over in the full length mirror. She looked good, she decided. Well turned out as her mother would have said, but not like she was trying too hard. She decided the look would stand, necklace and all.
She picked up her purse and checked she had all of the necessities. When she was certain it contained everything she needed for the night, she snapped it shut and headed for the door. She arrived at the door just as the taxi was pulling up. Petra made certain her door was locked and went to see what Alex could want after so long without a word.
The restaurant was the same one where they spent the anniversaries Alex remembered. There were few of them all told, only a handful for the eighteen years they were married, but still the place was familiar enough that she still thought of it as their place. And there was Alex, sitting in the same seat at the same table he always requested.
Ten til Midnight 