Good morning everyone. I hope you had a fabulous weekend. We had a nice warm and breezy weekend. Perfect for spring cleaning and opening all of the windows up. we aired out the entire house and it feels like the cobwebs have even been blown out of my mind. It is quite nice actually. I love the first big clean out of Spring. It feels like waking up after a long nap. So now that I am fully awake and spring recharged, let’s jump into the morning writing prompt.
We;; that was not what i expected. i didn’t actually know what i expected, but that wasn’t exactly it…a good jumping off place though. I may have to circle back.
Monday, March 27th: There was no note.
There was no note. Denise looked for it, so certain there would be one. She knew things had been rocky lately and she had begun making a list in her head of things they needed to talk about, things they needed to discuss to smooth things over, to settle them down.
To make everything right again.
She was planning this weekend since it was a long weekend. Both of them had Friday and Monday off. There would four entire days where neither of them had any commitments. No appointments no requirements on their time. She figured surely there would be some time in there that they could sit down and talk things through. She even planned a big meal. Something special so they would both put their phones down and pay attention rather than grabbing something quick.
She stopped at the store on the way home from work Wednesday evening. She wanted everything already at the house so that Thursday when the day ended she could get home and start dinner. Have everything ready and prepared.
She hoped they could clear things up by dinner’s end and then have the weekend free to relax with each other. But when she arrived back at their apartment with the groceries, she found things changed. All of his things were gone, his closet emptied, his toiletries and furniture even missing from the apartment.
In the kitchen she even found that he took the time to take the few kitchen implements that he brought with him. She stared at the kitchen when she saw that he took the time to take his one chef knife, two wooden spoons and salt and pepper shakers.
The groceries she bought were still on the counter. She brought groceries to make a meal so they could talk and he searched out his wooden spoons to take with him yet couldn’t leave a note.
‘It’s not even an expensive chef’s knife,’ she thought. She remembered him picking it up for less than $10 at the store before they moved in together. After they moved in together he only went into the kitchen to take things from the fridge and she did all of the cooking. She used her knives and his sat in the drawer.
‘Until it was time for him to leave.’
Somehow the thought of that knife and of him taking it bothered her. It was his, she didn’t deny that. She didn’t have a problem with him taking what was his. It was the fact that in her mind she could see him moving methodically room to room gathering his possessions and taking the time to open and look in every kitchen cabinet and drawer before he left that bothered her.
‘Without even bothering to leave a note.’
Denise shook her head and put the groceries in the fridge. She was refolding the reusable bags when there was a knock on the door. Thinking maybe he might have realized he didn’t leave a note and sent one back, Denise walked to the door.
“Oh Mr. Stebbins,” Denise said as she opened it. She wasn’t expecting to see her landlord.
“Good evening, I hope I am not interrupting anything?”
“No,” she said.
“Good,” he said. “I just wanted you to know I talked to Jeremy. He told me you two were leaving. He gave me the full rent for the month which is when your lease expires and told me that you would give me the dates of when you would be leaving. If you could just let me know when I can bring people through to look at the apartment I would appreciate it.”
Ten til Midnight 