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This was a technique she’d learned in therapy—living in the present—and while it was a real effort sometimes, it often saved her sanity.
Live in the present, Melli told herself again. What can I do right now, today, that will make my world a better place?
Her eyes fell on the dirty laundry hamper which she knew was almost full and she sighed. Well, laundry wasn’t her favorite chore, but it would certainly make a positive impact and she definitely needed some clean clothes to wear to class later today.
She got out of bed and took a tentative step on her recently-healed leg. To her relief, she didn’t feel any kind of pain at all. In fact, the light cast she had on seemed to be loosening on its own.
Melli frowned. Hadn’t Commander Sylvan said that when her bone was completely healed, the cast would come off spontaneously? So much had been happening, what with she and Jodi being assigned personal Kindred guards, that the medical instructions he’d given her had gotten kind of jumbled up. But she was pretty sure she was right.
Experimentally, she wiggled her leg and the cast suddenly slipped right off.
Melli looked at it and smiled. Well—that certainly seemed to be a good sign.
See? she told herself. The day is starting off on a good note. Just enjoy it!
And also, she needed to do the laundry—all the laundry, which meant she was going to have to go scouting under the bed for anything that might have fallen or been kicked or pushed under there.
Squinting, she looked under the full-sized bed—which was now neatly made up. She was pretty sure she could see her favorite t-shirt down there and maybe a pair of socks. She needed to get everything gathered up and into the wash soon if she wanted to get it all washed and dried before her first class.
Though her leg was now apparently healed, Melli was still a bit dubious about getting down on her hands and knees. Still, how else was she going to get to her half-hidden clothing?
She was just starting to lever herself down when the bedroom door opened and Liosh came in, smiling.
“Good morning, my Lady. I made you First Meal if you’re hungry.”
Then his smile turned into a frown when he saw Melli down on the floor.
“What are you doing down there? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” Melli assured him. “In fact, my cast fell off this morning which means my leg is all healed—see?” She pointed to the discarded cast and smiled at him.
“All right, but that still doesn’t explain why you’re down on the floor,” Liosh remarked. “Did you drop something?”
“Several somethings,” Melli admitted. “I need to do a load of laundry today but a bunch of my clothes are under the bed. I, uh, pushed them under there the last time my absentee roommate’s parents came to see her. I didn’t want them to think I was a slob.” She made a face. “Although, I kind of am—at least if you listen to Jodi.”
“Your domicile is fine—just a little cluttered,” Liosh said kindly. “But please don’t strain yourself—even if your leg is healed, it might still be fragile. Let me.”
And he promptly got down on the floor beside her and began reaching under the bed.
With her hair rumpled up into a golden halo and her blue eyes still a bit sleepy, Liosh thought Melinda was even more adorable in the morning than she’d been the night before. He hoped she liked the First Meal he had made her on the hot plate—he had used the chicken embryos that humans called “eggs” and seasoned them with some spices he had found in her cabinets. They tasted good to Liosh, so hopefully he had done it right.
Now he reached under the sleeping platform with his long arm, trying to gather all the discarded clothing that had somehow gotten under there. He would feed her a delicious First Meal and then help her wash her clothing, he thought to himself. Of course, he knew what he was doing—he was caring for her as though they were already bonded, even though they weren’t and Melinda seemed to think for some reason, that they could never be.
Liosh hoped to find a way to change her mind. And in the meantime, he honestly didn’t mind doing domestic duties. It was only fair that he share the chores, since he was living in her domicile.
“Oh look!” Melinda exclaimed, as he pulled an article of clothing out from under the bed. “My favorite pair of jeans! I thought I’d lost those.”
She was a little less enthusiastic about the next item of clothing he pulled out, though—a tiny, wispy scrap of lace that seemed to have no purpose.
“What’s this?” Liosh asked, holding it up—it was practically see-through and seemed to be held together with stretchy strings—it did have a very intriguing scent, though. What could be its purpose? “It doesn’t seem big enough to cover any part of you,” he remarked. “Unless it’s a hand or foot covering? But what use are the strings?”
