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Holly
It felt like an exquisite dream.
When the early morning sun touched my skin through the drapes, I felt so happy I could burst. Yesterday was an epiphany. A realization of how good life can be and for the first time in my adult life, I feel no responsibilities weighing me down.
Then I wake and realize I’m alone. Was I dreaming? Surely Dexter was here. He came in the early hours and was so loving, so gentle and caring. It made my heart open and let him in. It felt so good being held as if I was the most precious thing to him. It felt so nice, but when did he leave?
It doesn’t make sense and so I shower and dress for the day, starting it off with confusion rather than clarity, as seems to be the case these days.
He’s not at breakfast either and Maisy appears deep in her own thoughts this morning and I wonder if anything has happened.
She serves me breakfast and I say tentatively, “Is everything ok?” Part of me is embarrassed in case she heard us in the library. Maybe she’s disgusted with me and thinks I’m some kind of whore and wants nothing to do with me.
She looks startled and says sadly, “We lost a calf last night. Jason tried hard to save her but she didn’t make it.”
“I’m so sorry.” I look at her in horror and she sighs heavily. “It doesn’t get any easier, you’d think it would.”
“Does it happen often?”
“Not so much, but when it does, it reminds you of the fragility of life.”
She stirs her coffee and appears to change direction and smiles. “Anyway, tell me about your evening. Have you cracked the man in the suit yet?”
“What do you mean?” I squirm a little and she grins. “Something’s changed. I saw it in his eyes this morning. He seemed, well, lighter somehow, like a weight has shifted and excuse me for talking out of turn, but I make his bed and it wasn’t slept in.”
She winks as I blush and yet before I can think of every excuse under the sun, Dexter arrives like a force of nature and says abruptly, “My office, we have work to do.”
She rolls her eyes behind his back and I resist the urge to giggle and as I follow him out, I wonder what mood he’ll be in today.
As we walk, he says nothing and just strides to his den like a man on a mission and I almost have to run to catch up.
As soon as we get inside, he says curtly, “That story you’ve been researching. Do you think you could give it a shot?”
“You mean, write the story—really.”
I feel my face light up and for a moment he just stares and then tears his gaze away and sits at his desk. “Yes, see what you can do and then show it to me. I want to test your skills, see what you’ve learned and only if I pass it, will it print.”
I am so stoked I don’t know how to begin and for the next six hours I concentrate so hard I miss lunch and only look up when Maisy drops a sandwich and potato chips on the desk with a glass of juice. “Food for the workers.”
She smiles and winks as she leaves the room.
I have almost forgotten that Dexter is here because we have both worked silently and methodically for most of the day and as I see the sun burning outside the window, it reminds me that life goes on. Normal life, whatever that is, and the story I am writing like fury will have consequences for the lives it touches.
Dexter’s quiet and appears to have his own thoughts dominating his time and as I take a bite of the sandwich, it reminds me not to neglect my routine because I am so hungry, I finish it way too quickly and feel like a pig as he says with amusement, “You obviously needed that.”
Laughing nervously, I grin. “Sorry, I kind of forgot about time and didn’t realize how hungry I was.”
As he takes a bite of his own sandwich, he watches me with a hooded expression and then shocks me by saying, “Do you like it here, Holly?”
For a moment I’m lost for words because it’s a strange experience all round and I’m not sure what to think but shrug and smile, “It’s different.”
“But do you like it?”
For some reason, my answer means a lot to him and so I choose my words carefully.
“I like it—for now.”
“Why only now?”
