She took
out the small purple velvet case and laid it on the table. It was time to stop,
she thought. With all that happened, she just knew she couldn’t go on with this
silliness any longer. Whether or not it made a difference had nothing to do
with that little purple case. Did it? But she had to do it. She just had
to. What she now felt was becoming an obsession had started with such naïve
curiosity…
1.
Belinda
rolled over in bed and her long dark hair plastered against her face. She
usually wore it in a loose ponytail at night and it wrestled itself free
sometime between the wee hours. She pushed her hair away and tried to open her
eyes and focus.
6:27 a.m.
the clock read. It was set to go off at 6:30.
“Cool,”
she said to herself and laid there and luxuriated in the extra three minutes.
After reluctantly getting up and cursing the fact that she wasn’t born rich and
allowed to sleep until noon, she fumbled through her morning routine and got
ready for work.
She pulled
on a light grey blazer with matching pants and a light green silk shirt. It set
off her deep green eyes and was more or less her standard work uniform.
She
stepped outside on the teeny apartment patio and noticed it immediately: This
day was different. It was crisp and cool (cold, even) and there was a
refreshing breeze blowing through the bougainvillea that bloomed bright pink
and everywhere in the Arizona sun.
For weeks
summer had lingered on and the days had been intolerably hot—even for Arizona. Geez,
when is fall gonna get here? she had wondered just the night before as she
turned up the air conditioning to cool her bedroom. She slept fitfully when it
was hot and that night was no different.
Yes! she applauded the weather. Finally,
fall was here! And then with a bit of spite, “It’s about damn time!” she
said out loud. It was nearly the end of October. The summer had oppressively
hot, as usual. She took in a deep breath of the cool air and walked back into
her one bedroom, sparse apartment.
The
furnishings were mostly hand-me-downs from family with the one new item being
the TV. The sofa was the same one she’d lived with as a kid growing up. It was
strange to have it still in her life. She’d bought some new throw pillows to
brighten it up, but they did little to help. Most of the tables had nicks or
wobbly legs from years of being used by her family.
The walls,
painted industrial white and unchangeable no matter how many times she begged
the apartment manager, had some framed posters and one “original” art painting
she’d bought in a fit of trying to be sophisticated at a local flea market.
The one
piece of furniture she really liked was the bookcase. It was old and repainted
numerous times. It held numerous books, many which she’d read or used in
college and many which she hadn’t gotten to yet.
It was a
typical single girl “just getting by” apartment—especially one paid peanuts at
her first real job.
She was
glad she had remembered to set the coffee pot timer the night before, something
she rarely did. She poured a cup and sipped her super strong coffee laced with
a wisp of half and half (for color and to cut the bite, she told anyone who
looked at her oddly when she barely dropped any cream into her cup).
The coffee
was jolting her awake, but she didn’t even need it. The crisp air was all
she needed. She felt alive when she was in colder weather, and after suffering
through another 100+ degree-in-the-shade summer in southern Arizona, she felt
ready for the chill.
She felt
C.C. weave between her legs. Her soft fur felt cozy and warm. “Hey Fatty, how
you doin’ today?” she asked knowing the answer already. C.C. jumped on the
chair next to her and stared at her for a moment with sleepy eyes before
swirling herself into a ball and tucking her head under her paw.
The chair
was perfectly situated to catch the most morning light in the kitchen and it
was C.C.’s favorite daytime spot. Belinda yawned and wished she was a cat and
could sleep the day away in the sun.
“Your diet
doesn’t seem to be working,” she said. The cat was twice the size she should be
and try as she might Belinda could not get her to lose weight. She was
appropriately named Chocolate Chunk due to her all chocolate brown color and
hefty weight. Belinda had thought about naming her Chocolate Chip, but
rethought it after picking her up the first time.
“Damn,
you’re heavy, she said and immediate realized Chunk fit much better. Belinda
usually called her Fatty, as if she could belittle the cat into losing weight.
The cat didn’t seem to care what she was called as long as she wasn’t called
late to dinner.
Belinda
could hear the birds chirping. Everything seemed happier that the summer heat
was subsiding. She decided she’d get outside for a while. If nothing else, it
would get her outside walking and she missed her daily walks with her best pal,
Beth. It was hard being cooped up in the summer and having to use the treadmill
at the gym to workout. Now that it was cool, walks would be the order of the
day.
The phone
rang and she spilled a little coffee on the counter as she leaned over to pick
it up.
“Hello?”
she said a little miffed at her mess. She reached for a towel to wipe it up.
“Hey!
TGIF! Are you lovin’ this weather?” It was Beth, her best friend and walking
mate.
“Oh, Hi
Beth,” said Belinda brightly. “Yeah, isn’t it great? It’s about time, right?”
“You bet.
I’m thinking of coming home a little early tonight. Wanna meet up for a power
walk?”
“I was
just thinking about that. It sounds great,” said Belinda. They usually hit the
walking paths on Saturday mornings, but an early evening power walk would do
just fine. I’m probably not going to be late tonight. I finished the Ferguson
job yesterday and today, I’m actually planning to coast a bit. “I won’t tell
that to Blisterpock, though.”
Blisterpock
was the name she’d given her boss who was a slightly pudgy, watchful man. He
had a face full of pock marks from what looked like had been an aggressive case
of acne back in his teens. He also had the unfortunate ability to sprout cold
sores just about once a month. He often looked like one big blister placed on a
background of pockmarks. The name suited him.
“Right!”
Said Beth. “Well, gotta fly. I’m running late as it is. Just wanted to catch
you and see about a walk tonight. I’m actually looking forward to exercising,
if you can believe that!”
Belinda
laughed to herself as she hung up. Beth was not someone who ever looked forward
to exercise. She had always seemed to carry a few extra pounds, whether they
were power-walking or taking salsa lessons three nights a week. She had the bad
habit of hitting fast-food drive-thrus for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was
what kept her from ever reaching her weight goals and they both knew it, but
never actually discussed it.
