I needed to keep her here for now.
For Alfred’s sake at least…
Walking towards my closet I paused. It was strange to see everything so neatly organized. Shaking my head I changed into a pair of running shoes and a windbreaker. I grabbed my phone, keys, and wallet as I left the house.
It was warmer than I thought but the wind wouldn’t let up.
Behind the stairs, on the opposite side of the garage, was a vintage yellow bike with a brown basket in the front and wooden panels on the back tires. I walked past it and up the red brick path which cut through the grass towards the cabin guest house.
“Roses?” I reached out to touch the flowers that were hanging from the windowsill when all of a sudden I looked up to find her staring back at me. She was wrapped in a quilt and her hair was a tangled mess around her face, making it seem as though she was attempting to impersonate a lion.
“Jesus…!” I hollered as I instinctively jumped back. “ESTHER!”
She glanced down at the roses and then back at me and grinned before she unlocked the window. “On a scale of one to ten, how badly did I scare you?”
I inhaled deeply, trying to calm down, but that smug look on her face was rather annoying. “Did you lose your brush or are you trying to contact aliens via your hair?”
“Say what you want but this right here is the look of a genius.”
“The line between genius and madness is a thin one. Are you sure you didn’t cross it by mistake?” I snickered as her eyes narrowed in on me.
“Can I help you, Mr. Lord? I’m very busy creating this generation’s greatest novel.”
Is this what she’d been doing since yesterday? “Are you sure you’re up to it, Dickens?”
“Well, I see you just wanted to bother me so goodbye—”
“Get dressed, I’m hungry,” I told her as I stretched.
She leaned on the window seal resting her chin on her palm. “And this is my problem how?”
Must she fight me on this? “I don’t know where the diner you get the food from is.”
“Oh, well the name is—”
“I don’t know what you order.”
“I’ll call Pete.”
“Who’s Pete?”
“Who else would be Pete when we’re talking about the diner?”
“Esther, I don’t do well with people. Won’t it look bad for your little blog if people think I’m an asshole?”
“You are an asshole though!”
“Even assholes have to eat…ha…” The sight of her laughing as she leaned out the window proved too comical, and unable to help myself I joined in with her laughter.
She paused and her expression darkened. “Did you call the fansite I created for your work currently standing at over two million people, ‘my little blog?’” she asked as she stood up straight and allowed the quilt to slip off her shoulders.
“I’m sorry, I can’t answer questions with your hair like that.” I snickered again.
“Fine! I’ll change and then we can fight properly—”
“Is anyone out there?” I spoke into my hand, glanced up, and then lifted my hands to her face as if she were a radio antenna. “Esther, turn your head to the side, the reception is bad.”
“Urgh! You…You’re like a four-year-old!” She slammed the windows shut and I grinned as I reached out to touch the roses.