A Short Story by LG Alfonso
The first thing she noticed were his fingertips on her stomach. Gentle and calloused, tracing circles around her navel, teasing her senses. The faint smell of pine wafted around her. She sighed and stretched like a cat, a smile spreading across her face.
“Hey, handsome,” she yawned, opening her eyes.
A pair of warm, dark eyes and a wide, toothy grin greeted her. He leaned in and kissed her softly, his head framed by the rays of the morning sun. “Mornin’, sweetheart.”
He moved his hand away, but she grabbed his wrist. “Don’t stop,” she begged.
The hunger in his gaze sent chills down her spine. “As milady wishes.”
He kissed her again, harder. Supporting himself on one elbow, his other hand returned to her skin, exploring her, waking her body. Her head spun, and she ran her fingers through his shaggy brown hair. He broke the kiss first, his lips moving across her jawline, down to her neck. His teeth grazed her skin, making her shiver. She felt him smirking against her skin as his hand traveled–
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Skye jolted with a start. She moved automatically, hitting the snooze button on her phone before she saw it.
Instead of pine, the stench of old laundry and dust assaulted her nose. The sun hadn’t come up yet, and she could hear angry neighbors yelling at each other outside her window.
She slumped back and sighed. Another day at the grindstone for me, she thought.
It took ten minutes, but somehow she managed to drag herself out of bed. As she went about getting dressed, taking her medicine, and scraping something together for breakfast, Skye found herself hoping the day would be uneventful.
* * *
Someone knocked on the plastic wall of her cubicle. Skye held up one finger as she put her mask on and turned. Christy stood there, unmasked, and Skye wanted to groan. But she knew she’d only get in trouble if she yelled at the middle-aged woman, especially since the mask mandate had been lifted a week prior.
“What is it?”
“Danny wanted to see you in his office,” Christy mumbled. “It’s for your annual review.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Christy nodded and left.
Skye felt her heart race as she left her cubicle and walked to her boss’s office. She wondered what would come up in her review this time. In the six years she worked at the bank, she didn’t have any negative notes. She’d received verbal warnings for swearing, writing at her desk, and a minor violation of the company dress code. Aside from that, she usually stayed out of trouble. But she couldn’t help worrying every time her boss wanted to talk to her. She wondered if he’d call her out for not meeting the daily quota every day, or not paying attention during work meetings, or the fact that she hadn’t clocked in any volunteer hours. They hadn’t made a big deal about that last one since the pandemic hit, but she’d seen the people in charge make big deals over less.
Skye averted her eyes as an unmasked co-worker walked past. A part of her waited for him to ask why she was still wearing a mask, but he didn’t. Thankfully, most people she encountered were respectful about it. She could only hope it would stay that way.
She reached her boss’s open door and knocked.
Danny looked up and grinned, his blond hair looking white under the fluorescent lights. “Skye, good to see you. Have a seat, and feel free to take your mask off. We’re all vaccinated here.”
Skye closed the door and sat across from him. She made no move to take her mask off, nor did she say anything about it.
Danny locked his computer screen and set a small pile of papers between them. The front page had her name on it. “Christy told you this is your annual review, right? As always, you’re doing excellent work. You ask great questions, your communication with other departments is clear and concise, you immediately correct any errors you make…”
He went on for ten minutes about how she was the model employee. Yes, she did good work. Yes, she embodied the values of the company. No mention of her not meeting the daily quota. Not for the first time, Skye wondered if they never noticed she’d been slipping or if they didn’t care. Most likely the former.
After asking her for questions (she had none), Danny flipped to the last page. “Finally, there’s volunteer hours. It says here you haven’t clocked in anything this year–”
Ah, there it is.
“We’re still in a global pandemic, Danny,” she said. “I don’t feel comfortable being around a lot of people right now.”
Danny nodded. “I can understand that. But with things opening back up and cases going down, you shouldn’t have a problem getting back out there once you’re ready. As you know, the president is very passionate about giving back to the community, and he understands that doing good for others will be of great benefit to the company. If you’re looking for suggestions, there’s Hand-Up and the Alliance of Home Builders…”
Skye’s nose wrinkled, but he didn’t notice. Just a week ago, she’d heard her cousin ranting about how Hand-Up turned him away after finding out he had a boyfriend. And the Alliance of Home Builders wasn’t interested in the people they were helping so much as the people looking to volunteer.
But she said none of this out loud. Instead, she nodded at the appropriate times, thanked her boss for the review, and left the room at the earliest opportunity.
She passed a primped-up coworker on the way back to her cubicle. The woman took one look at her and wrinkled her nose. “What’s with the mask?”
“What’s with your face?” Skye shot back.
She didn’t wait for a response, instead taking the long way back to her desk. I’ll probably get in trouble for that later, she thought. That’s a problem for tomorrow.
* * *
He put another log in the pit, and the fire blazed for a moment. Skye smiled and leaned back to look up at the stars. She loved a lot of things about camping, but this was the best part. Out in the wilderness, away from civilization, few things were more beautiful to her than a night sky full of stars. The only view that could compete was from above the clouds, riding a plane at night. She’d only done that once, but she would never forget the sight.
“What’s goin’ on in that beautiful brain of yours?” He asked.
Skye turned back to him. He was giving her his usual confident smirk, his brown eyes sparkling in the firelight.
“I was just wondering how many constellations you can see out here,” she answered. “You think you can find the North Star?”
He gave her a soft kiss and looked up, entwining his fingers with hers. “If this were a wider clearing, I think I’d see more,” he said. “Although I could probably tell a story with those stars, like in Shrek.” He pointed up with his free hand. “There’s that ogre who spit over three wheatfields. That little fella there is the donkey who turned into a stallion.” He looked back down and pointed at her eyes. “And these two right here–”
She snorted and pushed his hand away. “Dork.”
“You know you love me,” he drawled.
Skye giggled again and kissed him. “Yes, yes I do.”
* * *
As soon as she pulled into the parking lot, Skye rested her forehead on the steering wheel. Annual review aside, it had been another long day of the same old routine. Audit a mortgage, clear it from the queue, rinse and repeat for eight hours.
Sometimes Skye didn’t mind the easy, almost mindless work. It gave her a chance to let her mind wander and think of nicer things, like a new movie she was obsessed with or a conversation she’d had with her friends. Or more often, something she always wanted to do. But sometimes, she wondered if she’d be happier doing something else. Something more aligned with what she’d gone to college for, something she was more passionate about.
The bank job was never supposed to be permanent. When she took it, it was a stepping stone for Skye to get her footing and wait for a better opportunity to come along. But every time she thought about leaving, something came up. One year her illness put her in the hospital, and she needed time to recover and money to pay the bills. Another year, she found out the publishing industry was more stressful than she thought and decided she didn’t want that kind of job after all. And the last time she thought about leaving, a plague raged all over the globe, and businesses shut down left and right.
Skye sighed as she left her car. She knew if she waited forever, she would miss her golden opportunity. What she didn’t know was what kind of opportunity to look for.
She grabbed her mail, dragged herself up the stairs, and unlocked the door to her apartment. After washing her hands, taking a shower, and throwing her work clothes in the hamper, she took one look at the pile of dishes in the kitchen and groaned.
It wouldn’t be so bad if she had a dishwasher. But when she moved out of her parents’ place, an apartment without the nicer amenities was all she could afford. She couldn’t remember the last time she had washed her dishes, and the pile only grew each evening.
I should wash them tonight, she thought. But I’m so tired…
Skye couldn’t say if her exhaustion was from the day or her autoimmune disease. Instead, she turned away from the dishes, popped an English muffin into the toaster, and filled a paper bowl with crackers. There’s always tomorrow.
When her dinner was ready, she sat at the dining table and turned her TV on.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t care about old and immunocompromised people–if you are in a high-risk group, you should stay home, wear masks, take every precaution necessary. All I’m saying is, there’s no reason for us to do the same when COVID-19 isn’t so dangerous for us–”
Skye wrinkled her nose and changed the channel.
“All these kids being made to wear masks and get vaccines, it’s child abuse. It’s your body and it’s your choice–”
“Ulgh, not that hypocrite again,” Skye groaned as she changed the channel again.
“Studies are showing that, at this point in the pandemic, the only people getting infected are those at high risk who were already sick with something else. This is good news!”
She turned the TV off. “I should cancel my cable bill.”
She had to force herself to finish her dinner. No matter how much of her appetite she’d lost, she knew she’d feel guilty if she just let it go to waste. Once she’d thrown away the paper bowl, her phone chimed. She picked it up and found a text from her best friend, Nicole.
Nicole (6:15 PM): Hey, friend. Wanted to check in and see how you’re doing this week.
Skye didn’t hesitate to text back.
Skye (6:16 PM): Can’t complain. I’m alive, I’m eating, I got a positive work review. You?
It had been over a year since the last time they’d seen each other. Part of it was the pandemic, and another part was Nicole juggling a job and two kids. And yet, she somehow always found time to check in with Skye and offer support. Skye’s heart ached at the thought of not being able to see her, though she understood why they couldn’t meet in person. She was immunocompromised, and Nicole’s little boys weren’t old enough to get vaccinated yet. Texting back and forth wasn’t so bad, and Skye loved the evenings when both had the time to just talk. But it wasn’t the same.
Nicole texted again.
Nicole (6:19 PM): Can I vent? My manager’s being an ass.
Skye (6:19 PM): I’m all ears!
They texted until late into the night. After bidding each other goodnight, Skye took her medicine, brushed her teeth, and went to bed. With the perfect view of the clear night sky, she closed her eyes and allowed her mind to drift away, back into her world.
* * *
Skye stretched her arms over her head as she stepped into her home. The garage was empty before she pulled in, meaning he wasn’t home yet. That suited her fine. It would give her time to clean up and unwind.
She shed her work clothes, hung her softest nightdress inside the bathroom door, and stepped into the shower. The hot water massaged her muscles, releasing the tension she’d been holding all day, and she sighed deeply. As she kneaded the shampoo in her scalp and ran the conditioner through her hair, she marveled at the view outside.
He’d remodeled the bathroom after they bought the house. Glass walls separated the shower from the outside world. Their surroundings were private enough that she could enjoy the view without worrying about any peeping toms. Just looking out and observing the shades of greens and browns made her feel at peace. He’d done a lot of thoughtful things for her over the years, but this was her favorite.
As she lathered her skin with body wash, Skye heard the bathroom door open and close behind her. She glanced around long enough to confirm it was him. He gave her a soft, warm smile, the one that told her just seeing her made him happy. She grinned back at him and turned back to the view outside. There was a soft thump as his clothes fell to the floor, piece by piece. It wasn’t long before she felt his arms wrapping around her waist, hugging her from behind. She leaned back into him, and he kissed her cheek.
“Hey, you,” he murmured. “Welcome home.”
