Something was different. Alexandra had felt strange since she had woken that morning. She made her coffee and watched the local morning news. Nothing of note had happened, someone had broken into the college baseball field, but that happened once or twice a year. The high was 86, another record. The same old newscaster feigned cheerfulness as he talked about local taxes and water safety and other dull day to day stories. In one moment, the newscaster seemed at a lost for what his next segment should be, but he picked up his pace immediately by repeating a story about a former beauty pageant winner coming back to her home town. Sameness at every turn.
Alexandra lounged about the house all morning. She had finished a late shift at the diner and gotten in around two, so she wasn't surprised by her lethargy. Still, it wasn't like her to be so idle. After her husband died, she became accustomed to keeping herself busy. She didn't like to sit around and let loneliness creep into her thoughts. The extra hours always helped with the bills, but it kept her away from her stepson. He turned out the better for it, she reminded herself almost daily. Josh was a bright young man with a wonderful future ahead of him. He didn't visit enough now that he was in college, though.
Determined to snap herself out of the foul mood, she pulled on some old jeans, dug around for her work gloves, and set her eyes on the weedy flowerbeds around her house. She paused a moment to admire her own figure in the mirror. Sure she was a little weather worn, but for a single mother of forty-five, she thought she still had it, whatever it was these days. Her coworkers at the diner made her feel good about herself. They were old women and greasy men. Nice people and she liked them all, but the world had been hard to everyone and some took it worse than others. She had survived though, maybe she'd still meet someone one of these days. She was never too busy for a small dream to slip in.
The sun shone down brightly on the small neighborhood of little houses. People rolled past on their way to lunch or school or wherever. Alexandra set about pulling weeds and tilling the soil with a small trowel. Within minutes, she had broken a sweat and felt short of breath. Perhaps she wasn't as young as she could be. She looked across the street. The young couple that lived there was out in their yard working as well. They were boxing up some strange brightly colored decorations, little houses and a wagon. Something was different. What holiday had there been? Couldn't be Christmas, it was too hot. The couple seemed to battle moments of confusion as well, but all the same the odd decorations quickly disappeared, as if something shameful had been left out too long. It all worried Alexandra, but then she forgot. Forgetting is easier than worrying, she reminded herself. Why try to remember when it just makes things worse? She returned to her gardening.
"Miss Alex?" came a voice, stirring her from her work. She turned around to see Tricia, a neighbor, standing in her driveway.
"Tricia? What a nice surprise!" she exclaimed as she dusted herself off. "Why I haven't seen you in ages. What're you doing here? Is something wrong?"
"Oh, no! I was just in the neighborhood for something... You know it's the strangest thing. I knew I was supposed to be here at 2:00 today, well not here, but somewhere. Huh."
"Well, honey, do you feel all right? You're not lightheaded or anything?"
Tricia stared at the house across the street, her eyes glazed over. "What? Oh, I'm sorry. No, no, I feel fine. I just figured I'd come by to see you. I know I was going to do that today."
Alexandra looked at the young girl. She was the daughter of Alexandra's oldest friend. She looked the exact same as her mother had at twenty one. Tall with long brown hair, a pointed nose and horn rimmed glasses. The older woman marveled at the new styles twenty somethings wore, the tight skinny legged jeans and frilly blouses. The clothes made her look like a rail, a well dressed rail, but a rail nonetheless. "Well, you come inside, let me clean myself up. I want to hear all about what you've been doing lately.
The two started their way into the house, but Tricia instantly let out a yelp of alarm. Alexandra followed her friend's eyes down to the trail of mud she was leaving in the carpet. "Oh, damn it. I don't know where my head is today. I need to get cleaned up, do you mind if I shower off real quick? You're not in a hurry are you?"
"Oh, no, it's fine. I'll clean this up. Then I can watch tv or something."
"You don't have to -" she stopped when Tricia darted off to the kitchen for cleaning supplies. Relieved, and happy for the company, she went to her bedroom to change. She pulled off the dirty clothes and tossed them in a hamper. The bathroom quickly filled with steam as the shower ran. It felt good rushing over her skin. She had been sweating outside, but the hot water still felt nice pouring over her. It soothed her feet, which usually ached, half from age and half from waiting tables. She heard a door open and close, and hoped that Tricia hadn't had to run off. The noise did serve to snap her out of the relaxation of showering. She paused for a moment in front of the mirror to look at her body. Normally, she never bothered, perhaps it was the presence of the younger woman, but she spent a few extra minutes admiring her figure. After pulling on some sweatpants and a loose t-shirt, she went out to the living room. The tv was off and the couch was empty, but she heard talking in the kitchen and went to investigate.
"Oh Josh!" she yelled at the sight of her son. "What a nice surprise, I wasn't expecting you! Is it my birthday, with all you young people coming to visit. And what do we have here." She looked at the cooler Josh was holding. She slipped under his arm and gave him a quick hug. He seemed taller.
"Oh, this is from that HomeEc class I'm taking. Homemade strawberry ice cream."
"I didn't know you were in a HomeEc class. You know he never tells me anything about what goes on at that college."
