I nodded and ate another grape.
TWENTY-FOUR2023
Aimee
My head, heavy as lead, lay cushioned on the soft bedroom pillow. I was awake, but kept my eyes shut, exhausted even after a full night’s sleep. I rolled over in bed and slowly lifted my eyes. Nine fifteen, according to the clock on the nightstand. Thankfully, it was Monday, and I had no plans today. The store was closed on Mondays. If I wanted to stay in bed all day, I could, which at this point seemed like a distinct possibility.
I felt hungover, but none of my activity the night before would warrant such a feeling. We ate dinner—baked chicken, rice, and green beans—and later had a slice of apple pie with a cup of tea. No alcohol. No sacred herb. But this morning I felt as if I’d been partying until the wee hours of the night. I buried my head in the pillow. Maybe I was getting sick.
I stayed that way for several minutes. I didn’t feel like getting out of my warm cocoon, but even if I could take it easy today, I still needed to feed the chickens and the rabbits we just bought. Finally, I dragged myself out of bed and stumbled into the bathroom. I splashed cold water on my face and brushed my teeth, getting rid of my strong morning breath. I went back into our bedroom and debated getting dressed or just leaving on my pajamas, a cute shorts and tank set in a rosy pink color. I decided on the pajamas, but grabbed my white cotton robe from the bathroom. I needed coffee. Desperately.
I walked downstairs. Usually I made a K-Cup if I was the only one home, but today I needed a whole pot. I got the coffee going, the aroma already perking me up, and noticed a note on the kitchen island.
You look so beautiful when you are asleep. Xo
I recognized Archie’s handwriting. Although I was fairly certain it was from him, still a little fizzle of doubt ran through me. I grabbed my phone.
Thanks for the sweet note. Xo
No response. He was probably teaching his class. Ten minutes passed.
A text popped up from him.
You do look beautiful when you sleep. You always look beautiful.
Relief spread through me. Yes, the note was from Archie. I sent a heart emoji in response to his text and rummaged around in the cabinets to locate the largest coffee cup I could find. I filled it, leaving room to add creamer, and took a long sip of the hot delight. Ahh… caffeine.
I sat at the kitchen table, sipping my coffee, hoping it would wake up my slow-moving body. The house remained silent, aside from the tick tock of the kitchen clock. The comfortable silence was welcome to me. Not the eerie silence of another person lurking, hiding in its cover, waiting to make their next move. No, this morning was the peaceful silence of a secure home.
My thoughts focused on breakfast. I didn’t feel like making eggs, but a piece of toast with my homemade strawberry jam sounded delicious to me, so I went about making it.
As I buttered the toast and spread the jam my thoughts traveled back to yesterday in Archie’s classroom. Maybe I had overreacted with my suspicions about Robin. I’d done it in the past. Neither had given me any reason to distrust them. And Robin was a good friend.
I took a bite of toast and drank my second cup of coffee. I was waking up now and feeling better, finally. I glanced at the clock and finished off the coffee. I had to feed and water the chickens. They’d be looking for me by now.
Slipping on my flip-flops by the door, I walked outside. It was mid-September now, still warm, but there was a nip in the morning air, enough to let you know autumn was around the corner.
The chickens were waiting for me, squawking, and stamping around in their enclosed yard. I gave them a scoop of chicken feed and filled their water dispenser. I gathered the eggs, washed and dried them with a paper towel, put them into egg cartons, then deposited them into the barn refrigerator. I wished now that I had gotten dressed before heading to the barn. This clothing would be going straight into the washer.
By now it was probably close to eleven and our mail likely sat in the mailbox at the end of the lane, usually arriving around nine thirty or ten. I tightened the sash on my robe and walked down our paved lane.
The warm sunny day brightened my body and mind, a welcome departure from my sluggish entry to the day. My flip-flops clicked on the blacktop, and I soon arrived at the mailbox. I opened it, took out the stack of mail, and walked back to the house, flipping through the envelopes.
A few pieces of junk mail, two magazines, a bill from our insurance company, and a yellow card envelope with no return address. The addressee, on a typed computer label, stopped me midway up the lane.
Sunshine Lotus.
I quickly tore open the envelope. Inside was a photograph of myself and Dream. We stood in front of the guesthouse, at Raindrop’s house, our home at the time. I wore a pale-yellow bikini; he wore blue swimming trunks with a white stripe down the side. Swimming suits were pretty much all we wore that year, sometimes not even those. Dream’s arm was draped around my waist and mine around his. We smiled at the camera, or whoever took the picture. I remembered that day. I remembered who took the picture.
Brother Jim. Or Jim Bob as Dream sometimes called him, much to Brother Jim’s annoyance, if any other family members were around.
I clutched the picture and ran up the lane, back into our house, locking the door behind me.
TWENTY-FIVE2016
The Commune
Dream
The Zen Yoga Deck at Raindrop’s house was a pleasure I never knew I needed. Located through the orange and lemon trees, behind the pool, in a grove of coastal live oaks and sycamore trees, was a large bamboo platform with a thatched roof and sheer white curtains on every side that flowed beautifully in a soft breeze.
Sunny and I were there that morning, just past sunrise, with our purple yoga mats stretched out on the platform, wispy curtains blowing in the early morning breeze. It was a bit cool at that time of day but invigorating. Raindrop and River joined us that morning. We were all nude.
Nude yoga is such a freeing experience. Not necessarily sexual, but certainly sexy. No, the practice is more about baring yourself physically and mentally, removing anything which could hinder you from a higher consciousness, one with Mother Nature, the mind, body, and soul. Without any physical barriers, your body in its natural state is more open to receiving the positive energy you seek. This was an experience I was certain everyone could enjoy in their lives.
We were in Cat-Cow flow, oxygen filling my body with each breath. I stared at Sunny, beside me, her tight, tanned body a feast for my eyes. I couldn’t think of any place I’d rather be in that moment in time.
The air hung sweet, the scent of fresh cut grass still evident from River’s yardwork yesterday, mingling with the aromatic purple sage that grew around the yoga deck, mixed with lush green maidenhair ferns. We completed our last Cat-Cow and moved into Savasana. As we lingered in the restorative pose, I listened to birds twittering in the trees around the space, bidding their good morning to all. I breathed deeply, exhaling away any lingering stress that may have resided in my body. A deep calm filled my body.
Sunny reached for my hand, and I stood and lifted her from the mat. River and Raindrop did the same, all of us in a calm, relaxed state. I allowed my gaze to drift to Raindrop for a moment while Sunny picked up her yoga mat. She’d had breast implants done not too long ago and I must say, they were very well done. My gaze did not linger though; I knew better than that. Sunny had a jealous streak, and her sweetness could turn to venom in a flash.
River caught my stealth look and smiled. “Beautiful out here, isn’t it,” he remarked.
I nodded and grinned. Sunny and I waved goodbye to them and headed back to the guesthouse. Before we went inside, we took a quick dip in the pool. A few minutes later, Raindrop and River ran past the pool, laughing, and chasing each other. They disappeared into the house.
“Do you think they’re having sex?” I asked Sunny. She leaned against the steps in the pool.
“Yes. Definitely,” she replied, running a hand through her long golden hair. “I heard them the other night, out here in the pool. You were sleeping.”
