Sweet Dreams at the Goodnight Motel by Curtiss Ann Matlock

Author:Curtiss Ann Matlock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: MIRA
Published: 2004-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

The morning when she had left her townhouse seemed much further in the past than three weeks. So much had happened. She had packed up and left her home, had a thrilling encounter with her ex-husband and then left him right there in the street, arrived in a strange town, had an old man fall in love with her, had her car and all her belongings stolen, tried to help an unfortunate young woman, made a good woman friend, begun flirting with a younger man, and helped to save a man’s life. Oh, and there was breaking down Winston’s car in there, too.

She had never in her life been so busy.

As she creamed her face and body, brushed her hair to softness, and applied makeup and perfume, her mind zipped back through the past weeks and onward back through the years.

The memories that came were unwelcome in her current state of mind, which had sunk down somewhere between anger and despair. What came to her was that she had spent most of her time trying to keep her mother afloat and following her husband around. She had put her life on hold with all kinds of fantasies about Andrew awakening to the fact that he was meant for her and her for him.

But now that such a fantasy actually seemed to be within reach, she could not find any feeling at all. It scared her, not feeling. An inertia seemed to have taken over her.

She mulled this state over as she slipped into a new set of black lace bra and panties (it was amazing what could be bought through Belinda’s shopping service, she thought) and decided that a certain relaxation had come with the inertia. She no longer awoke several times in the night, wondering where she was and if she needed to do this or that. She had no job, no one to worry about pleasing, nothing that she absolutely had to do, only things she wanted to do, and these things did not have to be planned but could evolve with the day.

At last she had time to read, everything from Women’s Health to Southwest Travel, and a compilation of C. S. Lewis—Blaine’s Drugstore had quite a good magazine and book stand. She conditioned her hair, took hot, fragrant baths and long walks, looked at the stars, helped Vella, and chatted with all manner of strangers when she was at the hospital or went through the IGA.

She had slipped into what she imagined might be a manner lived by the “idle rich,” except, of course, that hers was going on in a third-rate motel room with a sagging mattress, rattling air conditioner, and a divine forty-year-old bathtub with aged enamel—but a wonderful shape for reclining and absolutely no mold, because Gertie came every morning and sprayed all the tile.

Upon realizing that Gertie was doing this each morning, coming with her frosted pink fingernails protected in yellow gloves and spraying a Clorox concoction on the tile, Claire had offered to do it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.