LAURA
Eight hours earlier.
The sound of the alarm clock pierced my brain.
"Get up honey. It's nine already. We have to be at the airport in an hour. Our sicilian vacation awaits. "Wake wakey"! Martin stood at the bedroom door, sporting a wide grin".
I opened my eyes slowly, reluctantly. Its the middle of the night for me, for god's sake. What a barbaric idea to fly at this time, i thought. Since i'd left work a few weeks ago, time of the day stopped making any sense. I would go to sleep too late, wake up too late, and the worst of it i didnt have to do anything. I could do What i wanted. I'd spent spent too much time in the quagmire of the hotel business, and when i had finally gotten my dream position as a sales manager, i quit. I just lost the passion for my work. I never thought at the age of twenty-seven i'd feel burned out, but those are the facts.
Working at the hotel had been fulfilling and satisfying, and it was good for my ego. Every time i negotiated a big contract, i felt the thrill of excitement, and when those negotiations involved competing with more experience people-adepts at the art of manipulation- i was exhilarated. Especially when i won. Those little victory in my financial battles had given me the feeling of superiority.
It satisfied the vainer side of my character. It might sound stupid, but as a girl from a small polish town who hadn't even graduated university, proving my value to everyone was a priority.
"Laura! You want cocoa or tea with milk"?
"Martin, please! it's the middle of the night" i rolled over on the bed and covered my head with the pillow.
Bright August light illuminated the bedroom. Martin never liked darkness, so even our bedroom windows lacked any kind of blinds. He used to say darkness caused depression. Well for him to fall into depression was easier than getting a coffee at Starbucks.
"I made both cocoa and tea". With a smug expression martin remained standing. "its scorching hot outside. I bet you want the cold one". He said, handing me the cocoa. Then he began pulling the sheets from the bed.
By that time i was getting pissed at him, but i crawled out of my cave. I knew he wouldn't relent. Martin flashed his teeth in a wide grin. That was so much like him- every morning he had too much energy. He was a heavily built, bull-like man with a bald head perched on top of a wide neck. People called him a muscle head. Aside from the purely physical aspect, he had nothing like that kind of man. He had his own company, and each time he scored a big hit, he'd transfer a large sum to the children's hospital. He liked to say: "i need to share God's blessing with other's".
Martin had blue eyes, they were gentle and full of kindness. His nose was large and crooked- it had been broken in the past. Nobody's perfect and martin hadn't always been ths wise and well mannered. What i loved about him the most was his full lips and his spectacular smile that always disarmed me when i was mad at him.
His ernormous hands were covered in tattoos, his etire body, in fact, aside from his legs. He was a strong man, weighing a good deal more than two hundred pounds. I always felt safe with him, though i have to admit that a five feet five and a one hundred and ten pounds, i might have looked a little bit mismatched with him. My mom had always told me sports are good, so i trained with whatever took my fancy at any given time, from Nordic walking to karate. I never stuck with any discipline for long, though. What it ultimately leads down to was that my body was extremely fit, my tummy was hard as rock and flat. My legs were slim and muscled, and my buttocks toned and curvy. I must have done more than a million squat to get that effect.
"All right, am getting up", i mumbled, then drank the cold but delicous cocoa in one gulp.
I put down the cup and went into the bathroom. As i stopped by the mirror i realised how much i needed this vacation. My eyes were dark and resigned and the lack of anything to do had made me apathetic. I was overwhelmed with the burden of my own failings and my own aversion to work. I had no idea what to do with myself. My professional life has always determined my self esteem. With out a calling card and a work phone in my purse, i didn't feel too confident.
I brushed my teeth, put some pins in my hair, applied some mascara, and ... that was about it. I didnt have it in me to do any thing else, besides it would be enough. A while ago i had splurged on permernent brow, eye and lip makeup out of sheer laziness. It allowed me have more slip and limit the morning routine to the bare minimum.
I went to the closet to get the clothes i had prepared for today. One thing remained the same for me, irrespective of my moods and all the things i had no power to change- i had to dress as perfectly as possible. Wearing the fight clothes made me feel better. Obviously, it made me look better too.
My mother always said a woman should be beatiful even though she's hurting. And if my face couldn't be as attractive as it was on a good day, i had to take everyone's face off it. So for the trip i selected light denim shorts, a loose white shirt and despite the scotching heat outside, a light gray melange cotton cadigan. Planes were to cold for me, and even it meant l'd boil outside first, at least i'd feel comfortable on board. I slipped my feet into my isabel Marant wedge-heel gray sneakers and i was ready.
I went to the living room, which was connected to kitchen annex. The apartment had mordern decor-cold and minimalist. The walls was covered in black glass, the bar was illuminated with LED's and instead of table like you'd haven a normal home, there was a counter with two leather-covered stools. An enormous gray corner sofa sitting in the middle of the room was a testament to the owners size. The bedroom was divided from the living room by a great aquarium. It was the perfect fit for a commited single.
Martin was sitting with his nose in his laptop as usual. It didn't matter what he was doing at any given time, he always kept his laptop near by. It was his best friend and an integral part of who the man was. I hated it with passion, but it had always been like that. So i had no right to change it. Even though i appeared in his life more than a year ago only owning to that little device, it would be hypocrsy if i wanted out of his life.