10
The next day, I woke up bright and early.
And in a great mood.
I came out of my room dressed in my yoga clothes with my mat tucked beneath my arm. I whistled a short tune. The sun seemed to shine brighter than usual and I felt rested. Full of energy.
"Damn, girl. Why are you so chipper this morning?" Sierra grumbled from the couch.
I leaned over the back and stared down at her. She was in the clothes she was wearing last night and her hair was in a messy bun on the top of her head. Mascara was smeared around her bleary eyes and there was a streak of lip gloss angling from the corner of her mouth to her cheek.
"What happened to you?" I shot back, glancing at the mess around her. "Did you host a stoner party here after I went to bed?"
There were junk food wrappers, soda cans, and tissues all over the coffee table. They surrounded her laptop as if they were offerings to a shrine for the gods of technology.
She moaned as she sat up and rubbed hard at the back of her neck. "Damn, I'm getting too old to sleep on the couch anymore."
"We're twenty-eight, not ninety-seven," I said.
Sierra rolled her head around in an attempt to loosen up her neck. "I feel ninety-seven most days. I'm just glad I didn't drop the laptop on the floor. Been there, done that, had to buy the replacement."
"Sierra, why did you sleep on the couch instead of your nice, comfy bed?"
"My boss called me with a work emergency so I spent the night working on it. Plus my feet are killing me. I don't know how you do it."
"You get used to it," I replied. "Does your boss call you with emergencies often?"
She shrugged. “I just got a promotion so he probably thinks he’s entitled to my time whenever he needs it. I hope this isn’t a sign of things to come,” she grumbled.
"You just got promoted?" I asked, my eyes wide.
"Yeah."
"Why didn't you tell me? That's awesome! We should celebrate!"
"Maybe while I'm here," she said, but she seemed unenthusiastic. I wanted to ask why but Sierra's eyes moved over my clothes and the rolled yoga mat under my arm. "You're going to work out first thing in the morning?"
Since she changed the subject, I let it go. For now.
I nodded. "We're going to my parents' for lunch, remember?"
She collapsed back against the arm of the couch and closed her eyes. "Ugh. Can't I skip it? I mean, your mom realizes I'm not actually her child, right?"
"No such luck. If I don't bring you, she'll just come by later."
"I have to go to the shop later."
I opened my mouth to offer to take the half-day shift she was supposed to work, but one of her eyes popped open and she glared at me. "Don't even think about it. You're taking the day off. I can do this. I'm just not used to it yet. For the last six years, I've been able to work from the comfort of my couch, or bed, or by a pool somewhere with good wi-fi."
"Okay, okay. Why don't you go wipe that scary mask off your face and take a nap? I'll wake you up an hour before we have to leave for my parents'."
"Scary mask?" she asked, frowning at me.
"You're still wearing your make-up," I explained.
"Shit," she sighed. "Yeah, I'll go do that now before a huge zit decides to develop in the middle of my forehead."
I shook my head as she vanished down the hallway toward the spare bathroom. The morning was still cool, so I carried my yoga mat onto the covered back deck and unrolled it. This deck was one of the main reasons I bought this house. During the warmer months, which took up nearly nine months of the year, I spent a lot of time out here when I was home. I would drink my coffee at the little table in the morning before I headed to the shop. Or have a glass of wine and read on a lounger in the evenings if the mosquitos weren't too bad. And since I'd decided it was time to get into better shape last spring, I would work out on the deck. Yoga, weight training, even this weird suspension trainer that Sierra bought me for my birthday a couple of years ago when I mentioned wanting one but not willing to pay the hefty price tag myself.
