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Authors: Shannon Baker
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budget and why, as trustee of her accounts, I refuse to open up the checkbook and let her bleed it dry.
The board meeting would start at the Hotel Bo u lderado at eight in the morning. She must present herself as professional and competent and a lover of the environment. Normally, none of this would be a stretch. Tonight, after a fourteen - hour day, it all seemed impossible.
She tiptoed the last few feet to her doorstep. Abbey waited behind her. With a fortifying breath , Nora turned the knob and stepped into the overheated apartment.
Abigail stood in the middle of the living room, fully visible from the front door. She held her cell phone to her ear. She’d changed into black yoga pants and stylish tunic. Far from being ready for bed, her short blonde bob and makeup looked good enough for an evening out. “Oh, never mind. She just walked in.” She punched the screen and set the phone down. “Where have you been?”
Like everything in the complex, the apartment was nothing more than a glorified dorm room. Just two bedrooms in what served mainly as student housing for the University of Colorado, it suited her purposes. The main room consisted of a galley kitchen separated from the dining space by a counter bar. The living room continued about fifteen feet from the dining area and ended with a sliding door. The balcony had an excellent view of Devil’s Thumb hitching its way off the Flatirons. The whole unit weighed in at less than 700 square feet. A kingdom fit for Nora’s command.
The weekend parties and late-night noise reassured Nora. After the frightening summer on the isolated mountain in northern Arizona, she liked knowing other people surrounded her. Though furnished mostly from Ikea, everything in the apartment was new.
“Hi, Abigail.” Nora hung her bag and coat on hooks she’d installed next to the front door. She stepped into the kitchen and opened the cabinet under the sink to scoop out dog food.
Wow. You know you’re hungry when the smell of dog food makes your stomach growl. She poured it into Abbey’s dish, sandwiched between the dishwasher on one side and a micro-pantry on the other.
Abigail watched her. “If you had a phone like mine I could have texted you. Or even sent you a picture. Why do you have that antique?”
“I like my phone.” Nora felt no need for a smartphone to keep her plugged in.
“You’re young and should be hip. It isn’t right to have that rusty technology.”
New topic. “Was that Charlie on the phone?” Charlie was one of Nora’s best friends. That he was also her mother’s most recent husband disturbed and delighted her in equal measure .
“Yes. He was worried about you.”
Good. Keep Abigail off the Nora Improvement tack. “Why didn’t Charlie come with you? Are you fighting again?”
Abigail’s face hardened. “Don’t try to change the subject. Do you really think it’s wise to stay out late on your first day of work?”
“Nine o’clock isn’t late.”
“Those circles under your eyes show you’re exhausted.”
Abbey crunched happily on his food.
Nora usually felt like her apartment offered cozy sanctuary ; w ith Abigail here, it felt crowded. Although Nora liked the low, flat sofa in bright red and the contrasting deep green chair, Abigail would hate the bright colors and think them garish. She might approve of the no - nonsense coffee table and TV stand. A smallish flat screen monitor faced the sofa.
It all reflected Nora’s effort at a fresh start. With this job, the transition into the New and Improved Nora should be complete. Why then did she still feel like the old, insecure, scared woman who left Flagstaff a year ago?
She’d be doing fine and then at random moments, like now, the memories would crash in on her. Nora’s drive to save her marriage and business had led her to push for man-made snow on peaks sacred to the Hopi tribe. By the time she’d discovered the extent of the harm she’d bring to her mountain, it was too
The board meeting would start at the Hotel Bo u lderado at eight in the morning. She must present herself as professional and competent and a lover of the environment. Normally, none of this would be a stretch. Tonight, after a fourteen - hour day, it all seemed impossible.
She tiptoed the last few feet to her doorstep. Abbey waited behind her. With a fortifying breath , Nora turned the knob and stepped into the overheated apartment.
Abigail stood in the middle of the living room, fully visible from the front door. She held her cell phone to her ear. She’d changed into black yoga pants and stylish tunic. Far from being ready for bed, her short blonde bob and makeup looked good enough for an evening out. “Oh, never mind. She just walked in.” She punched the screen and set the phone down. “Where have you been?”
Like everything in the complex, the apartment was nothing more than a glorified dorm room. Just two bedrooms in what served mainly as student housing for the University of Colorado, it suited her purposes. The main room consisted of a galley kitchen separated from the dining space by a counter bar. The living room continued about fifteen feet from the dining area and ended with a sliding door. The balcony had an excellent view of Devil’s Thumb hitching its way off the Flatirons. The whole unit weighed in at less than 700 square feet. A kingdom fit for Nora’s command.
The weekend parties and late-night noise reassured Nora. After the frightening summer on the isolated mountain in northern Arizona, she liked knowing other people surrounded her. Though furnished mostly from Ikea, everything in the apartment was new.
“Hi, Abigail.” Nora hung her bag and coat on hooks she’d installed next to the front door. She stepped into the kitchen and opened the cabinet under the sink to scoop out dog food.
Wow. You know you’re hungry when the smell of dog food makes your stomach growl. She poured it into Abbey’s dish, sandwiched between the dishwasher on one side and a micro-pantry on the other.
Abigail watched her. “If you had a phone like mine I could have texted you. Or even sent you a picture. Why do you have that antique?”
“I like my phone.” Nora felt no need for a smartphone to keep her plugged in.
“You’re young and should be hip. It isn’t right to have that rusty technology.”
New topic. “Was that Charlie on the phone?” Charlie was one of Nora’s best friends. That he was also her mother’s most recent husband disturbed and delighted her in equal measure .
“Yes. He was worried about you.”
Good. Keep Abigail off the Nora Improvement tack. “Why didn’t Charlie come with you? Are you fighting again?”
Abigail’s face hardened. “Don’t try to change the subject. Do you really think it’s wise to stay out late on your first day of work?”
“Nine o’clock isn’t late.”
“Those circles under your eyes show you’re exhausted.”
Abbey crunched happily on his food.
Nora usually felt like her apartment offered cozy sanctuary ; w ith Abigail here, it felt crowded. Although Nora liked the low, flat sofa in bright red and the contrasting deep green chair, Abigail would hate the bright colors and think them garish. She might approve of the no - nonsense coffee table and TV stand. A smallish flat screen monitor faced the sofa.
It all reflected Nora’s effort at a fresh start. With this job, the transition into the New and Improved Nora should be complete. Why then did she still feel like the old, insecure, scared woman who left Flagstaff a year ago?
She’d be doing fine and then at random moments, like now, the memories would crash in on her. Nora’s drive to save her marriage and business had led her to push for man-made snow on peaks sacred to the Hopi tribe. By the time she’d discovered the extent of the harm she’d bring to her mountain, it was too
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