Kirby's alarm rang at 6 in the morning. She switched it off, and tried to hit the bed again but stopped and peeped out her window. "How is it so dark at 6?" she thought and tried to remember why she had an alarm in the first place. "Ah, Mrs. Nicholson's memorial" she recalled. She had a faint smile on her face as she got out of her bed.
Walking down the stairs, she heard her mom and dad talking about how Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson were a great couple and that her sudden passing would be hard on him.
"So, we're going uh?" asked Kirby standing at the end of the stairs.
"Yes, we owe a great deal to them. We need to be there on time, so get your ass up to the bathroom!" told her mom.
Raising her eyebrows in pretentious annoyance, Kirby walked into the bathroom and closed the door. She recalled how crisp Mr.Nicholson's suits were. Jet black, pressed to perfection. Every time he walked past her, or spoke to her, she wanted to touch his suit. "Maybe today..." she thought as she got into the shower.
After a hot bath, she put on her favorite body butter and walked into her boudoir. She got into a sleek black dress, added some soft curls, and touched her lips with a mauve nude lipstick. As she walked down the hallway, she slid her hands into black lace gloves. She looked at the mirror and smiled to herself about the time when Mr.Nicholson said that Breakfast at Tiffany's was his favorite film. "Well, a girl gotta do what a girl gotta do. " she thought.
On her 2 hour ride to the memorial service, Kirby was filled with a weird sense of excitement. She felt the jitters latching onto her blood cells, but she was enjoying this for some reason.
In the loving Memory of Janet Nicholson
Feb 16, 1978 - April 9, 2022
read the board. She stared at the picture of a smiling Mrs. Nicholson as they drove to the parking lot. Kirby got out of the car and looked at herself on the glass pane. "I hope I remind him of Audrey." she thought as the family walked into the house.
The memorial was held at Mr. Nicholson's house. It was a beautiful one right next to the lake with a pathway connecting the woods. Families were ushered in with umbrellas as it was raining. Kirby walked in, calculating her steps like a cat waiting to pounce. Her eyes started searching for Mr.Nicholson. She was looking for him like he got lost in a crowd. "Hey?!" she heard a gruntled voice right behind her. Kirby turned. She saw a man, in a jet-black suit, pressed to perfection. Troubled eyes, and silver strands of hair, with one hand in the pocket and the other on his chest stood Mr. Nicholson.
Kirby's parents walked to him and conveyed their condolences. Kirby was looking at Nicholson, without batting her eyelids. "Why isn't he looking at me?" she thought crumpling her eyebrows. She closed her eyes to soak in his perfume for a second and when she opened them, her parents were done talking. They were shown their seats. As Nicholson walked away, she turned her head to see if he would see her. As Nicholson disappeared, a disappointed Kirby sat for the service.
The service commenced with a handful of people who had nice things to say about Janet. "Never speak ill of the dead, they say but she was a bitch" thought Kirby. The service got over and people headed to lunch. Kirby walked into her favorite study in the house. From this room, she could see the lake and the forest. As raindrops crawled on the glass, she stood there with folded hands, staring into oblivion. A thunder distracted her in a direction where she saw a portrait of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholson. She kept looking at the portrait until she heard the rambling of papers. She turned around to find Mr. Nicholson looking for something. Their eyes met. Acknowledging her presence with his sad eyes, he said "Thanks for coming, it means a lot" in a deep, husky voice.
"No issues, how did it happen?"
"Weak heart, this was her 3rd attack." said Nicholson.
They shared a couple of conversations after that but Kirby just stood there admiring the gallant figure of Mr. Nicholson. "Well, take care. Talk to you later" he said as he walked out with a Cuban cigar in his hand. In the hallway, she could see people talking to him and leaving. Suddenly, she heard a voice "Where the hell did you go?" from the other side of the room. It was her dad, fuming in rage.
"We were looking for you for the past 20 minutes. What are you doing here?"
"Err..ehm..this room looked pretty. You see the glass windows there? I need something like that in my room" said Kirby. "Yeah right?! I have a meeting in an hour. We're leaving now" said her dad as he dragged her to the hall.
Kirby walked down the hall to the parking. "When will I come back here? I miss him. Maybe I should just go and talk to him?" she pondered as she went to the doorway.
While adjusting her curls, in the left vicinity, she felt like someone was looking at her. She turns and sees Mr. Nicholson. For a second she thinks that he is so easy on the eyes but realizes something was different. Mr. Nicholson stood there looking right into her eyes. His eyes weren't sad anymore, they tried to tell her something. His alluring conduct sent a bolt of lightning down her body. He looked at her and smiled mysteriously. Kirby stood there frozen. She knew something was happening.
He nodded and started walking into the study. He looked back and she met his steel blue eyes one last time. "He saw me.." she thought as she walked to her car. With an obscure smile, she left in her car, hoping to return soon...