Charlotte Boyett-Compo- Windspectre by Unknown Read Free Book Online

punched in the number seven. A pleasant voice answered right away.
    "Good morning, Miss Kaisand. What may I prepare for you?"
    "Good morning," Cathleen said. "Could I get breakfast, please?"
    "You sure can. What would you like?"
    After ordering scrambled eggs—and being surprised to know grits were available on the menu—patty sausage, cottage fries, toast and jam, a large glass of orange juice with pulp, and a pot of coffee, Cathleen began to feel a bit less disembodied.
    "We'll bring it right up," the man at the other end of the phone told her.
    Hanging up, Cathleen staggered into the bathroom to relieve herself, wincing as she sat down on the toilet, feeling as though every muscle in her body had been pummeled with a rubber hose. She leaned forward and buried her face in her hands, grunting.
    Washing her hands and face, slipping into a plush terrycloth robe she'd found hanging on a hook behind the bathroom door, Cathleen went back through the bedroom and into the living area, turning on a lamp that made her gasp as the bright light invaded her eyes.
    "Holy shit!" Cathleen said, the light stabbing into her brain. She fumbled for her purse and the migraine tablets she was never without.
    After going into the kitchen for a glass of water, she was walking back into the living room when the doorbell chimed.
    "That was fast," she told the man standing on the other side when she opened the door.
    "We aim to please," he said cheerfully, coming in as she stepped aside. He rolled the room service cart into the dining area and began arranging the food on the table. He shook his head at her offer of a tip. "Everything is included in your employment package, ma'am."
    Sitting down to the meal after the man left, Cathleen sighed with sheer pleasure. The aroma of the food made her mouth water and she dug into it as though she was starving, washing it down with three cups of coffee as well as the orange juice. After three or four bites, she began to feel human again and the queasy, lightheadedness slowly began to disappear. By the time she had consumed every last crumb of the meal, she felt like her old self again and had the energy at last to head for the bathroom and her morning shower. Picking up her travel bag from her overnighter, she carried it to the bathroom.
    After her bath, she dried off and wrapped the towel around her body. The glass over the vanity was fogged and though she wiped away the steam, her image in the mirror still didn't look all that clear. Frowning, she made a mental note as she applied her underarm deodorant to find out about local optometrists, reasoning she might well have reached that time in her life that she was beginning to need glasses.
    Drying her hair, applying the minimal makeup that was her habit to wear, she unwrapped the towel and hung it over the shower door to dry. Padding into the bedroom, she rummaged through her overnighter for clean underwear, put it on, and then headed to the closet to retrieve the suit that hung there.
    Once dressed, she started to tidy the bed but then remembered Anita telling her the maid came in every day to straighten. Shrugging, she turned away, sighing with contentment. After one final look at her apartment, she picked up her purse and headed to work.
    * * * *
    "Would you like the maid to unpack your things?" Anita asked her as the two of them walked toward Cathleen's new office.
    "That would be great," Cathleen said and wondered why she'd agreed. Normally she wouldn't want strangers to be touching her things but Anita's suggestion just seemed to be the right thing to do.
    All day long, her work went so smoothly, so professionally, she was amazed when she looked down at her watch to find it was nearing five o'clock. Where had the day gone, she wondered? Everyone had been supportive, helpful, and jovial—which hadn't always been her experience with fellow workers. She felt like singing as she made her way back to her apartment.
    "This is heaven," she said as she opened