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‘You’re going to continue to hang butterflies as soon as I leave, aren’t you?’
I choke on my coffee, wondering if I spoke my thought aloud or if I’m just that predictable.
Sighing, Thomas sets his cup on a nearby stack of boxes. ‘Let’s get to it, then.’
It isn’t until he’s plucked one of the butterflies off the ground by its paperclip hook that his actions register.
‘Wait. You’re going to help me?’
His expression couldn’t scream ‘duh’ any louder than if he was Alicia Silverstone in Clueless.
‘Yes, well…’ Ducking my head, I move forward and reach for the string hanging from the paperclip in his hand. ‘At least let me do the climbing.’
‘No.’ He looks pointedly at my feet. ‘You can’t climb a ladder in heels.’
I open my mouth, but he cuts me off.
‘And you can’t take them off because the floor is dirty.’ He turns and begins his ascent. ‘I’ll climb.’
With his own fancy shoes, albeit flat ones, clacking against the metal I almost don’t hear him add, ‘Red shoes suit you.’
But I do.
22
ALICE
If five days ago you would’ve told me that I’d be waiting for Thomas to finish work so we could leave together, I would’ve said you got hit in the head with a dildo one too many times.
Then again, I never would’ve thought he’d spend two hours going up and down a ladder hanging, rehanging and adjusting paper butterflies while I stood back and assessed the overall look. And yet he did just that four days ago.
Since then, Thomas and I have established a truce of sorts.
He doesn’t seem as angry about having agreed to help us and I have made sure to stay out of his way as much as possible – both at work and at home.
Which has been easy considering how early he wakes up and how late he comes home.
Thomas clicks his mouse a few times. ‘I’m almost done.’
‘Take your time.’ I shift in the chair opposite his desk. ‘Your mother said she isn’t leaving until five.’
Emily informed me over dinner last night that she had a date. Seeing as Thomas wasn’t there and hasn’t been home for dinner every night this past week, Emily said she’d inform him by phone.
This morning, as I prepped lasagne, she said Thomas agreed to leave work on time today.
I can’t imagine Thomas is pleased over his mother making him agree to anything, let alone leaving work on time because his mother has a date with a thirty-year old professional bowler. He didn’t even need to, as I’m fully capable of watching Mary on my own, but Emily seems to be annoyed over Thomas’s work schedule.
Thankfully, I wasn’t there for the conversation between them. I was simply informed to ‘collect’ Thomas at the end of the day today.
‘Maintenance and the electrical team received the updated specs. Everything should be ready for next Friday.’
‘Great.’ I take a breath to quell my excitement. ‘Thank you.’
Not only had Thomas been helpful on the ladder, but he even drew my attention to the fact that the fluorescent glow from the butterfly fixtures would cast light differently depending not only on their height, which is what I had measured out, but also on the depth of their placement.
I wanted to ask him if he learned about light through photography but decided not to chance ruining the truce.
‘A courier just dropped this off.’ George strides into the room and tosses a large envelope on the desk.
