Aftermath
Part One: After
November
Niles entered the penthouse, closing the door behind him. It left a strange echo, one that extinguished quickly as though it were shushing itself. The butler glanced around, looking for Chester. The spirited pup could usually be counted on to greet Niles excitedly, even if the same couldn't always be said of his owner.
He stepped out of the vestibule and glanced over at the sunken living room, spying a puff of orange fur on the white couch. Chester lifted his head and stared at Niles, the dog's tail completely still. Niles cocked his head to the side, similar to how Chester usually did, and stared at the Pomeranian. The dog merely rested his head back down on his tiny paws, despondent.
Niles furrowed his brow and continued past the dining room and into the expansive kitchen. He set down the paper bag full of fresh ingredients and began chopping, dicing, and shredding. Soon, the comforting aroma of chicken noodle soup filled the kitchen and wafted into the rest of the penthouse. It even brought Chester into the kitchen, where he sat at Niles' feet hoping that the butler might drop some shredded chicken.
When the ingredients were getting to know each other on a low simmer, Niles stepped back into the open main floor of the penthouse. Things were too eerily still. It wasn't until Niles realized that he was determinedly not looking at the corner near the vestibule that he realized something was there. Somethings, actually. Two black wingtips, decidedly not his own.
Chester ran back to his spot on the couch, and later, Niles would catch himself wondering if somehow the dog knew.
Mechanically, Niles put one foot in front of the other and took the familiar path to CC's bedroom. Niles noticed the shift in possession, that it was no longer theirs or his but rather hers. It had always been hers.
He wrapped his hand around the smooth steel doorknob. He pushed it gently down and the door, so slowly it was painful, swung open. Friction caused it to stop before it reached the doorjamb. There were two figures on the bed. One was facedown, the silky sheet thankfully covering the lower half of his body. His. It was clearly a man.
The second was perched on the corner of the bed nearest the door, one knee drawn up to the chest. A satiny robe hung off of one shoulder. Her blonde hair was slightly tousled.
CC looked up at Niles with an indescribable look in her eyes. Niles didn't take much time to attempt to describe it, though, as he turned and softly closed the door behind him. He walked through the hall and back into the kitchen, where he gently turned the stove until it clicked off.
He felt his chin quiver slightly, and he let it continue for a couple of seconds before he set it firmly again. Waving to Chester, Niles let himself out of the penthouse and locked the door behind him.
CC,
Sometimes, one is too happy to pull back the curtain. I find myself guilty of this, and I can't help but wonder if things might have been different if I had bothered to.
The "might have been" conversation will, as usual, lead to nowhere and so I won't waste any more of your time.
It is therefore with sincerest regret that I'm going to do the one thing you've been silently begging me to do for too long now: I'm going to let you go.
Yours,
Niles