It was nearing the end of the day when Ivonne was hungry again. She decided she could figure out something to make out of the food that was available to her. After coming upon cheese and eggs, she decided to make cheese omelettes. Working the stove was different from working the stove she was used to at home, but she got used to it and figured it out. She was adjusting to being years ahead in the future slowly, yet much quicker than she'd expected. She was certainly enjoying the break she was having from her responsibilities at home, and the break from being a wife and a mother. She didn't miss her pregnancy symptoms, either.
She did, however, miss being pregnant. While pregnant, one was never lonely. Knowing that you were growing a tiny human inside you was an amazing feeling. Being inside someone else's body had cost her that feeling. She gladly gave away the morning sickness, and would do it again in a heartbeat. Let someone else suffer for a while. What she missed most was the companionship. Never had she known a stronger bond than that shared by mother and child for those first nine months. Without it, she felt empty. She sighed, missing her baby.
All the while, she kept busy, making sure the cheese omelettes were made just right. She briefly wondered if this Lauren girl had a boyfriend. Maybe it was that Troy guy who'd been so happy when she'd woken up at the party. It would make sense. But she didn't know for sure. Maybe she'd find out later, have a little fun with it. For now, though, she had to be content getting to know the house that was to be her home until she was returned to her rightful body, and perhaps the people in it.
As she slid her omelettes onto a plate, she caught sight of what was inside the tank that was sitting at the far right end of the breakfast nook and nearly jumped out of her skin. It was a snake, though small, appeared to be very dangerous, especially hungry with its tongue flicking out. "Christ almighty, these people are crazy." No one in their right mind would keep a snake as a pet. No one she knew, anyway. At least it wouldn't be able to get out. It made her uncomfortable though, so after making sure the stove was turned off, Ivonne took her plate and fork to Lauren's room where she could eat in peace without feeling the eyes of the snake burning into her. She was sure she was going to have nightmares that night thanks to the damn thing.
Nightmares were bad enough in the comfort of your own home, surrounded by people you were familiar with, but in someone else's home, surrounded by strangers, that couldn't be fun. She imagined she would have to revert back to childhood characteristics and hide under the blankets, pretending that they were the best of shields. Despite knowing it was silly, childish, and untrue, Ivonne thought it just might help in the face of nightmares.
She wondered what would come next. A job at the circus, perhaps. A nest of spiders hiding in the bureau, maybe. Neither would particularly surprise her after what she'd seen so far. Just for thinking that, Ivonne didn't want to go into the bureau anytime soon. The wardrobe alone would simply have to do. She surveyed its contents from where she sat on the bed, trying to find a nightgown or something resembling one. Once she would finish eating, she would probably have to turn in for bed. She wasn't about to sleep in her clothes for a second time, either. The outfit she was wearing wasn't comfortable enough for doing so, anyway. The wardrobe held mainly jackets from what she could see, though she did spot an oversized shirt that could be used for a nightgown. Once she finished her cheese omelettes, she grabbed the shirt, changed into it, and took the dishes back to the kitchen where she laid them in the sink.
She didn't see Lauren's father or who seemed to be her mother, or perhaps step mother, nor did she particularly care to. She wasn't a child and didn't care to be treated like one, so she was content to meet them at length later. Perhaps she'd seek their company, once she got lonely enough, but until then she might like to avoid them as often as possible. She wasn't too eager to wind up inadvertently in the middle of one of their arguments. She might not have the ability to smack them into their senses if she were. That was an easy enough task at home, but she didn't doubt it would be much harder here.
She sighed as she returned to the bedroom. It wasn't taking very long to become bored, but perhaps that was because it was better than the alternative, which was to be absolutely disturbed by nearly everything in sight. Though that snake did impede on her boredom. That she was disturbed by, and probably always would be. She shuddered as she wondered what it ate. In the wild, surely snakes would make do with what they found, or whatever it was that was in their nature. But in captivity it was people that would have to feed them. She had the feeling that it wasn't merely crickets.
"Seriously, Ivonne, are you that masochistic that you must torture yourself with these thoughts?" she asked herself. She shook her head. It was clear she needed sleep. She laid on the bed and turned to her side, lazily picking up another book to read until she fell asleep. It was a creative take on what the first woman Eve's life might have been like. She hoped they made her rather independent. There was nothing worse, in her opinion, than a woman whose every action depended on a man, whether it be upon his love or obeying his every word. Women were just as independent as men and stories that depicted them as such had Ivonne's seal of approval. She read a few pages before dozing off, book slipping from her hand onto the floor.