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Technicolour Eyes

Prompt #043: Beige

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It's been a long day at the bakery, and frankly, Anya just wants to get home. Get home to her kids, get home to her home, get home to her bed and home to her husband.

But first she needs to finish the last five minutes of her shift.

Her life had taken such a drastic turn in the last ten years. She'd gone from being an orphan with no past, no future and no prospects of either; to Anastasia the Grand Duchess of Russia to back to Anya, happily married to her 'prince', Dimitri, with their two young kids living in the heart of Paris. She loved her life and the small bakery she worked at just for the hell of it. She had no regrets.

While, maybe she shouldn't have worn these shoes because her feet were killing her today, but that was another story.

An elderly customer enters the shop and Anya instantly decides that this woman will be her last customer for the day. She takes her white hair and her warm, beige wool coat and smiles to herself. However, the smile slips off her face when she sees the woman's sad expression.

She walks up to the counter and grin cheerfully, "Hello, ma'am! How are you today?" she asks, hoping the transaction goes quickly over all, but regretting her thoughts when she sees the slow, languid way the woman walks and carries herself. She looks up at Anya and says, "Oh, today honey...I'm not feeling so well."

Anya's face falls into a look of sympathy and she hurriedly takes the woman's order, hoping to make it as quick and painless for her so the woman can be on her way and go rest. When she is finished ringing up the loaf of bread, she smiles at the woman and pats her hand softly. "I hope you feel better, ma'am."

The woman looks up at her again and her eyes have suddenly become classy. "Oh honey," her voice breaks. "My husband just passed way."

Anya doesn't say anything for a moment, registering the information. "I'm so sorry," she says softly, squeezing the woman's hand.

"I don't know what to do. My heart is broken...but I have to arrange everything and I needed the bread. I have to eat," the woman sniffs. "Thank you honey." She walks slowly out of the bakery door leaving Anya to stand there motionless.

She leans against the wall and takes a deep breath, taking in what just happened. She imagines her life without Dimitri. Never able to hold him, to kiss him, to argue with him, to talk with him. To tell him she loved him, to tell him she hated him. She shivers.

That night, when Dimitri crawls into bed next to her, she presses up against his back, aligning their knees and legs and resting her chin on his shoulder. She enlaces her arms around his waist and squeezes tight.

He turns his head slightly and looks perplexed. "Are you okay, Anya?" he asks, part concerned, part confused.

She nods. "Just shut up and let me hold you."

For she knows that death is the only thing that will part them, and until then she wants to hold onto him, hold onto each moment she has with him just in case.

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I got some sleep. It was good. :)

This is based on an actual experience I had in my work place.