Cassandra
Charring stood watching her reflection in an antique cheval mirror
that stood by a large bay window. The sun dazzled off the small
jewels that were encrusted around its silver frame. She pulled her
wavy hair up back off her face to reveal her pale, sallow complexion
which was illuminated by the light. Her dark brown eyes appeared red
and swollen, as she winced with the brightness of the sunlight.
Standing to the side she tugged at the hemline of the creased
shell-pink chemise she was wearing. The more she pulled at the cream
lacy hem, the more the satin resisted to lie flat over her newly
protruding stomach.
She
pressed gently against the satin and for a brief moment her figure
returned to what appeared to be normal, yet as she released her hand
the curve of her stomach immediately returned. She stared at her
reflection and the image became blurred, as tears began to fill in
her eyes. She winced as rays of light hit off the jewelled frame and
reflected a hot pink daze over her eyes. The shot of colour knocked
her off balance and she hit the hard wooden floor beneath her feet.
She lay shivering unable to move, exhausted and exasperated. In the
distance she could hear the ring of her telephone, which echoed up
towards the room…
…stepping
out of the shower, she heard the phone ringing in the hallway. Naked
and soaking wet she ran through her bedroom, skidding as she grabbed
her silk dressing gown that was lain strewed over a white wicker
chair. Her hair slapped her cheek and stuck soaking to her neck as
she grabbed the receiver.
'Hello…'
Her high pitched voice faltered slightly when she heard who was the
other end of the line, 'oh James its you…of course yes, yes I
know…actually I'm a little busy this evening, can we make it
tomorrow?…yes I know, but I haven't managed to…yes but…'
she twisted the phone cord impatiently between her newly painted
nails and stared at the track of small wet footprints, which were
evaporating with the heat of the radiators. 'Absolutely James,
absolutely. Listen, I have to dash there is someone at the door…yes
definitely tomorrow…' she hung up before the conversation was
over.
Walking
back towards her room, she pulled her hair off her neck and shook
the, now drenched, dressing gown from round her back and shoulders so
it hung down loosely, leaving her almost bare on the upper part of
her body.
After
drying, and spending a considerable amount of time on choosing
suitable underwear, she slipped into the olive green chiffon dress
which had spent the day hanging above her jewellery strewn dresser.
Checking
the clock, which had been hidden by a large glass of rose wine that
was now almost empty, she saw it was quarter to seven and she had
only fifteen minutes before the taxi arrived. Loosely pining her
tousled hair back up off her face, she knew she showed off her fresh,
rosy complexion to its best advantage. Then, taking an ornate silver
comb off the white dresser she fixed it into one side of her raven
hair, creating a striking contrast in colour.
After
finishing her makeup, adding an extra coat of lip-gloss and slipping
on a pair of brown peep-toed heels, she stood back to admired herself
full view in her newly bought cheval mirror. She twirled, running
ripples of the soft chiffon skirt through her fingers, almost elated
with her ensemble.
Glancing
at the clock she saw it was almost time to leave. She drank the dregs
of the wine and took a black suede trench coat that had been chucked
over the blue and gold daybed, in the bay window. She heard a car
horn from outside and, knowing it was the taxi, grabbed the clutch
bag from her bed. Almost through the bedroom door she paused and
turned back. She walked quickly over to a small photo-frame on the
dresser. Inside a black and white, worn picture of a handsome young
man smiled, she bent over and kissed the picture lightly, leaving a
trace of rouge lip-gloss on the glass cover. 'Wish me luck' she
spoke faintly. Again the taxi horn beeped impatiently, so turning,
she quickly left the room shutting the door behind herself.
