by JM Addison
*
The next thing she knew, she was listening to the sound of drizzle splatter softly against the dull gray window of her monotonous little room. She awoke with a start. She looked at the bedside clock and realized she slept like the dead. She had to meet Dell soon and was planning to walk there. She had picked a place to meet just a few blocks from the motel and thought she would be less noticed without that goofy car. As she looked at herself in the mirror and had to look twice – the change was so dramatic. She lay on the bed fully clothed last night and now her clothes were rumpled and, with no chance to air out, were likely not to smell the best.
She hurriedly stripped, showered, applied ample deodorant, re-dressed, rubbed and fluffed her new (and damp) hair as best she could and dashed out the door. The chill of the morning felt refreshing after the hot shower. She put on her new sunglasses from the drug store and felt good for a change as she briskly strode to the restaurant in the light drizzle and heavy morning air.
She tried to look natural but probably was doing a bad job of impersonating a relaxed person. As she rounded the final corner and approached the restaurant on foot, she kept a wary eye for anything that might be suspicious. She went inside keeping her sunglasses on and sat at the breakfast bar of the diner. She was a few minutes late and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Dell looking anxiously toward the door awaiting her arrival. This was Great! He apparently didn’t even recognize her when she walked in. The waitress behind the counter asked if she wanted coffee and Mara said no, that she just noticed her party sitting in a booth and got up to meet him.
She slid into the seat across the table from him and bemused his startled expression as she removed her sunglasses. “Mara! I didn’t even recognize you! You look great!”
