Her Soul

Chapter 14 Misty

Misty had never seen a kitchen so big. As she walked through the door from the garage the small hallway opened into a massive room filled with top of the line appliances. Everything in the room was shiny. From the range and refrigerator to the onyx colored counter tops. Gregg walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a pint sized container of ice cream and retrieved two spoons.

“I hope you don’t mind sharing.”

“I guess not,” she smiled. Why was this happening? She really didn’t have a choice at this point. Katie was probably asleep, or out with someone she met at a bar, and Misty couldn’t afford a hotel for the night. This was the only option she had that didn’t include sleeping at her desk.

Gregg pulled a stool out from under the island in the middle of the kitchen and sat down, then he pulled a second out for her. “I have been thinking about this all night.”, he said as he pulled the top off the paper pint and dipped his spoon into the creamy concoction. “This will be my forever favorite.” He took a bite and closed his eyes like he was savoring the most delectable dessert at a five star restaurant.

“I personally prefer butter pecan.”

“Wait a minute, first of all, did you just openly and freely tell me something about yourself? Second, how could it be anything other than cookie dough? It is the perfect mixture of cookie, dough, and ice cream.”

Misty smiled, “It was my Pawpaw’s favorite flavor, and it became mine when I would get to spend time with him.”

Misty thought back to the summer her mother dropped her off at her grandfather’s house and left her for four weeks. Her mother hadn’t discussed it with anyone, she just did it. After her mother came back for her, Misty found out that she had gone with a “boyfriend” on a bender and ended up getting left at a trap house in Atlanta with no way to get back. Her grandfather had to go get her himself. When they got back to her mother’s trailer, everything had been broken or stolen. The “boyfriend” had done it. Misty had slept on the floor on a torn mattress for months after that.

“Hey, where did you go?”

“What?” Misty pulled herself out of that memory.

Gregg smirked, “Sometimes, you will get this look on your face like you are somewhere completely different. I just wondered where that was.”

Misty panicked, “Oh, um, just remembering things. Anyway, I told you about my favorite ice cream, since we are roommates for the night, you have to tell me something about you.”

Gregg smiled, “I hate pickels.”

“What? How? They are the perfect snack.” Misty dipped her spoon into the ice cream.

“I don’t like them, but I do like this game, what is a food you hate?” Gregg reached over and dipped more ice cream.

“I don’t like boiled peanuts. They smell gross and they are even worse when you eat them.”

“I didn’t even know you could boil peanuts.”

“It is a southern thing. Tons of people in the south do it. I am just not a fan.”

“Well I will keep that in mind next time we go to lunch together.” Gregg smiled at her again.

They continued back and forth laughing and eating ice cream till Misty glanced at the clock on the oven. “Oh god, it is almost midnight, and I have to be at the office by nine, and I still need to look over that stuff for tomorrow.”

“You are not going into the office tomorrow, we are going to go see if there is anything left at your apartment and see about getting everything replaced.”

Misty was shocked, no boss would ever do this. “No, I can do that tomorrow evening after work. I need to go in, and you have a full schedule tomorrow.”

“No I don’t, I have already rescheduled everything, and I text Denice to let her know that I am out of the office, and you are with me. She will handle everything. You have only been there three days, she knows how to hold her own, but I agree, we do need to get some rest. I will show you to the guest room.”

Gregg slid off the stool and walked over to put the spoons in the sink. Misty suddenly felt uneasy. It had been a long time since she had spent the night in a bed that wasn’t hers.

Gregg walked through the house and Misty followed. She looked around each room as they passed through them. The house was massive. There were floor to ceiling windows in the living room and there was a set of stairs up to a loft. When they got to the second floor, Gregg turned down a hallway that had doors on each side.

“Here is the guest room you will be using. There is an attached bathroom. There should be everything you need in there, if there isn’t please let me know. I will be right back with something you can sleep in.” Gregg walked out of the room and left Misty to take in her sleeping arrangements for the night.

The room was a beautiful gray and white motif with a giant king sized bed in the center of the room. The rug on the floor was thick and plush. A large chair was sitting next to the window with a throw draped over the back. Misty had only seen a room like this in magazines. She walked gingerly over to the bed and pressed her hand down into the plush mattress.

“Is it ok? I know some people prefer a more stiff mattress.”

Misty jumped back like she had been caught doing something wrong. “No this is perfect, thank you again.”

Gregg handed her a stack of clothes. “These are going to be big on you, but it is all I have till we go back to your place.”

Misty looked down, there were sweat pants and an extremely soft shirt folded neatly in a stack. “No, this will work great. Thank you again.”

“Really it isn’t a problem. The master is across the hall, so if you need anything, please let me know.”

Misty smiled. “I think I will probably be good.”

Gregg smiled back. “Ok, well, erm, good night.” He walked to the door.

“Good night.” Misty called back as he gently shut the door behind him.

She walked into the bathroom that was bigger than her whole apartment. The main feature in the bathroom was the massive tube sitting next to a window overlooking the back of the property. Misty saw the manicured lawn below. She almost wished she could bring herself to use the bathtub, but opted for the shower because of the time.

She quickly undressed, washed, and pulled the shirt and pants on. As soon as she pulled them up they fell off her hips even after she had tightened the string in the waist. She looked down at herself and shook her head. She couldn’t wait to be able to stock her pantry when she got paid again.

Misty padded over to the bed in her panties and the borrowed shirt, leaving the pants on the counter in the bathroom. This will work for one night, she thought as she crawled into the soft cool bed.

‘Don’t get used to this, this will never be your life, this is just because Gregg felt sorry for you. You will never know what it is like to fall asleep like this again. You will never be able to make this your reality. You are trash just like your mother. You come from trash, and you are trash.”

Misty pushed the thoughts away and fell into a fitful sleep.