Floater Alexandra Ameel The weatherman called for rain. Strange, considering there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. At least as far as Esmerelda could see. She stood in front of the tv in her white fuzzy slippers and silk pajamas, coffee mug in hand. She didn’t like to sit while she watched the news in the morning, then she might get stuck on the couch until the afternoon, and there were errands to run. They were out of milk, for instance. And someone had to go get more pool shock or Harrison wouldn’t be able to float around this afternoon. The weatherman concluded by stating that the whole county could expect thunderstorms all week. The screen switched to a woman in a white shirt sitting next to a man in a blue suit who started talking politics. Esmerelda turned the tv off. She was headed upstairs when she heard the glass door off the dining room open, close, and then open again a few moments later. Harrison appeared at the bottom of the stairs. His feet were bare and his tattered bathrobe was open to reveal yellowing underwear. Another item to add to her list of things to buy today, Esmerelda thought. He had a coffee mug in one hand and an unlit cigarette and a lighter in the other hand. “You forgot to shut the door,” Esmerelda said. Harrison’s mouth worked to say something, but nothing came out. “Bugs are going to get in. You know I hate when those tiny ones get all over the fruit. It makes my clementines feel dirty.” Harrison’s face was blank, his mouth slightly parted. Finally, he said, “I think you should come outside.” He turned and strode back out into the backyard. Esmerelda didn’t feel like going outside at the moment. What she felt like doing was putting on her nice pink blouse she just bought yesterday. She would pair it with her pastel pink pants, the ones with the nice crease down the middle of each leg. In her mind she had already picked out the jewelry she would wear, the gold set of earrings with the dewdrop pearl hanging off, and the matching necklace. She would curl her hair in that
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