The Mysteries of Brambly Hollow

features.
    The face that stared back looked thin and haggard, the skin jaundiced in the artificial light, her green eyes, shot with hazel flecks seemed over-large, dominating her entire features, her over-large green eyes, shot with hazel flecks, seemed to dominate her reflection, giving her an almost owl-like appearance, an impression enhanced by her small mouth and slightly hooked nose she thought as she twisted her head to one side to inspect it. And, was it her imagination? But had her jowls dropped overnight? She prodded the sagging flesh thoughtfully. Could something like that happen on your forty-first birthday? That you could go to bed looking like you were forty, only to wake up actually looking a whole year older? What had happened to that idealistic dreamer who believed that life was like a Doris Day movie? Without looking down she dangled her fingers under the running water. It was luke warm, but she didn’t notice as she waited for the other woman’s reply. Part of you died a year ago to the day, the other woman shot back, but you know that already. Meli threw out a hand, forestalling any further response from her cruel reflection as her eyelids dropped down, trying to hold back a flood of tears that gushed up through her tear ducts. Just at that moment the door swung open, startling her. Eyes wide and glistening, they met Cal’s in the mirror.
    “ Thought you might like this,” he announced brightly, holding up a kettle of hot water.
    “ You are thoughtful.” Trying to hide her embarrassment, she dabbed her eyes as discreetly as she could on the sleeve of her dressing gown before turning to face him. Had he seen them? She didn’t think so as he was distracted, setting the kettle in the base of the bath. She caught her breath and steeled her expression. When Cal’s steady, blue eyes met hers, she was fairly confident that she appeared in control, that was until her lower lip traitorously began to flap. Seeing it, Cal stepped forward and pulled her into his arms, and gratefully she buried her face on his chest.
    “ Cheer up,” he whispered as his palm hammered her awkwardly between her shoulder blades as if she had a piece of steak stuck in her windpipe. “You’ll be fine.” He was trying his best, Meli knew that, but he didn’t understand. He simply had no idea how to deal with her when she had wobbly moments like this; hadn’t a clue what to say. Hence, he had said very little about it over the past year, and he had probably been dreading today as much, if not more than she had. She didn’t blame him for this short coming. Basically, he was just a shoulder to cry on when her emotions became too much, like now.
    “ Yes, I’ll be fine,” she echoed his words, unpeeling her face from his shirt and giving him a watery smile. Courageously she was holding back a deluge of tears until later, when she and they, old drinking buddies, could share a bottle of sorrow and a large box of Kleenex, without witnesses. “You’d best be off or you’ll be late for work.”
    Hesitantly he probed her eyes, his hands heavy on her already sagging shoulders. “Are you sure?” Even as he asked the question, Meli clearly saw his relief at being excused.
    “ I’m certain.”
    Releasing her, he retrieved the kettle from the bath, and poured the hot water into the sink for her.
    “Let’s hope the plumber can get the boiler sorted today.”
    Very tactful change of subject, Meli acknowledged.
    “Yes, I hope so too,” she replied with a brightness that had no foundation. The boiler hadn’t worked properly since they moved in a month ago, and in the last week had almost given up completely, just giving an occasional shudder of its pipes or painful groaning sound to let them know how sick it was feeling. “See you later.” Giving him a gentle shove, she sent him on his way. She bolted the door.
    Gritting her teeth, Meli disrobed and briskly went through the motions of washing herself, shivering as she stood naked at the sink. Catching a glimpse of her protruding collar bones and ribs, which a good musician could probably play a reasonable tune on, she was hugely relieved to note that her earlier appraisal of her boobs had been right, not only had they survived her general weight loss over the past year without too much trauma, which had seen her shrink from a healthy size fourteen to a ten, but also the overnight turning of the age clock. Wrapping everything warmly inside her dressing gown again, Meli