Rest

I woke up with two blankets drawn up over my face. I pulled the covers down and, for a moment, imagined that I could see my breath in the cold of the room. At the end of the bed, Cashew stopped bathing himself long enough to begin a staring contest. “I think he’s getting used to you.” I pointed two exaggerated fingers at my eyes then at the cat before turning towards the window. Anna was across the room, a silhouette against the pale morning light filtering through gauze curtains. I just smiled and followed the sharp contrast of dark and light until I could see patches of light glowing through her short, amber curls. She was sitting on top of her desk, her arms hugged her legs to her, bringing her knees just under her chin. Above her head, red and yellow ribbons hung loosely from an air vent. “Did I wake you up?” She interlaced her fingers and stretched her arms above her head.

“No—how are you not cold?” She was wearing shorts and a tank-top. The front of the tank-top bore the remains of a rock band I’d never heard of. I looked back at the end of the bed and poked the cat with my foot until he started batting at the movement. He was still using the pads, but I instinctively felt my wrist where he had drawn blood the night before. When my toe came out from under the cover, I realized that I wasn’t under two blankets. During the night, Anna had folded her side of the blanket over me.

She picked up a mug from the window and faint wisps of steam rose as she took a sip. She took a deep breath and a second sip before returning the mug to the window sill. “I turned the AC up in the middle of the night—panic attack.” As if on cue, the ribbons tied to the air vent began to flutter as more cold air flooded the room. She reached a hand above her and let several ribbons catch between her fingers.

I nodded and made another fold in the blanket from what was left on her side of the bed. Near my feet, Cashew nudged his head from where I had covered him with a corner of the new layer. He stretched and slowly eased himself back into the open and lay back down, never taking his eyes off me. He wasn’t going to let me forget that this was his side of the bed. I pulled the blanket up to my chin and shook the bed as if I were shivering.

“Funny.” She rolled her eyes and swung her legs over the side of the desk. Cashew continued to bathe, ignoring the disturbance around him.

“Kidding! Did you ever get back to sleep?” I started to wonder how long she had been sitting on the desk before I woke up.

“A little.” She climbed into the bed without disturbing Cashew. I unfolded the third layer and, despite the warmth, she didn’t settle in until we were together under the blanket. “When’s your flight?” Cashew’s ears perked, also waiting for me to answer.

I knew I’d missed my flight when I woke up and light was coming through the window. I knew I would miss my flight when I left my phone in the living room last night. I knew I could get a later flight settled at the ticket counter. I put my arm around her and felt the heat coming off her like a furnace. “Later,” I said, and closed my eyes.