She's resolved to find a way

The next morning Alison left by the side steps as I was eating my breakfast; her cereal bowl sat empty on the kitchen table until almost 10 o’clock. As I put the unused dish back in the cupboard, I wondered if I would ever see her again. Instead of dwelling on how badly I had presented my proposal, and her refusal I found that my mind wandered again and again to the feeling of her soft lips fluttering in surprise against mine. I would have that at least to remember her by.

It doesn't help that Dick comes over on Monday and I have to listen to him pounding away at her like always. It is the closest I've ever come to barging upstairs and banging on her door, and the reason for my irritation is not hard to fathom. For three more days I catch only glimpses of her as she comes and goes. I still put out her cereal bowl each morning and wait hopefully each evening to see if I can tempt her downstairs with the smell toast or warmed up pastries, but Alison is as elusive as a stray cat. I can hear her moving about upstairs and I catch soft snatches of her sales calls but other than that, the house was as empty as the days after Fran was killed.

It isn't until Thursday when I am repainting the white picket fence along the front lawn that I get my first good look at Alison. It looks like she’s lost weight, her face is drawn-out and there are lines under her eyes that make her look much older. I feel like even more of an ass and resolve to find a way to make things right.

That evening I cook a frozen pizza, adding sautéed mushrooms and red peppers to the pie and an extra layer of mozzarella for good measure. When it is nice and toasted, I place three slices on a plate and add two slices of the banana bread from the night before along with a big glass of milk. I carry the dinner upstairs on a tray. I respect the privacy of my tenants and haven’t been up to the second story of my house since I helped Alison move her stuff in.

Leaving the tray on the floor outside Alison’s bedroom door I knock twice and leave before I have to talk to her. From the foot of the stairs, I hear the door open and a soft gasp, it is not much but I find myself smiling as I return to the kitchen to eat my half of the pizza. She doesn’t come down that evening either, but at least I know she’s no longer going without food.

The news is as bad as always and I turn it off halfway through Coumo, and watch a few stupid porn videos that are neither believable nor sexy. It's after 11:00 when I climb back up the steps carefully hoping to retrieve the dirty dishes and the tray. When I reach the top of the steps, I see the empty tray sitting just where I left it, and through the slightly open door Alison is visible kneeling on the floor next to her bed.

It is more than I can take, and I clear my throat to announce my presence. The way she jumps makes me realize how rough I’ve made her life these past few days. But, instead of glaring at me, she smiles softly and motions for me to enter.

"Thank-you for the pizza." Her voice is subdued but as sweet as ever, "can we talk?"