#78

Being alone was going just fine on a Friday. No one was waiting for her anywhere. No one cared where she had been. She could miss the train. Wander into a fancy grocery store. Buy dinner without worrying what anyone else would eat.

When she did finally take the train back to where she was staying alone, she had a laugh waiting to cross the street. There was one man on a ladder working on the insides of the walk signal and another man in a yellow vest telling people to walk or don’t walk. I guess I’m not truly alone, she thought. Without the workers, how would I know when to go and when to stay put?

When she got home, she ate her meal for one and was content. She went to her room to change out of her dress and couldn’t reach the zipper. Pulling it up alone that morning was somehow so much easier than pulling it down. She had to writhe on the floor like an idiot snake. She got rug burn on her elbows. The dress eventually came off, and she added clothing to the list of items she needed to relearn.