Breaking Perfect (17 page)

Fuck!

“I have to make your lunch.” She pushed past them and left
the dishes undone. She found her small pot and at the sink filled it with six
cups of water. Then she turned the dial on the stove to six, knowing she needed
it to be on high for the eggs to boil, but needing it set at six for six
minutes before she did that.
Fifteen minutes to hard boil an egg. Twenty-eight
minutes until Mason had to leave. Six minutes to start the pot. That left only
seven minutes to cool them and make the egg salad and the rest of his lunch.
Seven minutes wouldn’t work.

She anxiously watched the clock, needing another minute to
pass so that she would have a remainder of six. As soon as the minutes changed she
set into motion.

Pulling out all of her supplies, she lined them up on the
counter. Sean asked Mason something, but she was too focused on what she was
doing to make out his question. Once everything was set out she turned and
moved to finish the dishes.

* * *
*

Sean followed Mason out of the kitchen. “Come on. I have to
get ready for work. Follow me so I can tell you what’s going to happen.”

Sean followed him up the steps. “Yeah, that would probably be
a huge help. And what exactly will I be doing in your man cave for an hour when
you leave?”

They walked into Mason and Liberty’s bedroom and Sean froze.
This was so a place he didn’t need to be. He looked at the bed and saw images
in his head of what he’d heard that morning.

Mason’s fingers snapped in front of his face. “Focus!
She’s
having a really bad day and it’s my fault because I wouldn’t let her out of
bed this morning. I really need you to keep an eye on her for the next nine
hours while I’m out. It doesn’t matter what you do in my study. Watch a movie,
play pool, read a book, I don’t care. She just needs to wash the foyer floor
without anyone around to walk on it.”

“Why don’t you just tell her to forget about it?”

“Don’t you get it? I could give a fuck if the floor was
mopped more than once a year. She needs to do it. It helps her. She sets up
these standards for herself and if they don’t get done in accordance with what
she determines is a timely manner she gets upset. You give her one hour. That’s
it. Then you find her and you don’t leave her alone for the rest of the day.
Can you do that?” He watched as Mason stared back at him with one leg in his
pants and one leg out, waiting for an answer. “Hello?”

Sean jerked his gaze away. “What? Yes. Sure.”

“Are you sure? Because if you can’t do it then I’ll call out.
She needs someone with her when she gets like this, but you can’t make it like
you’re babysitting her.”

“How often does this happen?”

“It used to happen a lot more frequently than it does now.
She’s just having a bad couple of days and I shouldn’t have interrupted her
schedule this morning.” He paused from tying his tie and Sean could tell he
really felt guilty about causing Liberty stress.

“What if I do something that sets her off? You saw how pissed
she got when I offered to do the dishes. I was just trying to be helpful.”

“She knows that. Believe me, she
knows
that. I would
almost guarantee her frustration at that moment wasn’t with you, but with
herself. She needs to do things a certain way. She probably appreciated the
offer, but made herself sick over the fact that you wouldn’t do the dishes
exactly as she sees fit. You can’t take it personally. Like I said, she just
needs to do certain things a certain way. Just go with it and try to get her
mind away from things that might set her off and onto something a little more
fun. If you distract her long enough, she’s okay.”

“Okay. Keep my mouth shut and try to have fun. Got it?”

Mason looked at his watch. “And remember, one hour, no more.”

“Got it.” They started walking out the door and Sean stopped
him. “Dude, you got a cell phone number in case anything goes wrong so I can
get ahold of you?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

* * *
*

Liberty used the tongs to place the eggs inside of a glass
bowl she placed in the basin of the sink and then let ice cold water from the
tap rush over them. Tiny bubbles formed on the hot shells. She glanced to the
door then back to the bowl as the cold water began to flow over the rim and
into the drain. Mason was still upstairs. She submerged her hands into the cold
water and grabbed hold of two still scalding eggs, moaning until the pain eased
and the cold water soothed the burn.

The door eased open and Mason walked in. He came over to the
sink and kissed her. Again he shut off the tap after casually testing the temperature.
When he felt the coldness of it he smiled at her. He already knew she was
having a shitty day. He was stressing. She could see it in his eyes.

“Mmm, egg salad. Yum. What else do I get?”

The eggs were now chilled so she carried them to the cutting
board and began to peel and dice them. “A banana and granola yogurt.”

“Sounds great.” He was only trying to fill time with words so
he could watch her to get a bead on her emotions.
 

She tossed the chopped egg into a bowl and faced him.
Four
minutes left
.

“Mason, I’ll be fine. I’m already cleaned up from breakfast.
It’ll take me no time to clean up from making your lunch. While Sean is getting
his stuff done I’ll take care of the floors and then all I need to do is feed
him lunch, check the rooms, make his bed, fix the DVDs, and run to the store.”

She continued to mix the eggs then divide the salad into
halves. Three scoops from each half on two sandwiches making six total. Mason
saw her do this, and would know she was compensating, but there was nothing
else she could do at this point.

“What are you going to the store for? It’s Tuesday.”

“We don’t have the right laundry detergent.”

“What’s wrong with our detergent?”

“Nothing, but Sean uses a different one. I think it’s
All
but
it might be
Gain.
I’m not sure. I’ll have to smell them to be sure.”

“You could ask him.”

“Then he’ll feel like an inconvenience. No. I’ll figure it
out on my own. My point is I’ll be fine.” She placed the last of his lunch into
the bag and neatly folded the top. “Here you go.”

Mason smiled at her but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll call
you on my break.”

She walked him to the door and waited as he gathered his
things. He kissed her goodbye and she waited as he pulled out of the drive.
When his car disappeared she shut the door and went to clean up the kitchen,
warring with the shards of disquiet that threatened to upend her efforts to
take back control.

* * * *

Liberty wiped the counters, horizontal patterns for afternoon
unlike the vertical design she used in the evenings and the circular pattern
she employed in the morning.
  
After
preparing the small garden salad for lunch for her and Sean she carried the
scraps to the garbage disposal and dropped them down the center of the hole.
She hit the switch and turned the faucet on hot.
One, two, three. One, two,
three.
A sense of completion was triggered by the second count of three.
She was getting it together.

Shutting the faucet off, she ignoring the compulsion to touch
the scalding flow of water, when her houseguest emerged from the other room.
The foyer had been mopped and had plenty of time to dry without traffic to mark
its pristine appearance.

“Hey,” Sean said as he came to sit on his stool at the
counter. He seemed a bit uncomfortable and unsure, which Liberty knew was her
fault. She was fighting her demons hard this morning and she refused to let
them win. She was in control. She could handle herself. She just needed to
focus her energy on being productive and not on the obstacles that got in her
way.

“Hi. Did you finish everything you needed to get done?” She
placed his glass three inches and forty-five degrees to the upper right corner
of his napkin and moved to sit down on the stool next to him.

“Uh, yeah. Thanks for giving me some time.”

“I suppose you had to call out of work.”

“Well, I have a lot of personal time that’s built up over the
years, so I told them after my father’s funeral I would be out for awhile. They
have a new temp filling in for me.”

“This is probably something I should’ve already asked,
but…what is it you do, Sean?”

“I’m a physical therapist at a clinic down in Dallas.”

“Dallas, not somewhere in Arizona?”

“No, definitely not Arizona. I haven’t lived there since
college. That’s where my dad was, so I suppose it’s home, but… I didn’t need to
be there.”

“You didn’t get along with your father.” It wasn’t a
question. Mason told her as much.

“No. My dad was a military man who never could see past his
militant ways.”

“And your mom?”

“She died when I was sixteen.”

“I’m sorry. Do you have any siblings?”

“No, it’s just me.”

“Me too. I never even knew my real father. My mother and I
don’t speak.”

Sean looked at her as he chewed a bit of his salad. His full
lips closed over the fork and his sharp hazel eyes analyzed her. Something had
changed.
 

Sean had seen her begin to fall apart and hadn’t remarked on
it or treated her in any significantly different manner.
 
Not like some people.
 
Maybe he understood.
 
Maybe he had his own demons. She wasn’t
uncomfortable as she normally would have been under someone’s scrutiny and she
didn’t understand why. For some reason she was comfortable around Sean.

She assumed he would ask more about her family, but he
didn’t.
 
She was relieved. Maybe he got
it, like Mason. She appreciated his sensitivity.

“Mason said you have to go to the store later?”

“Yes,” Liberty answered. “I have a few things to pick up. I
shouldn’t be gone long.”

“Mind if I tag along?”

“Not at all, but don’t feel like you have to. I’ll be fine.”

“I need to pick up a few things if I’m going to be here for a
while.”

She smiled. Glad he decided to stay. Placing her fork on the
edge of her plate she said, “If you would rather just make a list I could pick
up whatever you need. You’re our guest after all.”

He put his fork down on his empty plate and faced her. Their
thighs touched and she didn’t move away from the contact, not wanting to offend
him. “Libby, are you trying to get rid of me?”

“What? No,” she quickly answered, then noticed the teasing
creases in the corner of his eyes. She smiled. “I just didn’t want you to feel
like you have to do chores while you’re here. I usually take care of all that
kind of stuff.”

“I noticed. Mason’s very lucky to have a wife like you who
knows how to really take care of a man.”

Heat spread in her chest at his complimentary words. Usually
only Mason’s praise had that effect on her. “Thank you, Sean.”

They looked at each other a moment longer and then Sean
stood. “What would you like me to do before we go?”

“Um…” She suddenly felt distracted. Where had her mind
drifted off? “If you just want to get yourself ready I should have this cleaned
up and be ready to go in about fifteen minutes.”

“Okay, sounds good.”

After Liberty tidied up the kitchen she ran up to her bedroom
to slip on a pair of shoes. Gazing in the mirror, she fussed with her unruly
curls. Her fitted khaki pants stopped just at her hips exposing a slight span
of smooth belly beneath her white tank top and lemon yellow cardigan. She went
to her closet and found her gold slippers with three stones over the toe. About
to walk out the door, she stilled as her gaze caught her reflection one last
time. She wanted more. She wanted something pretty.

Liberty moved to her jewelry box and sorted through the
neatly arranged gems and stones. In the next drawer down she found her less
formal pieces. A bright turquoise necklace with chunky blue pearls caught her
eye. She smiled and quickly donned it. When she looked back at her reflection
she was pleased. She was still smiling when she left her room and almost
crashed into Sean.

He caught her by the shoulders and a small jolt of
electricity snapped through her. “Hey, ready?” he asked as he steadied her and
stepped back.

Liberty felt suddenly flustered. She shook her head. “Sure.
Would you like to drive? Mason usually does when we go shopping together.”

“Ah, do you really want to sit in my dirty truck?”

“No, silly, we’ll take the Escalade.”

They went down to the foyer and Liberty handed Sean the keys
to the Cadillac.

“Are you sure? I’m not on your insurance policy.”

“It’s okay. I trust you.”
 

She held the door as Sean stepped onto the porch then turned
to lock it behind them. He was already in the garage by the time she caught up.
He was waiting by the passenger side of the Escalade holding the door for her.
“Your chariot awaits, milady.”

She smiled and stepped up on the footboard to climb in. Sean
shut the door and came around to the driver side. After he adjusted the mirrors
and seat settings they were on their way. On the drive to the store they talked
about North Carolina and Libby pointed out various tourist traps and trendy
places to visit.

“What made you guys move here?”

“I needed to get away from my mother and Mason wanted the
same. He doesn’t much care for my mother, but sometimes we visit his family.
Probably not as often as we should.”

“But why the Carolina’s?”

“It’s beautiful, quiet, free. You should see when the wild
horses cross. It’s breathtaking. We came here on our honeymoon and I wanted to
come back. Mason applied for a transfer as soon as we returned. It took about six
months, but that was fine because we had to wait for the house to be built. We
drove back and forth every other weekend to check on its progress. I was amazed
at how quickly things can get done when you have the money to pay the right
people.”