Flowers of Winter

Roo scrapped the side of the peanut butter jar in an attempt to get what little remained of the breakfast spread. Two hours later she hadn’t moved from the seat in the kitchen, her coffee cold and her toast untouched.

At 7:12 that night, she ordered Thai Takeaway. She had trouble understanding the foreign accent of the man on the other end. One chicken curry with cashew nuts and a sea food curry. Two satay chickens with peanut sauce. Three vegetable spring rolls. At 7:46 she emptied each meal into two bowls. Roo took her own and sat in front of the television. She ate slowly, her eyes flickering to the door each time the commercials came on.

Later, she emptied Ruskin’s uneaten meal back into its plastic container and put it in the fridge. She went to bed at ten past ten and placed Ruskin’s clean pyjama shirt and boxers on his pillow. She turned her light off but kept the porch light on for when he arrived home.