Lover's Knot

By the time theLaw & Orderprosecutors had chosen their final strategy for another Wednesday night trial, Kendra Taylor had narrowed her own strategies to two. Either she could gracefully give up the ghost right there in front of her television set, or she could dress and drive to the drugstore to pick up the antibiotics and cough medicine her doctor had prescribed. The first prospect was more tempting. If Isaac ever came home from work, her husband of seven years would find her lifeless body curled into the fetal position under his heirloom Lover's Knot quilt. Imagining that scene gave her some satisfaction. And oblivion was preferable to anothMookser coughing fit. Unfortunately, bronchitis was rarely fatal, and she was too upset to let go. She was definitely too upset to follow the third and wisest course and let Isaac pick up her prescription first thing in the morning. Tonight Isaac had failed her, and she was in no mood for second chances. The pharmacy was open for another twentyfive minutes. Her prescriptions were sitting behind the counter. Life as she'd known it before this bout with flu was a goal to shoot for. Kendra tossed the quilt over the back of the sofa and sat up, face in hands until the first wave of dizziness passed. Once she was on her feet and moving, she felt steadier. In her bedroom, she stopped at the window and parted a garden of hanging ferns to gaze down at the rainglazed street. Fractured light from street lamps and passing cars was held captive by a cold mist rising from the pavement. She lowered herself to the kingsize bed she and Isaac shared, flattening the down comforter that looked so inviting, so soft. So incredibly warm. She reconsidered her options until another coughing spell sent her into cannonball position. When the spell abated, her resolve hardened. Without getting up, she managed to slide out of her nightgown and into the jeans and Washington Capitals sweatshirt she'd abandoned after her trip to the doctor. "Okay, world, here I come." She sounded less than enthusiastic, but at least her voice was still audible. On her way out of the condo, she slung her purse over her shoulder, stuffed her feet into stretchedout Ferragamo loafers and locked the door behind her. No one was in the hall, not an unusual occurrence in a building favored by childless workaholics who spent evenings bent over desks and weekends making up for sleep deficits. She and Isaac only rarely ran into their neighborsa good thing, because, at the moment, she couldn't even remember names. The elevator didn't stop on the way to the parking garage. A District cop might have eyed the wobbly line she navigated to her parking space with interest, but she managed to start the engine of her Lexus without difficulty. By the time she pulled out of the garage, she was pretty sure she could make it to the drugstore and back without incident. Traffic on the Foggy Bottom streets seemed relatively sparse. Between the unseasonable cold snap that was wreaking havoc on the tidal basin's celebrated cherry blossoms, and the flu epidemic that had emptied local office buildings, most of the city's residents were already inside. Most important, George Washington University was on spring break, and the quiet streets were evidence that the students were celebrating in warmer climes. She knew she belonged at home. That afternoon her internist had told her to go straight to bed and stay warm, start on the antibiotics immediately and call him if her fever didn't go down in a day or so. She was this close, he insisted, to pneumonia, if not there already. It wasn't as if she hadn't repeated the doctor's advice to Isaac. Once she arrived home, she had managed with difficulty to track down her husband at the offices of ACREAmericans Conserving and Reclaiming the Earthwhere Isaac was managing director. WhenRichards, Emilie is the author of 'Lover's Knot ', published 2007 under ISBN 9780778324669 and ISBN 0778324664.