I woke to the movement of the water and a mosquito bouncing off the screen. I found Cookie in the hallway, asleep, in my cocktail dress, which was soaked, and with a patch over her eye. I didn’t ask how she got my dress.
“How was the water last night?”
“Good. Cold. Are you going to class today?”
“Yea, right now.”
“Do you mind if I sleep in your bed while you’re gone?”
It occurred to me that she probably already had.
“No. Go ahead.”
She was still there when I got home. Asleep in my cocktail dress, a silhouette against the sunset. I tiptoed around my room, afraid to wake her.
“Don't worry about being quiet, I’m awake.”
“Oh, I thought you were asleep.”
“No. I was just thinking.”
I put down my books. “I’ll leave you to your thinking, then.”
“No, don't leave.”
I climbed into my bed next to her and we lay on our backs and watched the yellow ceiling lose its yellow.
