Chapter 2 Remy
REMY
Longest. Week. Ever.
I popped the trunk of my car and grabbed my suitcase, shutting it a little too loudly for this time of night. Most of my neighbors were probably sound asleep, and I wanted to keep it that way.
My coat and carry-on were still in the backseat, and part of me wanted to leave them there and worry about them in the morning, but with the luck I’d had on this trip, it didn’t feel worth the risk.
Bag on my shoulder, coat in hand, I rolled my suitcase into the house, happy to finally be home. My work trip had been extended two days after numerous canceled flights thanks to a storm front. I was in dirty clothes, exhausted, and grumpy. All I wanted was a nice hot shower and my own bed.
I tossed the keys and my work phone in the basket by the door, dropped everything else where I stood, and walked straight to the bathroom.
I’d unpack and look at the mail my neighbor had collected later.
My priority was getting out of these clothes.
I’d never been one to pack more than I needed, and this time, that had been a mistake.
Reaching in the shower, I turned on the hot water, giving it a minute to run hot, and got undressed.
When the steam began to gather, I grabbed six of my eucalyptus shower steamers and tossed them in.
While I was away, I’d run out and picked up one from the local drugstore that was supposed to be “real eucalyptus.” It was not.
All the artificial scent did was make me nauseous.
What my koala really needed was for me to shift and allow him to get his fur on, but that would have to wait until tomorrow.
He was too antsy to let him loose in the house, and I was too tired to be driving anywhere.
He’d been pushing at me hard ever since we got onto the plane.
Being trapped in a metal can in the air was not his favorite. Nor mine, to be honest.
I didn’t have to travel a lot for work. I lucked out when my boss never had us return to the office.
I loved that I could do most of it in my own home and not have to worry about commuting, Kevin’s gross cologne, people stopping at my desk to ask a question and then wanting to turn it into a conversation and delaying my own productivity, or any of that crap.
I liked people well enough, but I could get my work done in a few hours at home or a full day at the office. I was always going to pick home.
The eucalyptus-saturated steam was now dense, the humidity exactly what I needed. I kept scenting the air, inhaling deeper, soothing my beast, and finally feeling like I was home for real. I snatched a couple more shower bombs and tossed them in. Most days one was enough. Today was not most days.
I climbed under the hot water, careful not to step on the pellets that hadn’t fully melted yet. They made the shower a little slippery from time to time, but they worked better than any other version I’d tried, so it was worth it.
Taking my time, I washed away the remains of the trip and let my muscles relax.
Let me out.
I had to remind him that he didn’t like the shower, and just because he liked the smell didn’t mean there was real eucalyptus.
Don’t worry, I’ll give you some good yums later.
It was not easy to find fresh eucalyptus here.
The one florist used to keep it in stock, but they switched to a new vendor that used preservatives that made it both gross and unsafe.
I could buy in bulk and have it shipped, and did from time to time, but that was hit or miss on quality.
My solution was eucalyptus tea and candy.
It wasn’t great, but it was better than nothing,
When the water started to cool, I turned it off and grabbed my towel. I had a really large water tank, and when it started to get cold like this, it meant I’d been in there far too long. I didn’t need to look at my toes to know they were probably wrinkly.
I threw on some pajamas and padded to the kitchen, where I saw how full the basket of mail my neighbor had collected for me was. There were some things I could ignore until morning, but seeing an overfilled basket of mail wasn’t one of them.
My neighbor Gil was the sweetest old man and always offered to help when I was out of town.
Despite the fact that it was easy enough to have my mail put on hold, I let him.
He reminded me of my grandfather, and I’d learned early on that when I let him do little things like that, he’d let me help him when he needed it, instead of him promising that he could do it on his own.
I was all for independence, but the first time I saw him climb onto his roof—yeah, that was a no for me.
I grabbed a cola from the fridge, turned on the kettle for my nightly tea, and plopped on the couch to look through the mail.
The soda felt great going down my throat, even though it was probably a bad idea, given the caffeine.
I was tired enough I didn’t think it would matter.
I sorted the mail, piece by piece. There was an election coming up in town that took up the majority of it.
Then I found an advertisement for a local cell phone carrier, which reminded me that my personal phone was somewhere at home.
I’d been so mad at myself when I realized as I went through TSA that I’d only grabbed my work phone. If it hadn’t been for the “find my phone” app, I’d have been worried about it the entire trip. I knew it was in the house. The question was, where?
The tea kettle whistled. I put a tea bag in my mug and poured the hot water over it. It was exactly what I needed, and the three minutes before it would be ready felt like an eternity. At least it gave me motivation to find my phone quickly.
I tried the usual spaces: by my chargers, next to my bed, behind my bed, in my bed, under my bed.
It wasn’t in my bedroom. From there, I looked in the kitchen.
Still nothing. And then I remembered that I’d switched which coat I was bringing at the last second and had transferred items from one pocket to the other right before I left.
It took a few minutes, but I found it wedged in the couch cushion. The battery was dead as a doornail, and I plugged it in. At least my tea was ready, and I took a long sip before I finished sorting my mail.
The recycling pile was much larger than anything I needed to pay attention to. There was an advertisement for a furniture place, some updated Terms of Service for my credit card, and a reminder that my health insurance was overpriced. Nothing that couldn’t wait.
My koala still wasn’t happy despite the shower and tea. I set my mug down and contemplated driving to where I could shift. If it had been an hour earlier, possibly, but I was put-a-fork-in-me done. I was ready for bed.
I put the teacup in the sink and turned on the phone, figuring it probably had enough charge for that. The stupid thing exploded with notifications. I had 43 text messages waiting, 23 missed phone calls, and 17 messages. I put the phone right back down again. That could all wait until tomorrow.
Seeing that it was much later than I realized it had been, I walked to my work phone and sent a message to my boss that I was using my comp time and completely shut it down once it said delivered. I was warning him, not asking. He could be mad about it.
Please.
No. It’s not safe for me to drive while I am this tired. I put the scent machine on for you.
Shift.
Stop or no candy tomorrow.
I didn’t like to be that firm with him, not when he had every right to be upset about being trapped for so long. But if I didn’t, he wasn’t going to let me sleep, and did I need sleep.
Human me was eucalyptus-ed out, but my beast was really needing it, so I set up the diffuser and climbed into bed.
“How I’ve missed you,” I said to my pillow. “Next time I’m bringing you with me.” I said that every time, but never did. The time I tried, it took up most of my suitcase.
I closed my eyes, and just as I suspected, the caffeine did nothing to thwart my sleeping.