Liberating Tinkerbell

Chapter 1 Anna—Odd socks and odd behaviors

Anna emptied the washing basket on the sofa, sighing as she realized just how many individual socks were there.

How do I even own this many socks? And where are all their partners?

Anneliese Harris, it's time to throw out some of these sad, lonely socks. Mason’s socks filled half the sofa cushion, a sea of black and gray, all different brands and with slightly different fabrics.

Whatever. She decided to just pair up his socks by color.

Do men even care if they are slightly different as long as they mostly match?

It’s unlikely that Mason cared about that, although he could be pretty fussy about his image, particularly at work.

Thinking of Mason, even about something as minor as his socks, made Anna’s heart hurt.

He’d been different lately. Not really distant, but his mind did seem to be elsewhere.

Sometimes he seemed stressed or angry with her, and other times he was overly clingy and affectionate.

His focus on money, more so his apparent lack of it lately, was also a concern.

Melody, Anna’s best friend and colleague, had suggested maybe a gambling problem could account for his moods.

Anna had asked him flat out several times what was wrong, and he just claimed tiredness or work stress, but it didn’t make sense to her.

She’d seen him stressed about work, and it was usually a short-term funk, not this prolonged and confusing flurry of moods that he’d indulged in lately.

Her friend Rosa, in her usual blunt and casual way, suggested an affair, but Anna honestly couldn’t see that being the case.

No couple was perfect, but they seemed fine in most ways.

Occasional arguments over small things, disagreements about budgeting (which was a nice way of referring to his overspending), a healthy sex life (though reduced lately because of his hours), and plenty of quality time together.

Anna frowned. On second thought, scratch that.

Their time together had been limited lately because of all the extra hours he was putting in at the office for the new software product his company was launching.

Mason was a sales rep for a software company that sold human resources software and customer relationship management products.

Maybe it really was work stress? He was successful, driven, and always received healthy commissions, but how could he be stressed about money and constantly short on his half of the rent and expenses if he was working so hard and such long hours?

Surely his commissions would reflect this extra work.

Maybe the stress stemmed from his ongoing rivalry with Lilah, his archnemesis at work.

Lilah was another rep, and she and Mason were always clamoring for territory and clients.

No, it couldn’t be. He’d been battling Lilah for years without falling into these mood swings, and she hadn’t heard of any new feuds over clients, which brought her back to an affair.

Anna swept the socks to one side, grabbing two white socks that matched enough to pass as a pair.

That would have to do. She had to be at work in 10 minutes and was already running late.

Throwing on her socks and shoes, she left the house and hurried toward her little blue car.

It was at least 15 years old and definitely had its issues, and several mismatched panels, but it had served her well and she loved it.

Mason was always on at her to buy a new car, citing safety concerns, but she really didn’t want the extra financial burden.

Fighting Mason on overspending was beginning to be a constant in her life.

She came into her trust fund when she turned 25 in four months, and he was determined to start spending now, insisting that they could easily pay it all back once her funds hit the account.

They were struggling as it was. By the time rent was paid, groceries bought, and other expenses paid, they were left with less than $400.

And lately, Mason had a direct debit of $280 coming out to pay for his mom’s rehab expenses after she broke her hip.

Yes, they’d have money soon, but she didn’t fancy spending the next four months scrounging for cash to pay for gas.

She’d already taken on extra work in the form of sewing costumes.

As a ballet and modern dance teacher, she had plenty of students whose parents didn’t have the time or skills to make costumes, so she’d been spending hours at the table after dinner each night, sewing sequins on and taking up hems.

She pulled into the car park and checked her phone.

Perfect, she had two minutes to spare. Madame Celeste, the owner of Dynamics Dance, ran a ship that was tighter than her signature gray bun.

She was a tough old cookie, but she was fair and very open about her high expectations.

Anna waved to some girls from her junior ballet class and made her way to the staff room to dump her bag.

Rosa and Mel were already there, arguing about the partnering of two dancers in the intermediate class.

“They look ridiculous together, Mel. She doesn’t know what she’s doing and he’s a whole head shorter than her. No way he can do a lift without someone busting something,” Rosa insisted.

“You know that strength isn’t always about brawn. He’s wiry but he’s strong. He lifted Lilly, who’s way taller and broader than Ruby,” Mel shot back.

Anna smiled at Mel and Rosa. “Morning ladies. God, I need a coffee but I’m running late for the Ladybugs class.”

“How are things at home? Have you checked his phone yet?” Rosa asked.

“No, don’t even try to sell her on the affair thing. He’s gambling. I’m sure of it. Didn’t you say he went through an online poker stage a few years ago Anna?” Mel countered.

“As great as it is that you’re both entertained by playing Nancy Drew on the state of my relationship, I’ve got a class to teach,” Anna said. “Let’s chat at lunch.”