Bittersweet Summer

It's 6.30am, and just briefly as she wakes, she isn't quite sure where she is. SHIT her head hurts. She looks around the room....the two empty bottles of wine are laying on the table, and so is the glass.....the rest of the house looks like a show home. White leather sofa, elegant stone coloured cushions and carpet. It's classy, tasteful. She designed most of it of course. He wouldn't have a clue. But he was the one who paid for it all. Slowly, she lifts her head from one of the stone coloured cushions. GOOD GOD her head hurts. She glances down at the empty wine bottles. Secretly, she is just a little proud that she drank both bottles and wasn't sick. And just at that moment, she realises she needs to rush to the downstairs bathroom. The wine came back. Hard. Ugly. She made it, JUST. But she regretted both the emotional low, and also good GOD the physical act of throwing up. Finally she stopped retching. And stood up. Looked in the mirror. And muttered..."Michelle, you look like shit".

She walked to the kitchen slowly staggering. Water was needed. She opened the fridge. And saw the can of full fat Coke. PERFECT. Sugar....NOW! She poured a glass, and drank it. not too fast, or she knew it would be coming back again. But yes. The sweetness definitely was both needed, and being absorbed greedily by her dehydrated body. She poured more, and only then did she begin to piece together the day before. Why hadn't HE come downstairs after she had got out of the shower? The usual pattern was, if he had won, he would be semi pissed, but in a great mood. So she would have to succumb to his advances, to keep his mood buoyant. Yet last night he had not followed her downstairs. She decided to creep upstairs, curious as to why he had changed his usual routine.

As she got to the top, she could hear the snores. The master bedroom was magnificent. Clean, white again, with deep wine coloured accents. Even he admired the bedroom, and en-suite. But the only thing he was admiring this morning was the top of the duvet. He hadn't even bothered to get undressed. She found it unusual. Out of character. Sure he had come home drunk before, and occasionally he had also fallen straight to sleep. But she couldn't put her finger on why, this just felt different. She grabbed a pair of comfy cream joggers, and a top, and made her way out of the bedroom. He was oblivious to it all. She needed a shower again, and to brush her teeth, but she could do that all in the guest bathroom. Less elegant, and not quite so lavishly furnished, but still clean and immaculately presented. It served the other two bedrooms and together with the downstairs loo and shower room, meant there were more than enough places to go to the toilet or wash when parties or guests were at the house. It seemed a long time since anything like that. except for HIS friends. No, not even friends, his mates had come around. Direct from the club. Pissed. and gradually got more pissed. she usually shuts herself away on those nights.

She decided to go back downstairs and empty the washing machine, (the Chanel dress was dry clean only, but she really didn't care, she had machine washed it before and no-one noticed) but she carefully made sure the clothes were hidden amongst the others hanging in the warm utility room. He wouldn't notice anyway. but you could never be sure.

Returning back through the kitchen, she decided that the downstairs shower room was safest. He wouldn't hear the water, and she could hopefully escape before he woke. She HATED Sundays. If he wasn't playing, it made for some very quiet and awkward days.

She stepped out of the silk robe, and into the large shower enclosure. Turning the valve, she felt the water and immediately it made her more alert. She opened the valve fully, the shower room had a powerful pump fitted and, on the right setting, the water almost hurt if it hit in the right place at the right angle. It could make you orgasm too she thought.................and she smiled to herself. The water felt good. Hot, powerful, she wasn't dirty, and just needed the shower to wake her and drag her out of the hangover. She didn't need long in there to feel awake. Rejuvenated. Alive. she stepped out. Dried herself, and then decided she would just put her hair up. Sod it. she wasn't going anywhere. she pulled on the joggers, and the top. It was a little risky, no bra, but her still reasonably firm breasts meant she was Ok with it. At least her tits were not on her knees yet! She was feeling pretty chilled, and glanced at the clock, 8am. Not so bad. She had no idea what time she had fallen asleep, much less what time HE had. But one thing was for sure. He had definitely had more than her to drink. The glass decanter was still beside him upstairs. She had no idea when he had come down to get it. And thank GOD he hadn't spilled anything this time.

Slowly, she began to come back to "normal" And it was then she remembered the car. Shit!. The dent. How the HELL was she going to explain it? Maybe she would just see how he was before she mentioned anything. In fact. That's definitely what she would do. He may just sleep all day. she could only hope!

As her mind wandered back, she thought about a crooked smile man. What was his name again?? Charles?? something like that. He had been so calm. She would have gone ape-shit. She decided she was going to go and check out the car. She went to the fridge. Wine. Cheese. a few tomatoes. Great. She really needed to shop too. She would go to the car. Check the damage. And go to the garage. Bread. Eggs. Bacon. At least she could start the day with something for her. And perhaps HE would be awake when she got back, and a bacon and egg sarnie might put him in a good mood too.

She closed the front door quietly, and slipped into the Mercedes. She looked into the passenger foot well. SHIT, her shoes. Oh well, he clearly hadn't seen them, so she would put them in the boot later, before he could comment. At £800, she knew he didn't mind her having them, but chucked in the footwell of the car wasn't his ideal of taking care of things, and she had to agree.

As she pulled out of the drive, she was amazed at how, no matter how drunk he was, he always parked the Aston perfectly. It was his pride and joy. Second hand, but only 2 years old, and had cost well over 100k. She secretly loved it. The noise. the looks. the speed. But she wasn't allowed near it, and wouldn't dare ask.

The garage was not far. She needed petrol too, so she could do it all. And then maybe she would check out the dent and decide what story she needed to come up with. David in the garage had known her ever since she lived there. And they always had a little laugh and a smile for each other. This morning, a cheery greeting from David, and a friendly face was just what she needed.

As she pulled in, she was relieved to see that no one else was in the garage. She pulled onto the pump, and smiled as he looked out of the window. He gave her a small wave and she felt warm inside. She smiled back, and instantly she just felt a little better about her day. She filled the car, and stepped inside the small shop. "Good Morning Michelle!" came the bright greeting from behind the counter. She blushed, feeling herself go red. And had no idea why. but she just felt a glow inside. That she needed right now. "Morning David!" she beamed back.

She collected all she needed, and placed it all on the counter. "You must have been unlucky Michelle, your beautiful car." She looked at him. Then the dent. "Oh yes, bloody car parks" she said. David looked at her. "I hope you get it fixed" "me too" she said, and paid for her shopping. "See you!" she smiled as she left the shop. He smiled back. He liked Michelle.

She looked at the car. SHIT. It was a dent. Not massive. But fist sized. HIS fist size. She walked around and got in. She took a deep breath as she sat down in the driver's seat. Threw the bacon and the other stuff on the passenger seat, and opened the glove box. She saw the tissue. Charles wasn't crooked smile's name. It was Charlie, and there was his number. It was 8.45. On a Sunday. She took out her Samsung..