A light cloud cover made the night very dark. The street light five houses away provided little assistance. Shadows everywhere made her wince at the sudden realization someone could be watching her without her knowledge. The auburn hair stood up on her arms and the back of her neck but she didn't have a choice. She knew what she needed to do but once again she sat in the quiet car trying to think of any other way out. It was a daily and prevalent thought process but once again she came up empty. This was the only way and she knew it.
She was still beautiful at 36 years of age. Her children had for a while affected pretty negative changes to her physically but hard work and persistence had finally paid off. Her body was lean and toned except for the curvy silhouette she would never escape even at 118 pounds. Her green eyes flashed as she checked her make-up and for a split-second admired her own cleavage in the lighted rear view mirror.
With a final silent pep talk and a sigh she exited the car and walked across the street in shiny black four inch heels to a home she had never visited at 1:30 AM. With dread she knew before the night was over she would leave a small piece of herself there. It felt that way every time.
The small light by the door flashed on as she approached. She never knew for sure whether they were set off by motion detectors or by someone anxiously awaiting her arrival. They almost never answered the door right away and she could always sense being eyed through the tiny peepholes, voyeurs taking a last look before they finally revealed themselves to her. She never knew what to expect when the door opened.
Her only prior communication would have typically occurred either by email, text, or a furtive cell phone conversation. They would ask inane questions about her shoe size or how tall was she. Her womanly intuition was strong and she learned to rely on it to keep herself safe. Still she never knew what they would look like, short or tall, skinny or not, light or dark skinned unless there was a dialect that might possibly give something away in advance.
The door never opened. The light stayed on but there was no greeting from an appreciative male looking forward to her company. She waited and knocked at the door several times. She sent a text to the reason she was there in the middle of the night. Then she called. Anger welled up inside her when all she reached was voicemail. She stifled her anger long enough to leave a sweet message expressing concern that perhaps something came up and she hoped everything was ok.
By this time she was settled back in her car. Lights with motion detection usually go off after a few minutes. The light stayed on at the door and she felt with certainty there was someone inside. In that moment, strong feelings of being ignored and rejected, played with and discarded like a toy of no consequence washed over and consumed her. She didn't like being gone at night from her family but to waste time like this was just ridiculous and it made her angry.