Better to Laugh

Yesterday, I read most of the novel The Lovely Bones.  The story is about a murdered girl trying to reach out to her family as they deal with her death and try to find her killer.  My husband was out of town, and both of my boys decided to spend the night elsewhere.  I read until about midnight, then decided to take a shower.  I remembered that my Mary Kay order might have been delivered on the porch, and it could freeze if left outside.  So I went downstairs, opened the front door, and peered out – not there.  It was a very still night with a fairly thick fog…eerily quiet.  I quickly closed and locked the door, ran upstairs, and closed my bedroom door.  I got in the shower, but I couldn’t really enjoy it; I didn’t like the opaque barrier that the shower curtain created.  Besides, it stirred with the rhythm of the furnace and my body as I quickly washed.  My heart was racing as I pulled back the shower curtain and grabbed the towel.  Nothing.  This was so silly. 

I calmed down and started to relax, feeling the damp cleanliness of my skin as I put on my pajamas.  Still, I locked the bedroom door.  I felt safe again and actually felt a peace in the quiet aloneness of the night.  I slipped into bed and turned off the bedside lamp.  I was wrapped in my blankets, the house wrapped by the fog.  I took a deep breath and nodded off in the quiet night.