Breaking Perfect

She anxiously watched the clock, needing another minute to pass so that she would have a remainder of six. As soon as the minutes changed she set into motion.

Pulling out all of her supplies, she lined them up on the counter. Sean asked Mason something, but she was too focused on what she was doing to make out his question. Once everything was set out she turned and moved to finish the dishes.

* * * *

Sean followed Mason out of the kitchen. “Come on. I have to get ready for work. Follow me so I can tell you what’s going to happen.”

Sean followed him up the steps. “Yeah, that would probably be a huge help. And what exactly will I be doing in your man cave for an hour when you leave?”

They walked into Mason and Liberty’s bedroom and Sean froze. This was so a place he didn’t need to be. He looked at the bed and saw images in his head of what he’d heard that morning.

Mason’s fingers snapped in front of his face. “Focus! She’s having a really bad day and it’s my fault because I wouldn’t let her out of bed this morning. I really need you to keep an eye on her for the next nine hours while I’m out. It doesn’t matter what you do in my study. Watch a movie, play pool, read a book, I don’t care. She just needs to wash the foyer floor without anyone around to walk on it.”

“Why don’t you just tell her to forget about it?”

“Don’t you get it? I could give a fuck if the floor was mopped more than once a year. She needs to do it. It helps her. She sets up these standards for herself and if they don’t get done in accordance with what she determines is a timely manner she gets upset. You give her one hour. That’s it. Then you find her and you don’t leave her alone for the rest of the day. Can you do that?” He watched as Mason stared back at him with one leg in his pants and one leg out, waiting for an answer. “Hello?”

Sean jerked his gaze away. “What? Yes. Sure.”

“Are you sure? Because if you can’t do it then I’ll call out. She needs someone with her when she gets like this, but you can’t make it like you’re babysitting her.”

“How often does this happen?”

“It used to happen a lot more frequently than it does now. She’s just having a bad couple of days and I shouldn’t have interrupted her schedule this morning.” He paused from tying his tie and Sean could tell he really felt guilty about causing Liberty stress.

“What if I do something that sets her off? You saw how pissed she got when I offered to do the dishes. I was just trying to be helpful.”

“She knows that. Believe me, she knows that. I would almost guarantee her frustration at that moment wasn’t with you, but with herself. She needs to do things a certain way. She probably appreciated the offer, but made herself sick over the fact that you wouldn’t do the dishes exactly as she sees fit. You can’t take it personally. Like I said, she just needs to do certain things a certain way. Just go with it and try to get her mind away from things that might set her off and onto something a little more fun. If you distract her long enough, she’s okay.”

“Okay. Keep my mouth shut and try to have fun. Got it?”

Mason looked at his watch. “And remember, one hour, no more.”

“Got it.” They started walking out the door and Sean stopped him. “Dude, you got a cell phone number in case anything goes wrong so I can get ahold of you?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

* * * *

Liberty used the tongs to place the eggs inside of a glass bowl she placed in the basin of the sink and then let ice cold water from the tap rush over them. Tiny bubbles formed on the hot shells. She glanced to the door then back to the bowl as the cold water began to flow over the rim and into the drain. Mason was still upstairs. She submerged her hands into the cold water and grabbed hold of two still scalding eggs, moaning until the pain eased and the cold water soothed the burn.

The door eased open and Mason walked in. He came over to the sink and kissed her. Again he shut off the tap after casually testing the temperature. When he felt the coldness of it he smiled at her. He already knew she was having a shitty day. He was stressing. She could see it in his eyes.

“Mmm, egg salad. Yum. What else do I get?”

The eggs were now chilled so she carried them to the cutting board and began to peel and dice them. “A banana and granola yogurt.”