Throughout the whole evening Giselle carried the guilty conscience around her apartment. From living room to the kitchen. From the bedroom to the bathroom. Around 9pm she filled a glass with white wine and leaned against the tall fridge. In her kitchen were bright ceiling spots that allowed a person to work neatly and precisely even when the sun didn't show her face. Now those spots lit up the white fluid in the glass. Giselle peered at the tiny bubbles and twirled the glass between her fingers. She sighed deeply and pursed her lips.
With a quick slight of hand, the brunette took her phone from her pocket and called Laury. It rang once. Twice. Thrice. "Hello? What's up, Giselle?". "Hey Laury. Do you have time to phone for a bit?", Giselle asked softly and sipped from her wine. "I think I do, gimme a sec, I'll pause the show and grab some wine", Laury responded, seemingly happy. As her friend wanted to get wine, the brunette held her own glass and wondered if they were drinking too much lately. Probably. Maybe. Who knew. "Hey, I'm back! I was thinking about you earlier, too!", came the voice through her phone.
"Really? What about?", Giselle was curious now. "Oh, you know? I think I like that we're hanging out more. Guess I also like the style recommendations you gave me. You wouldn't believe it, someone asked me out today. Handsome guy, wore a suit and a tie. He had the most beautiful smile!", Laury's butterflies and swooning made her listener blink and gather her thoughts. Wait, what just happened? Laureen Munroe has a date with a decent man? Who would've guessed! "I am so happy for you!", she said and smiled, "When's the date?". "Tomorrow evening! I'll tell you all about it on Monday. And I am _not_ inviting him in! No more sleepovers on my first dates!". The woman sounded proud and determined. So much so that Giselle chuckled into the phone. "What! Don't believe me?", came the reaction, but Giselle shook her head and said, "I just didn't think I'd ever hear this from you. I am happy for you, Laury!".
A short silence followed as her coworker drank from her wine. She could hear it through the phone. Playing copycat, she did the same. Afterwards she sighed and said, "I had Rachel over today for coffee and cake". "That nerdy, cute girl that lives with that tall dark-skinned beauty?". "Yeah, that one. I think I told you before that she was curious about Annie and Celestine. In a moment of sheer insanity I decided to tell her the summary of what happened. I think she lost all respect for me and left. That didn't exactly go according to plan. It was a coffee and cake after all...", Giselle calmly explained, her gloom slowly dissipating as she pushed the thoughts into words. Laury's breathing could be heard through the line for a while.
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"Giselle, dumb decisions is the trademark of humanity. I'm not particularly fond of how you cheated either. But honestly I can see why you did it. Annie is a pretty woman and your marriage had left the excitement on the tracks a long while ago. Even without me judging you and throwing my opinion in your face, your life isn't easy right now. If Rachel wants to take the moral high ground, let her. Once her relationship ages, she'll have to deal with her own demons", Laury finished the monologue with a huff and her dissatisfaction was apparent even through her voice.
The brunette pondered about this for a while. Both breathed into the phone in silence. "Thanks, Laury. Guess I wouldn't mind leaving the topic about Ian and my marriage now. It's been on my mind all afternoon. Not to mention that I have no idea how to deal with the loan payments for the apartment. It's mind-boggling. I hate it!", Giselle grumbled into the phone and ended with a grimace all over her face. "You'll figure it out, I am sure!", her friend said encouragingly.
The two women talked for an hour about the latest TV show Laury had found. It was a romantic comedy about a fitness coach and a young banker taking her lessons to shape up for his crush. It turned into a love triangle and Laury was rooting for the fitness coach, but Giselle was certain that the coach would end up heart broken. Eventually both made their way to bed and said their goodbyes. Sunday came and went by. Giselle had planned to go out, but somehow couldn't get herself out of the apartment. In the evening Annie came by and they watched something, but both fell asleep on the sofa. The whole week rushed past her in a blur. Nothing spectacular happened, Rachel and Kamal kept their distance and Ian did not contact her either. Saturday was planned as a date and Annie took her into an art gallery. The exhibition had the title "The post-apocalyptic workplace" and it's paintings and sculptures were abstract. Very abstract. To the point that the brunette felt out of place, but her girlfriend loved it and pulled her from one painting to the next.