Meredith knew exactly how the 8-year-old felt. She was frustrated with having to go to bed earlier than her friends, but it couldn’t be helped.
Besides, Alice had to get up early for school the next day. Getting a good night’s rest was important.
“It’s going to be fine,” Meredith told her.
“Not likely,” Alice sighed. “You know how my dad is.”
“Yeah,” Meredith agreed. “I know.”
She left the room then and quietly closed the door. She paused in the hallway for a minute, listening to make sure Alice didn’t get out of bed and grab her tablet to start playing with it. Meredith really couldn’t blame her if she tried to sneak games after curfew, but it would be Meredith’s ass on the line if Alice stepped out and disobeyed.
Once she was satisfied that Alice was actually in bed, Meredith went downstairs. She headed into the kitchen to make a snack before she, too, turned in for the night. Daniel wasn’t in yet, so she had the place to herself. It wasn’t unusual for him to work late nights, but on nights like tonight, Meredith worried more than she should.
There were a few pretty bad cases ofa new virus going around. She didn’t want to be a worrier, but she was anxious. A few schools had shut down in other states, and she wondered if they were going to be next. It would be unfortunate if Alice had to stay home from school, even for a few days. Alice loved her classmates and her teacher was fantastic.
There was a lot of talk on social media about everything that was happening, but Meredith couldn’t tell if she was worrying too much, too little, or just the right amount. She opened the fridge to see what was inside.
“Turkey and cheese it is,” she said, pulling the ingredients from the fridge. She grabbed a couple of slices of white bread from a bag, put them on a plate, and carefully layered her cheese and turkey. One layer of cheese, one layer of turkey, and then she repeated that. It was something Meredith’s mom had always done when she was a kid, and Meredith had loved it.
Loved it.
Now, even after her mom was gone, Meredith liked finding ways to remember her. What better way to remember her mom than with her favorite treats and snacks?
Meredith took her plate into the living room. Daniel still wasn’t back, so there was not going to be anyone to tell her she couldn’t eat on the fancy couch. It wasn’t that she was a huge rebel, but…
Well, Meredith liked lounging around.
She liked eating on the couch.
She liked being busy and she liked working hard, but sometimes, at the end of a long, hard day, she didn’t want to worry about anything except just unwinding.
She set her phone on the coffee table and pulled up her favorite news app. Instantly, a reporter started talking about new cases of the virus that had been popping up all around their state.
“Shit,” she muttered, shaking her head. She bit into the sandwich as she stared at the news, mesmerized by it. She really couldn’t look away even though she wanted to. People in some places were fighting over things like toilet paper and hand sanitizer. Everyone wanted to get ahead of the virus. Everyone wanted to be one step ahead of everything.
The news reporter started talking about ways to minimize the spread of infection. Things like handwashing and avoiding public events were supposed to be important. Despite the casual reassurances that everything was going to be okay, however, Meredith felt uncomfortable at everything that was happening. She wondered if they should try to go buy toilet paper, too.
Maybe some bottled water?
She’d never prepped for any sort of pandemic event before, so she didn’t even know where to start. Daniel was sort of a prepper. He had a pantry at the house and some supplies in the basement, but those were all for snowstorms.
What were they supposed to do if they got sick?
She bit into her sandwich and kept watching. A couple of crumbs dropped onto her lap, but she brushed them off. She could vacuum tomorrow. Daniel wasn’t going to be sitting down on the couch and hanging out when he got home from work. No, he’d do what he always did. He’d come inside, kick off his boots, and go upstairs to bed.
It was unfortunate, really, that he never wanted to hang out. Not that she could blame him. After all, Meredith was just the help. She didn’t want to be, though. Nope.
Not at all. She wanted to be so much more than the help. She wanted to be wild and sexy and slutty for Daniel. She knew all about his bedroom activities, and that was part of the reason she’d started reading BDSM novels.
She knew he was a Dominant.
She knew that Daniel liked to tie women up and spank them and fuck them.
The idea should be repulsive to Meredith, but it wasn’t. Instead, it made her feel…
Excited.
“You dropped a piece of turkey.”