Myrtle was exhausted by the time she arrived at Fred’s that evening. There was food there she had planned to cook for them, but she stopped at the Chicken Hut instead and brought in chicken, fries and coleslaw for their supper. She was a little torn between eating supper or just going straight to a nervous breakdown.
Fred, of course, had no real appreciation of what she was going through at work and Myrtle wasn't ready to talk about it. And Fred was just as happy with Chicken Hut chicken as with a home-cooked meal anyway. It really didn’t matter to Fred, as long as he had supper. Although, after eating waffles for breakfast and peanut butter and banana sandwiches for lunch, he was in no danger of starving. Once again, he’d only just finished his wash when Myrtle arrived with the supper. They ate in silence, except for lip-smacking and other foody noises from Fred intended to demonstrate his appreciation. Myrtle was careful to just have a Brio with her supper. She wanted very much to sleep in her own bed that night.
After supper she encouraged Fred to come with her for a little walk again. It was exercise for Fred, but did Myrtle a world of good as well, just strolling slowly arm-in-arm with Fred in the crisp autumn air, relaxing and breathing slowly as they walked. It was probably the quietest evening the two had spent together. Myrtle just didn’t feel like talking, and Fred seemed quite content to just go with whatever Myrtle wanted. And yet there was no discomfort or awkwardness. They just strolled along together to the corner, then turned and strolled back to Fred’s apartment.
When they got back, Myrtle told Fred she’d had a rather exhausting day at the office and really needed to have an early night. He had a queasy moment of uncertainty, but then she smiled so sweetly at him that it went right away. He leaned toward her and kissed her most ardently and she returned it. But then she pulled away, just a little ahead of him. She was tired; he still wasn’t ready to follow through. They smiled at each other.
“Will you be all right, Fred?” she asked.
“I’ll manage, Myrtle. I know where everything is now,” he assured her. “You go home and get some rest. See you tomorrow?”
“Right after work,” she assured him.
The two exchanged one more hug, then Myrtle left. Fred made himself comfortable on his couch and picked up the TV remote. Myrtle drove home, rehashing her day on the way. At least, she thought, that would keep her awake till she got home. Once there, she lit a fire in the stove, grabbed a blanket and curled up on the couch for what was to be just a little while. She fell asleep there. Sometime during the night, Myrtle awoke and realized she wasn’t in her bed, so she put another log on the fire and went to snuggle in properly.
In the morning Myrtle awoke feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time. She adjusted the electric heat again, as usual, since she would not be home to keep the fire going, and she got ready for work at a more relaxed pace and wondered what to have for breakfast. Over a poached egg with toast and a fresh coffee, she fervently hoped that this day would be a quieter one at work.
She was in luck. It seemed, for the moment anyway, that all the drama had quieted and she could just get on with her work. Her perspective on only one thing had drastically changed: Professor Dilby could come into her office any time and ask her for almost anything, and she would simply do her level best to see that he got it. She hoped that pretty much everyone else would just stay away from her door... for the rest of week if possible.
Thursday was also a quiet day at work, giving Myrtle ample time to reflect on the lingering kisses she’d shared with Fred before leaving his apartment the previous day. She left work early on this day to take Fred to the hospital to have his staples removed. It went fairly well, at least, from her perspective. She had sort of entertained the idea of just stopping at a fast food restaurant for supper on the way back to Fred’s. But he exited the hospital examination room moaning in pain and squirming so, Myrtle felt it best just to take him home. There was no walk that evening. Myrtle just made supper and gave Fred some pain-killers for dessert. He apologized profusely for being such a big baby about it, but insisted that the doctor was less than gentle and his belly really hurt. Myrtle told him just as repeatedly that it was ok. She needed another good night of rest anyway. She encouraged Fred to just turn in early and she would leave and do the same.
Friday passed quietly, in almost monotonous sameness, except it was raining out, so Myrtle couldn’t convince Fred to go for his walk that day either, not even by reminding him that they met whilst walking in the rain. She suggested that they do some stretching exercises instead, but Fred made the excuse that his stomach still hurt and he just wanted to play some cards together. And so they did, until Myrtle left for home, parting, as had become their custom, with hugs and kisses at Fred’s door.
Myrtle showed up Saturday morning with donuts and they had breakfast together, then ventured outside finally for a walk in the cool, grey day. They got farther than the corner this time, but not much. When they got back, Myrtle busied herself cleaning Fred’s apartment and making lunch, while Fred snoozed on the couch. But on this day, Myrtle was not planning to stay all day. She pointed out the leftovers in the fridge just to make supper easy for Fred, but he’d have to have it alone.
“I have to get some cleaning done at home while there’s still some daylight,” she explained. “There’s quite a gaggle of dust bunnies partying under my couch,” she said with a little laugh. “I want to at least scatter them before beginning another week of being away from home.”
Fred understood. After all, Myrtle had been spending most of her time at his place. Later, in retrospect, Myrtle wished she’d invited Fred to come home with her and spend that night at her place. But she wasn’t sure he was ready for that and didn’t want to scare him or seem demanding. She thought they were building toward something very meaningful and was willing to be patient. So she told Fred she’d be back in the morning, but would be a bit late for breakfast, since she wanted to pick up a few groceries for them both. She paused, wondering if Fred would want to come shopping with her, but he didn’t ask to, so she just assured him she’d be there in plenty of time for lunch. She thought they could spend the afternoon together and maybe, if the weather wasn’t too bad, they might try to get a little farther on their walk. After an ardent kiss and a lingering hug, she left him standing there, in his robe, and went home.
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