“Ah, jeez. Not again.”
And these were definitely her shoeprints, right? He looked outside begrudgingly – a rather ill measurement of whether his assistance was required, unfortunately. And pulling open the door was a task in itself, the wind whipping the earth in a vicious, elemental display. She couldn’t be left out here. Not when it was like this.
This path was messy. These flowers were out of place. Was that bush dead?
Mary sighed. She had hoped that this morning’s walk would calm her mind, but as per usual, it was only making her even more restless. Had it not been for her painfully blistered fingers, speckled with injuries from needle and old shovel alike, it would have been difficult to prevent her from beginning her routine landscape work right there and then. The temperature continued to drop, and her hands instinctively clung to her shoulders.
If temperature was a concern, then the cliff was not the best place to brood. But there she stood, indifferent to logic in the wake of her mania. There was so much to do. Too much to do. As mayor, she was doing the work of twenty. Mary flopped down, legs dangling dangerously over the spill. It was an unspeakable thought, but at times like these, she wondered what reason there was in continuing.
Something warm overtook her shoulders. She turned around, meeting Beardo’s smiling face.
“I thought that you might need that.” His coat hung like a second skin over her white shoulders. He assumed the spot next to her, stroking his mustache in contemplation.
“I…” she began to say.
“Mary, let’s go home. I already know what you’re going to say. The village can wait. We will always wait for you.”
“…I needed that.”
“I know.” He hoisted upwards. “I always know.”