Tangled Luck Ch 3

No matter how careful I am, I always find myself in bad situations.  I don't know if life just hates me, or if the universe is out to get me.  I've more or less learned to accept the bad and expect no good.  Sometimes, though, the universe will throw me a curve ball.

Chapter 3 – The Luck About Locked Doors

Eugene Fitzherbert lived above a book store called Flynnigan's Tower of Books.  It looked like a quaint little second hand shop.  As Rapunzel and Eugene got off the bus he pointed it out.
"See, it's just a block away on that corner.  It won't take long to get there."  The bus drove away and Eugene took Rapunzel's hand.  She wanted to rip her fingers from him, but killed the urge.  She didn't want to do anything rash around this man, for fear he might blow up again, even though she felt he really wouldn't do that.
As she and he approached the bookstore, Rapunzel saw that the store was having a 50% off entire stock sale.  She also saw posters for new books and a sign that advertised an author's visit, but she didn't know the name.  
The rain had stopped, but that was because the air had turned cold and the rain was now snowflakes.  The wind blew fiercer.  Rapunzel tugged at her coat.
"You've got to love wacky weather, eh Blondie?"  Rapunzel only shrugged.
The two walked in front of the store front and Rapunzel glanced in.  A few people were inside.  She saw a clock on the wall in the store.  It read 4:45 pm.  She hadn't realized they were at the hospital that long.
Eugene led her around the back of the store where there was a staircase that led up to the apartment.  He gestured to the small parking lot behind the building.  
"I usually park my car back here, but it's in the shop.  Good thing too.  If I'd had it today, I never would have been walking down that street to save you."  Rapunzel didn't say anything.  Eugene cleared his throat as they started up the stairs.  "Uh, you don't need to be anywhere tomorrow, do you?"
"I don't have class on the weekends."
"Okay, good."  Eugene pulled out a key and unlocked the door.  He stepped aside for Rapunzel.  She passed him and for some reason, held her breath.  It was just something she did when she passed by too close to men.  
The door only opened to a little room that had another door.  There was a pile of shoes, a trash can and a cylinder for umbrellas but there were no umbrellas.  Eugene stepped by Rapunzel and she forgot to hold her breath.  He smelled like… wet leather, coffee, and also Old Spice shaving cream.  Rapunzel felt her heart flutter.  She put her hand over her chest, like that would stop it.  Eugene unlocked the other door and again let Rapunzel go first.  She again held her breath, but it did little.  The whole apartment smelled like Old Spice and coffee.
At least it doesn't smell like cigarettes and alcohol, Rapunzel thought to herself, thinking about her aunt's house.
It was messy, just like Eugene had warned.  Clothes were strewn everywhere.  Some were folded nicely while others were wrinkly and looked like they had just been stripped off right there.  Paper littered both Eugene's coffee table and what must have been his kitchen table.  A closed laptop sat on the kitchen table, as did empty glasses and a few bottles of drunk beer.  Books were stacked in every possible corner and the shelves were stuffed full.  Movie and video game posters still in plastic were taped to the wall: Lord of the Rings, Princess Bride, Tron, Final Fantasy VII, X and XII, Guild Wars, Kingdom Heart, Goonies, How to Train Your Dragon and Brave were just a few of the titles Rapunzel saw.  There were also anime posters, but none of the names stuck out to Rapunzel.  Hanging in the dining area was a framed print of Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night.  
On one of the shelves of a book case, Eugene had dedicated an entire section to movies.  Rapunzel really didn't look at the titles, but she saw that it was mostly Dreamworks and Disney.  Some were even VHS.  There was a TV right across from the couch with a DVD player and various game consoles.  Rapunzel didn't know the name of a one of them.
Various figures and toys sat everywhere around the living room.  Mostly anime and video game themed stuff, but there were just as many fantasy figurines.  Plastic toys of dragons and knights fought out a battle against each other in a window sill, with a tower behind the dragons.  Rapunzel saw a female shape in the tower.  There were also models of planes and a model of the Hindenburg.
Mainly, it looked like nothing but clutter in Eugene's apartment.  Stuff he didn't want to get rid of.  But there was something that Rapunzel thought was a well planned effect.  Sitting in the east and west windows of the living room were colored glass bottles.  If it hadn't been cloudy and snowing outside, the sun would be shining in right then, staining the room like an artist's pallet.  Rapunzel also saw a curious looking wind chime hanging just above one of the windows; it had a glass bowl at the top with a single stone tied on a string on the inside of the bowl.  A piece of paper hung on the end of the string.
Rapunzel glanced around a few more times.  She turned back to Eugene when he started speaking to her.
"Feel free to settle in.  If crap is in your way just toss it aside.  All the important stuff is put away."  He took her coat and put it on a peg on the wall next to his.  He turned up the thermostat a bit and gestured for Rapunzel to take a seat.  She didn't sit down right away.  She just stood there.  She felt like she didn't belong.  "You can have my bedroom tonight," Eugene continued.  "I'll change the sheets for you."  He ducked into a back room.  Rapunzel glanced in around the door.  Just as many clothes, books and paper carpeted the floor.  "If you're hungry, you can call one of the places on the fridge," Eugene called from inside the bedroom.  Rapunzel saw him walk by with an arm full of junk that he tossed into a corner.
Rapunzel wandered into the kitchen and looked disdainfully at the pile of dishes in the sink.  She looked at the refrigerator.  It was covered in magnets of carry out places.  Chinese, Korean, sushi, pizza, Italian, Mexican, even German.  Rapunzel blanched at the thought of saurer kraut.  Rapunzel didn't feel like eating any of the food.  She didn't feel like eating much of anything.
"What do you feel like eating," she asked him.
"Huh?  Did you say something?"
"I asked you what you would prefer," Rapunzel said a bit louder.
"I don't know.  You're my guest, so you decide.
"Well, that was helpful," Rapunzel mumbled to herself.  She took one of the pizza magnets off.  "Where's your phone," she asked.
"Coat.  The password is a checkmark starting in the top left hand corner."  Rapunzel found it after searching five of the eight pockets in Eugene's blue leather coat.  It took her two times to get the combination right.  When the screen popped up, she looked at it blankly.  She had no idea how to work a smart-phone sort of thing.
"Uh, how do I get the numbers to come up?"  Eugene came out of the bedroom and took the phone.  He quickly moved a finger over the screen and handed it back to Rapunzel.  
"Just dial."  He turned to go back to the bedroom.
"Wait, what do you want?"
"Get what you like.  I'll eat anything."  He grinned and winked at her.  Rapunzel suddenly felt highly uncomfortable.  Eating anything could mean something else.
She dialed the pizza place and ordered Canadian bacon, extra cheese, thick crust.  When the guy on the other end asked where to drop the pizza off at, she had to ask Eugene.  He came back out of the bedroom and took the phone again.
"Dude, it's me.  Yeah.  What, no?  She's just spending the night.  She's a friend that needed a place to stay.  Yeah, see ya in twenty."  He hung up.  "Sorry, it didn't cross my mind that you don't know where I live."
"You order pizza a lot?"
"Sort of.  I also had a part time job there.  The guy you talked to has worked there since he and I were in high school.  He's actually made assistant manager."  He put the phone on the coffee table.  Rapunzel walked into the kitchen and put the magnet back on the fridge.  She sat down on the couch and cradled her arm.  
"Does it hurt," Eugene asked.
"Uh… a little."  Eugene smacked his forehead.
"The doctor said to ice it.  Man, I hope I have ice in the freezer."  Eugene went to the kitchen.  Rapunzel heard him clunking and clinking around a bit.  He then came back with a plastic baggy filled with ice wrapped in a dish cloth.  He sat beside Rapunzel and gently pulled her hand away to put the ice pack on it.  "You should only keep it on for twenty minutes.  Otherwise the cold will start to irritate the injury and only make it worse."
"The doctor didn't say that."
"Don't question my medical expertise," Eugene over pronounced the consonants, like he was some professor giving a lector.  "I've been injured a few times in the past."  He winked again at Rapunzel.  She looked at the floor.  Eugene frowned at Rapunzel.  He thought about what he could do to make Rapunzel feel better.
"Hey, Rapunzel, do you want to take a shower?"  
"What?"  She looked at him, face red.  Did he mean together?
"To wash the chill off.  You're clothes are still damp, aren't they?  It'd be bad if you caught a cold on top of the sprain.  I mean, you don't to wind up having a bad week, do you?"
"Oh, yeah, sure, but, I don't have a change of clothes."
"Would you be fine to wear something of mine?  I know I'm not exactly petite, but I'm sure I've got something that'll fit you.  If you take a shower, I can wash and dry your clothes for you.  My apartment's got both."  Eugene looked eager for Rapunzel to accept, like a puppy waiting to be told it's time for a walk.  Rapunzel nodded her head.
"Yeah, I'd be fine with that."
"Then let me go find something for you."  He ducked back into his bed room.  Rapunzel heard drawers open.  She imagined Eugene looking for his smallest clothes.  She then thought about what all he was doing for her.  He was putting such a great effort towards making her comfortable.  He came back with a gold colored t-shirt and a pair of blue plaid flannel drawstring pajama pants.  "You can tie them up to fit your waist this way," he said as he handed her the clothes.  "There's also a clean wash cloth and towel in there."  Rapunzel took them and looked at the shirt, just so she could see how huge it was going to be on her.  Instead she read what it said: Golden Flower Academy, physical education, Eugene Fitzherbert.  Eugene Fitzherbert had been written in marker and the letters were just barely visible.  Rapunzel balked.
"This is the best private high school in the city!"
"Mm, yeah.  Terrible school lunches though.  Nothing but healthy crap, never gave us sugar."  He seemed so unconcerned.  Rapunzel was in the apartment of someone who was either an elite in society or he got into the academy on his smarts.
"How did you get into this school?  You either need money or a really high score."
"Uh, my parents enrolled me."  He looked at Rapunzel like she was going crazy.  She looked back at the shirt.  
Pascal tried to get into this school and he got put on a waiting list.  How did this guy get in?  Rapunzel decided that Eugene couldn't have possibly come from money, not with the way he lived, so he must've been highly intelligent.  Rapunzel wondered if he could be smarter than Pascal.
"You gonna go take that shower?"
"Yeah."  Rapunzel got up, leaving the ice pack behind.  
"Oh, wait, let me wrap your bandage in plastic, just so it doesn't get wet."  He went back into the kitchen and came back with Glad wrap and rubber bands.  He helped Rapunzel take the sling off.  He tossed it onto the coffee table.  He stretched out the thin plastic and covered the bandage a few times.  He then put the rubber bands on her arm to hold the plastic on.  "There you go.  Just leave your clothes outside the bathroom.  There's a heater in there too.  Just turn it on and the bathroom will warm right up.  Feel free to use the comb sitting in there; you just might need to rinse the hair gel out of it.   You can use the shampoo too.  It's a generic scent, so you won't smell like a man."  Rapunzel nodded her head, not really listening.  She wandered into the bathroom and closed the door.  She thanked God it locked.
Rapunzel set the clean clothes on the toilet seat and turned on the heater.  She began to undress.  She took off her blouse and removed her pants.  She also took off her camisole.  She unlocked the door and tossed the clothes out.  She locked the door again.  She then took her bra off and set it on top of the clothes.  She looked at herself in the mirror and blushed a bit.
She was flat chested.  Her aunt was right about that, but that was fine by Rapunzel.  She wasn't looking for the attention of men.  In fact, she didn't want any attention at all.  She pulled her long blonde hair from behind her shoulders and hid her body with it.
Rapunzel slipped her panties off and turned on the faucet.  She was not going to put on a pair of dirty underwear when she got out of the shower.  She put a bit of soap in the crotch and rubbed the fabric together.  She rinsed it, being thorough to get the soap out.  She then wrung the underpants out and laid them in front of the heater.  Hopefully, if she took a long enough shower, they would be dry enough to put back on.
She turned on the water and waited for it to get warm, turning the cold water tap a bit to get the right temperature.  She liked hot baths, but not boiling.  She took the wash cloth from the pile of clothes and set the towel aside.  She stepped into the shower.
Rapunzel hadn't realized how chilly she actually was until the hot water hit her skin.  Goosebumps popped up along her arms and back.  She tried to put her whole body under the water to keep the draft off.  Rapunzel wetted the wash cloth and looked for soap.  It was on the side of the stall.  She saw the shape of a dove on it.
He uses Dove soap?  Rapunzel thought that Eugene didn't look like the kind of guy who cared about soft, healthy skin.
She held the bar of soap under the water for a bit, then put it in the wash cloth and filled it with the suds.  She scrubbed her skin and thought about her situation again.
She was in the apartment of the random guy who had randomly decided to save her life.  He had defended her from her aunt.  He had offered to pay for her medical bills.  He'd taken her home.  He was washing her clothes for her.  She was taking a shower in his apartment.  And so far, he'd asked for absolutely nothing in return.  Yet.
Eugene might have seemed like a nice guy, but he was still a guy.  All guys wanted one thing and one thing only.  There had to be a catch to this situation.  He couldn't possibly be a genuine guy who just wanted to help her.  There were very few men like that, and for Rapunzel to be randomly saved by one of those men was like a one in a trillion chance.  Rapunzel was sure he was after something else and was sure it was her.  He wanted her.
Rapunzel gripped her shoulders and leaned against the shower stall.  She slid down the wall and shook, even with the warm water falling on her.
How could she have let herself get into this kind of situation?  Why did she go home with that man?  She would have been able to survive the wrath of her aunt.  She'd done it so many times before.  So why did she let herself be taken home by a complete stranger?
But he had such kind eyes.  Even if they were piercing, his look was gentle, with just a hint of a joking glint.  He was nice; Rapunzel could not deny that.  He'd taken her to the hospital and had detoured her aunt's anger to himself.  And he probably only took her home with him because he was worried of what her aunt would do to her.  Rapunzel was not as good at judging people as Pascal was, but she really wanted to trust Eugene.  But she knew she couldn't.  He was a man and she had to keep her guard up.
Rapunzel washed her hair and rinsed herself off.  She turned the water off and squeezed the excess water out of her hair.  It had become so long and cumbersome, but her aunt wasn't letting her cut it.  She stepped out of the shower.  She quickly wrapped the towel around herself and sat down in front of the heater.  She dropped her head down and ran her fingers through her hair, trying to get as much water out of it as possible.
She sat there for awhile, letting the heater evaporate the water.  A space heater was as good as any blow dryer; Rapunzel was quite sure that Eugene probably didn't have one.  She estimated it took about fifteen minutes to get her hair dry enough.  She stood up and threw her clothes on.  Her underwear was dry, but it was stiff.  She figured it'd work itself out with enough movement.  She wished she could have washed her bra, but bras were particular.  Eugene's clothes were warm and worn to be extremely soft, but they were much too big.  The pants covered her feet by three inches and the shirt hung on her like a blanket.  She took the towel and rubbed her hair with it, getting the last of the water out.  She looked at herself in the mirror and sighed.  
She'd never pictured herself wearing the clothes of a man because she was sleeping over at his house.  It made her feel like a floozy.
She opened the door.
Eugene was sitting on the couch, eating a piece of pizza.  He looked up when Rapunzel came out.
"Oh, hey, I was beginning to wonder if you drowned in there or something."
"Sorry, my long hair causes me to take really long showers."
"Understandable."  He gestured to the pizza on the coffee table.  "Pizza came."  Rapunzel nodded.  She stood in the middle of the living room, not moving.  "Uh…I think I'm going to take a shower too.  Help yourself to the food and whatever's in the fridge.  There's beer."
"I'm underage."
"And obviously honest."  Eugene stood up.  "Uh, do you want me to help you get the sling back on?"
"No.  I can put it back on myself."  Eugene nodded.  He walked towards his bedroom.  He stopped, turned around and grabbed the blanket off the couch.  He threw it over Rapunzel.  
"Sorry it's not a Snuggy, but you look cold."  He tousled her hair and went into his bedroom.  He came out a few seconds later with his own change of clothes and disappeared into the bathroom.  A few minutes later she heard the water turn on
Rapunzel took the plastic wrap off and put her sling back on.  She took the bag of ice and noticed quite a bit of it had melted.  It was still cold though.  She put it in the sling and fixed it to cradle her elbow.  She looked around the apartment again and she pulled the blanket close.  It was such a mess.
Rapunzel picked up a slice of pizza and nibbled at it as she inspected a line of picture frames and a trophy Eugene had setting on a table on the far side of the living room.  As she approached she noticed an award hanging on the wall.  It said: The Wordsmith's Society of New Sonnenburg awards this certificate to Eugene Fitzherbert, for his outstanding poem Lights.  The piece of paper had a fancy gold seal on it for the Wordsmith's Society.
Maybe he is smart and that's how he got into Golden Flower Academy.  Even though Rapunzel thought this, she had a hard time picturing Eugene writing a poem.  Then again, he did have a lot of books sitting around, so, maybe.
Rapunzel leaned down to look at the trophy.  It was for cross country track and field.  It said: Eugene Fitzherbert, 1st place for the mile run, six minutes, twenty seconds.  That was fast.  Rapunzel looked down at the picture frames.  They were of Eugene from what looked like the age of fourteen or thirteen to present.  The far left picture was of him in a ridiculous fishing get up with a large man with a brown and gray beard and a kind smile.  Eugene held up a large fish.  The picture next to it had the same man next to Eugene and also a very beautiful woman with brown hair and green eyes.  The three were dressed very nice.  The two adults had their hands on Eugene's shoulders.  He had a big smile on and the adults were just as happy.  In the next two, Eugene was with the same people.  In one he was holding his track trophy.  The other was of Eugene holding the poetry award, but he looked older in that picture.  
Maybe those people are his grandfather and mother?  They didn't look all that related, but that's who they must have been.  The two older people couldn't possibly be married.  It looked like they had too many years between them.
The next two pictures, Eugene was older.  In one, he was standing next to a fat, bald man with bad teeth and a thin mustache that was a borderline fumanchu.  The fat man was at the piano and Eugene was giving the camera a thumbs up.  The one next to it he had an extremely large man next to Eugene.  He was at least a foot or two taller than Eugene.  They were standing behind the counter of a bar.  Eugene was cleaning out a mug.  
I wonder who those two are.  And why are they so large?
After the two pictures of the other men, Eugene was posing with a good looking young man who looked his age.  He was a tall, lean, clean shaven blonde who stood proudly in a policemen's uniform.  Eugene was giving the camera another thumbs up.
The last picture, Eugene was with the handsome blonde man and an incredibly ugly man.  He had a large nose and buck teeth.  His eyes were set too far apart and it looked like he had a goiter and his complexion was terrible.  All three men were smiling, like someone had just told a joke.  They were all wearing tuxes and had champagne glasses in their hands.
Someone's wedding?
Rapunzel left the pictures and wandered over to Eugene's books.  She read just a few of the titles: The Complete Works of the Brothers Grimm, Complete Works of Hans Christian Anderson, A Collection of Japanese Folk Tales, Tales from Russia, Myths from Around the World, A Complete Guide to Knowing Ninjas, Illustrated Western Swords Through Time, a book on mythical creatures, a completed series of A Series of Unfortunate Events, a lot of thin picture books by someone named Bill Peete, Stravaganza and numerous other children's series and even a bit of manga.
Why does he have so many children's books?  Does he have secret kids?  Rapunzel lingered on the books a little longer then made her way back to the couch.  She sat down on the couch and curled up by the armrest.  She finished her pizza.  He eyes drooped a little.  She looked out the window and saw that the snow was falling harder.
Rapunzel heard the water shut off.  She waited for Eugene to come out.  He did in a few minutes.
As he left the bathroom, a cloud of steam followed him out.  His pajama bottoms hung loosely over his hips and he wasn't wearing a shirt.  He had a towel over his head and he dried his hair with it.  He looked at Rapunzel from under the towel.
Rapunzel's heart beat fast.  Her body trembled.  She became highly aware of her breathing.  She was too loud.  Too loud.  Her blood rushed too quickly.  Her heart pounded too rapidly.  Her breathing was too shallow.  Why did she feel this way?  Butterflies worked their way up from her stomach and into her throat.  She kept her mouth closed, for fear they'd fly out.
She couldn't help but look at Eugene.  He had a very well toned body.  Very lean.  It would be the ideal body for a model to paint.  But as she looked at him, Rapunzel realized that his chest wasn't perfect.  It had flaws; thin, white flaws that looked like…knife cuts.  They were all over his torso and some were even on his arms, his well defined, muscular arms.
Eugene looked across the room at Rapunzel.  Her face was white and her eyes were wide.  He wasn't dumb.  He put two and two together.
"Sorry," he mumbled.  "I forgot to grab a shirt."  He went into his bedroom.  As he turned around, Rapunzel saw even more little white scars, longer and  more noticeable, on his back.  He came back fully clothed.  He headed into the kitchen.
"You didn't get yourself anything to drink?"
"No," Rapunzel said quietly.
"Do you want anything?"
"Do you have juice?"
"Do you like orange juice?"
"That's fine."  Eugene poured a glass for her and handed it to her.  He got a beer for himself.  He popped it open and took a drink.  Rapunzel only stared at her drink.  Eugene looked sideways at her.
"You want to watch a movie?"
"I don't care."
"No suggestions?"
"No," Rapunzel said.
"You sure?  I've got some bad movies.  Bad like Nick Cage bad."
"I don't care."
"So you don't care if I put in Conair?"
"No."  Eugene rolled his eyes.  He felt stupid now for coming out of the bathroom without a shirt on.  He'd obviously terrified her.  Somehow.  He got up and grabbed a DVD off his book shelf.  He squatted down in front of the TV and turned the DVD player on.  He opened the box and put the disk in the machine.
As Eugene came back to sit by Rapunzel she couldn't help but look him up and down, remembering exactly where every scar was.  How did he get them?  Who gave them to him?  Were they scars from shrapnel?  Was he in an accident?  Rapunzel couldn't possibly ask him.
Eugene used the remote to turn on the screen.
The startup menu was for The Princess Bride.
"I thought you said you were going to put in Conair."
"Just checking to see if you were listening.  Besides, I thought you might like this better."  Rapunzel didn't tell him she didn't like fairytale themed anything.
He hit play and the opening credits started.
Rapunzel sat through the movie, not enjoying it at all.  Buttercup was an idiot.  Wesley was a cocky ass.  Inigo Montoya wasn't too bright either.  Andre was hard to understand.  The movie was too cheesy for her liking.  Her eyes kept lingering to the window to look at the falling snow.  When the movie reached the wedding scene, the snow stopped.  Rapunzel was reduced to finish watching the movie.
Eugene unconsciously moved close to Rapunzel.  She jumped back, hitting the end table by her and knocking her glass of juice over.  Eugene ran to the kitchen to get a paper towel.
"I'm so sorry.  I didn't mean to do that."
"It's okay, Blondie, accidents happen."  Eugene cleaned the mess up and tossed the used paper towel away.  He sat back down next to her.  The four characters were riding away on white horses.  Eugene leaned in close to Rapunzel again.  She leapt out of her seat.  Eugene turned his head towards her, frowning.
"Are you afraid of me," he asked flatly.  Rapunzel was shocked by the direct question.  Eugene took her silence as a yes.  He sighed.  "I'm sorry.  I can take you home if you really want me to."
"What?  No, it's fine."
"No, it's not fine.  You jump ten feet every time I brush against you or even sit five feet from you.  Did I do something to make you uneasy?"
"Uh…."  Rapunzel bit her lip.  "No, I've just never been in a guy's place before."
"Do you think I'm going to do something to you," Eugene asked seriously.  Rapunzel didn't answer.  Her eyes traveled their usual glance to the floor.  She bit her lip.  Eugene's face softened.  "If you don't want to go home, what can I do to make you not feel so anxious?"  Rapunzel thought.
"Can I lock your bedroom door?"
"Yeah, but you have to put a chair under the doorknob.  Here's I'll show you."  Eugene got up and motioned for Rapunzel to follow.  She left the blanket behind.  
In the bedroom, Eugene closed the door and pulled a chair up that was sitting in a corner.  He stuck it under the handle.
"The door won't open with this there.  But you really don't need this.  I won't do anything to you."  He sounded so sincere.  Rapunzel wanted to believe him.
"I'm sorry.  I just…don't trust people easily."
"Hey, I understand.  Everybody has things they've got to deal with."  Eugene took the chair away from the door and left the room.  "Put the chair under the doorknob."  He closed the door and Rapunzel did as she was told.  Form the other side, Eugene rattled the door.  "See, won't even budge."  
"Thank you, Eugene."
"You're welcome, Rapunzel.  Goodnight."
"Goodnight."  She heard Eugene walk away from the door.  She turned towards the bed.  She slowly sat down on it.  She stirred up the scent of his laundry detergent.  It was some sort of floral.  Rapunzel wasn't sure.  She realized she was tired.  She pulled the covers back and settled in, wondering if she could even fall asleep in a stranger's bed.  Well, she somehow did, but she had bad dreams.  At least, that was her impression when she woke up the next morning.