Work In Progress - Intro

Keys go in the bowl. Coat on the hook. Purse on the counter by the vase mom got you by your birthday. Having a routine is nice, it keeps things in order and when you go to find those things later they are always right where you left them. But what about the things you can’t put into a routine? 

Charlotte dropped her keys into the bowl. Odd. Where were Mikes keys? He should have been home by now. Maybe he was picking up dinner. She hung her coat on the hook behind the door where, normally, his would be right next to hers. Moving to the counter she lifted her purse and then stopped mid-air. There, in the spot that was specifically reserved for her purse was a note; handwritten on a sheet of her own pink note paper that normally sat by the phone. 

Charlotte lowered her purse, hanging it on her shoulder, and ran her finger over the corner of the paper as it sat propped against the case. Lilies. Her favorite. Mike must have bought them. Was it their anniversary already? No, that was months away. As she skimmed the note her purse dropped off her shoulder to the floor, a new location in which it did not belong. 

Charlotte,

I’ve gone to California. I’ve got a real chance out there that I just can’t get here. I used the rainy day fund and sold the car to get the money for tickets. Meet me out here when you can. Just look me up.

Yours,

Mike