Gemotions

She hummed tunelessly as she meticulously watered her prize-winning orchids. The thought of a hectic evening, filled with forced merriment, had been hanging over her like a dark cloud for weeks. The email, with its terse subject line and abrupt cancellation notice, had arrived this morning. She'd initially felt a pang of guilt, but it quickly dissolved, replaced by a sense of buoyancy. She clipped a dead leaf from a particularly vibrant bloom, her movements deliberate and graceful. The scent of damp earth and delicate flowers filled the air. She poured herself a glass of chilled white wine and settled onto the patio, the quiet chirping of birds her only company.