I quickly shut my eyes as they were met with the bright yellow light seeping through the windows, blindly reaching to grab the pillow next to me for cover. As sleep began to overcome me again I felt a weight settle on top of my chest. I dropped the pillow and groaned as I was met with the face of my eager goldendoodle, my goldendoodle that was supposed to be at doggy daycare by now. 

“Jeff…  Jeff!” I shouted towards the door as I pulled myself, and my dog, out of bed. I peeked out the window to find his car missing from the driveway, it was unlike Jeff to forget to bring Pluto when he leaves for work, but with the stress of his upcoming project it could be excused. 

I stepped into my slippers, made my bed, and slipped on my wedding rings as I headed, with Pluto on my heels, to the bathroom. After a quick shower I decided to pair my favorite white button up with my new black pantsuit and a matching black collar for pluto. I looked down at my watch while trying to balance my coffee mug as Pluto dragged me out the front door. 7:25. Perfect timing. 

“Pluto has been dropped off” I typed from the driveway of our local crazy dog lady’s house before adding on the thumbs up emoji for good measure. I pressed send and tossed my phone onto the passenger seat, knowing not to expect a response as my husband never has time to check his texts during the work day. As I started the car I was met with an obnoxious pop song practically blaring from the speakers. Pop music? Playing in my car? I haven’t listened to pop music since at least high school. 

Filled with confusion, I quickly changed the station back to my beloved station 101.9 and began my drive to work. I arrived at the office at 7:50 sharp and greeted the receptionist with a smile as I headed to the elevator. The doors open to none other than my painfully sexist coworker, Garret.

“Good morning Lily” he greeted me with his signature creepy grin.

“Morning” I grumbled with my head down, hoping to avoid the small talk I knew was coming.

And as if on cue, “So….have you read the email I sent out this morning?” 

“No, sorry, I haven’t checked me email yet” 

“Well you know you should really get in the habit of checking your email before work in the morning…” Was this elevator moving slower than normal? Definitely. It is definitely moving slower than normal and I needed to get the hell out of there.

As if a gift from God, the doors began to open. I quickly exited, throwing a quick “Thanks for the advice” behind me. I made my way to my desk, stopping to say congratulations to my favorite coworker, Stacey, on her recent engagement, before settling in.

The first hours pass slowly but then begin to blend together and all of a sudden it's time for my lunch break. I grabbed my purse and started my routine walk to the small Starbucks cafe located across the street from our building. I exchanged pleasantries with the barista before ordering “the usual”.

I thanked the barista as she handed me my coffee, but as I took my first sip I was met with something far too sweet to be my typical plain black coffee.

“Excuse me” I called over the counter, “Sorry for the inconvenience but I think you gave me the wrong drink.”

“This is is your usual,  a grande french vanilla latte”

“I’m sorry? I’ve only ever ordered black coffee”

My confusion only increased as I was met with a look like I had gone crazy, “Alright, I can make that instead if you’d like?” She offered.

“Uh… no, no it's fine, this is fine, thank you.” I replied, desperate to escape the situation. As I exited the store in a confused haze, I practically ran into a tall, pale man who looked away the moment I met his eyes and began to quickly walk in the other direction. Watching the strange man flee, a passing face caught my eye.

“Jeff?” I shouted at my husband as he continued to walk straight past me. “Jeff, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at work?” I questioned as I put my hand on his shoulder to stop him.

“Woah…” the man who I now knew was definitely not my husband shouted as he stepped back. “Can I help you?” the angry man glared at me.

“Oh..uh….nevermind I thought you were someone else, sorry for bothering you” I apologized, standing frozen in place.

  “You should be” he mumbled as he continued on his path, leaving me to wonder if I really was going crazy.

Re-entering the office I headed straight to Stacey’s desk to tell her about my lunch break from hell. Halfway into my story she interrupted me, “Wait, who is Jeff?”

“What do you mean who is Jeff?”

“Oh… is he the new guy you’re dating?” Stacey asked genuinely.

“Dating? Stacey, what are you talking about? Jeff, my husband, the man you have met like a million times” I laughed at the weird prank she was apparently playing on me.

“Lily, are you okay? You really aren’t making sense right now, maybe you should go home, I’m starting to get worried.” Stacey reached up to place her hand on my forehead, checking for a temperature. 

“You know what, I actually do feel a little under the weather, I think it's best for me to head out early.” I lied, pushing her hand from my face.

“I’ll let everyone know, call me if you need anything” Stacey offered as I practically fled from her desk. Nausea settled in my stomach and I prayed to be greeted by an empty elevator. Instead I was met with the face I least expected, my husband. I blinked in shock but by the time I opened my eyes the face was no longer my husbands, but Garret's obnoxious, smug one. 

“Hello again, Lilly. What are the odds we meet here twice in one day”

“Apparently pretty high” I sarcastically replied, trying to focus on anything but the unease of my stomach. 

“Well I’m going to take it as a sign… Lily, I know you’ve said that you aren’t interested before, but I..”

“Garret please do not finish that sentence” I cut him off with a warning moments before the doors opened and I stepped out praying I would never have to see him again.

When I finally reached my car I practically slammed the door and leaned back on the seat taking rapid deep breaths. Calm down, calm down, it’s probably just a fever, you just need a nap and everything will feel fine again. As my breathing and heart rate slowed, I placed the keys in the ignition and started the car. Immediately the pop song that had played earlier came through the speakers.

I quickly shut the radio off entirely, my nausea and increased heart rate returning again. Eventually I returned home with sweaty palms and a face as white as a ghost. I glanced in my rear view mirror as I pulled into the driveway I saw, clear as day, the strange man from earlier. The sight of his tall, skinny body clothed in a baggy suit, bowling hat, and a monocle placed on his sunken face immediately gave me chills. As quickly as the terrifying man had appeared, he was gone, leaving me shaking with fear. I shut the garage door behind me and ran into the house, locking the door behind me. 

I ran as fast as I could towards my bedroom, the furthest room from the driveway, but immediately came to a halt as I saw what was sitting in my living room. Pluto. The dog that I had dropped off just hours ago was now sitting calmly in my house staring at me with his head tilted, the way curious dogs do. A tear began to fall down my face as I turned and continued my run towards the bedroom, phone in hand alternating between calling Jeff and 911, but being met with a disconnected line each time. 

I slammed the door of my bedroom, locked it, and headed for the closet to do the same. After shutting the door, I turned to find the closet half empty, all of my husband's clothes gone. I crumbled to the floor and began sobbing. What was happening to me? No longer than a minute passed before I began to hear the faint sound of music, but not just any music, the same unrecognizable song that had been haunting me all day. 

My sobs became impossibly harder as the tune haunted me, but immediately came to a halt as the closet door began to open. None other than the strange man glided in, shutting the door carefully behind him.  He approached me slowly, staring dead into my eyes, before opening his mouth.

“Anddddd…. That's a wrap!” He exclaimed, “Congratulations, you did great, best subject we’ve had yet”