The curtains were light yellow; the couch was a muted green; and the furnishings and decorations had a light and airy feel to them -- undeniably feminine. A tea set waited on the table, and a great white tea kettle sat out on the stove. Although there was a fireplace, stocked well with wood, it was clean -- clearly not used in some time. A book of poetry by Eliot sat on the end table by the couch where Beauty now lie, with a tassled bookmark in the back. The book itself was beautiful, and looked new, although the bookmark suggested it was already read at least once.
The place carried a sense of order, but the neatness was disrupted here and there by splashes of bright color - a hot pink hoodie draped over a kitchen chair, and a bright blue iPod with neon green earbuds lying haphazardly on the coffee table. There was an empty can of Coke on the kitchen table by the tea set. None of these things seemed in line with the creature passed out on the couch.
That creature stirred a few minutes after arriving. When she sat up, her back was to the person in her home. Confused and a little disoriented, she nevertheless recognized the jacket around her. "Errol?" she called, being careful to fold the jacket so she didn't wrinkle it by mistake. She put her feet on the floor and looked around -- and that's when she saw him.