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There!
The kohl sharpener.
And next to it... the necklace Joanna had given me! The green stone gleamed at me so innocently, as if it had been lying here the whole time. Right in front of my eyes.
That was probably the case. I must have put the necklace here shortly before the bachelorette party. I had probably wanted to sharpen the kohl. Why else would I have put the necklace here?
Anyway.
The main thing was that I had Joanna's gift back. This necklace meant more to me than any other piece of jewelry I had ever owned. At this moment, I was deeply grateful for my absent-mindedness for the very first time. If I hadn't left the necklace in the bathroom cabinet, it would be gone now. Forever. Because then the burglars would have taken it, and I would have had virtually no chance of ever holding Joanna's gift in my hands again.
Overjoyed, I grabbed the necklace and put it around my neck. The green stone was an absolute eye-catcher and matched the color of the dress perfectly.
And I no longer felt so naked.
Perfect.
Now I just needed to do my eyeliner, and I would be ready for my first evening with Carter. The thought made my heart race. Technically, it was our second evening. Our first evening had been the bachelorette party.
Isabella, hurry up and get ready! You don't want to keep Carter waiting. For once, you'll manage to be on time.
At that moment, the doorbell rang. Startled, I made a slightly too hasty movement with my right arm. Horrified, I stared into the mirror. The eyeliner I had just applied was completely ruined.
Someone was at the door downstairs.
And that someone could only be Carter.
Damn it!
What should I do?
I couldn't possibly go out like this!
I had to ask Carter to wait for me for a moment. As quickly as I could, I hurried to the intercom. "Yes?" I said.
"Carter here."
"I'll be right down. Just a moment," I replied and hung up the intercom receiver before Carter could answer. I hurried back to the bathroom. At this moment, I was glad I had only used a kohl pencil for the eyeliner and not a classic liquid eyeliner. Kohl was easier to remove. I reached for the makeup remover, put some liquid on a cotton pad, and carefully removed the worst of the damage. I then gently patted my eyelid dry and set about drawing a new line of kohl. First the left eye. Then the right eye. At that moment, the doorbell rang a second time.
I immediately lowered my hand. Now I had a half-drawn eyeliner. And downstairs stood Carter, who surely wanted to know where I was.
I quickly hurried back to the intercom and pressed the button. "I'm coming!" I called hastily into the receiver and hung it back in its place.
Damn it, Isabella! Do you have to keep Carter waiting of all people! Can't you be on time just once?
These thoughts weren't helping me now. I took a deep breath and looked in the mirror again. Then I raised my hand with the kohl pencil and drew the missing half of the line.
Perfect.
Satisfied, I lowered my hand and looked at myself in the mirror. But not for too long. I quickly put the kohl pencil aside. I could tidy up later. Now I wanted to get to Carter. I turned off the light in the bathroom, grabbed my spring coat and my handbag in the hallway, and opened the apartment door.
Ding!
Just as I was locking the door behind me, the elevator doors opened.
Carter?
Nonsense, Isabella.