Fresh Air

  Nora wanted to go for a walk but Elias said no. It was spring, his worst season.
  "Okay if I walk by myself?" she asked, her patience wearing thin.
  "If you don't mind showering and washing your clothes when you get back." Elias said this between puffs on his Albuterol inhaler. "Pollen," he reminded her for the umpteenth time.
  Nora repressed a sigh with great effort and went outside. Spring was in full bloom and she could only watch it from the wrong side of a triple-paned window. She needed some fresh air.
  She took a long walk, knowing Elias would be fuming impatiently for her return. No doubt he would want the air filters changed again.
  Nora thought about her dog Lucky. She missed the black lab terribly, but Elias had made her choose: me or the dog. She wondered sometimes if she had made the right choice.
  A field of Queen Anne's lace seemed to beckon her. Nora felt a twinge of malicious delight as she walked through the waist high weeds, coating herself thoroughly with pollen. Elias probably wouldn't let her step foot in the house. He would want her to strip on the porch.
  Nora rubbed pollen in her hair and laughed. Maybe her sister would let her have Lucky back. She would rent a garden apartment or maybe a small farmhouse. Fresh air filled her lungs as she walked, enjoying the heady smells of spring and the thought of imminent freedom.