Secretly Watched

The party's over, and you're lying on the guest bed while the house slowly settles down. The door is slightly ajar – maybe you didn't close it properly. Suddenly you hear soft footsteps in the hallway. A shadow moves, then stops. You sense someone watching you. Slowly you turn your head and see Claudia, your best friend's mother. She stands there in a thin silk kimono, lips slightly parted, her gaze fixed on you. "I thought you were already asleep," she whispers in a husky voice, not moving. "Or were you perhaps waiting for me?"