After preparing his dinner, she filled the coffee maker with water and freshly ground coffee and set it to turn on at six. She arrived each morning by seven and prepared the senator’s breakfast first thing upon arriving. She could always tell how the day was going for him by how much coffee was missing. An empty pot meant he had been up early and was already hard at work. On those days, she needed to get breakfast ready in a hurry. Other times, the coffee would be only partially consumed, and she knew she could take more time to prepare the morning meal. On this day, the coffee was untouched. Ramona looked around the kitchen, searching for other signs that her employer had been up and about. Perhaps he had already run out of coffee and made another pot for himself. She checked the coffee grinder for signs of use. Nothing. It was just as clean as she had left it the night before. In the sink were the dishes from his dinner the previous evening. They were rinsed and stacked as usual.
