Painful Good News

Once my stomach was settled, I anxiously started rushing toward my house. I couldn’t believe I had lied to R.H.M. so blatantly. He would no doubt very quickly find out that I had lied. As I walked toward my house, I glanced around, hoping that I would run into Armadillo. I couldn’t very well be mad at him for lying when I just did the very thing I was furious at him for. Lying. My lie might not be the same as his, but it was still a lie. When I turned on the street where my house was, I saw Armadillo standing in front of Rosemary’s house, talking to a strange man. I slowed as I approached them, the man eyeing me curiously.
“You’re the new woman here, aren’t you?” He asked me, and I gratefully stopped as Armadillo turned toward me.
“Yes, I am. I’m–”
He held his hand up, stopping me. “You don’t have to tell me your name unless you want to. I understand how important names are.”
I studied his face for a moment before nodding. “Okay.”
“Are you looking for Rosemary?” He asked.
“No, I—”
“Phoenix!” Rosemary called as she hurried up to the fence, immediately leaning over to give me a hug, pressing her breasts into my chest. I took a step back and she let me go without hesitation. “I’m so sorry. Sometimes I get excited. I hope I didn’t upset you.”
“No. It’s fine. I should get home,” I said slowly. “You can stop by later if you want. I wouldn’t mind some company.”
“Of course! I’ll come over with a dessert. Do you like brownies?”
“Brownies? I’ve never had brownies,” I replied.
“Ohhh my gawwwddddd! I’m going to make you the best brownies ever! You just wait and see!” She told me before darting off back toward the house, leaving me standing there shocked.
I had never seen her so excited and it was infectious. Well, almost. I nodded at the men.
“I’ll let you finish your conversation,” I told them, not knowing how to broach the subject of Armadillo coming over.
“Wait, Phoenix. Give me a minute and I’ll walk you home,” Armadillo said.
I gave him a bright smile before nodding. “Alright.”
I walked a few feet away to wait for him while he finished his conversation. The two of them shook hands before Armadillo turned toward me, grinning. “Ready?”
I nodded before falling into step with him as he walked toward my house. He offered me his hand and I sighed.
“I need to ask you something first, Armadillo.”
He lowered his hand before looking at me. “Did I overstep?”
“What? No! You have been a gentleman. I just wanted to know if you were truly interested in me.”
He walked silently for a minute before responding. “Yes, but I won’t push or pressure you into a relationship.”
I groaned. “Listen to me, Armadillo. I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but I don’t want a romantic relationship with you. I really enjoy your company but that’s as far as it goes. I hope this doesn’t change our friendship but–”
“It’s fine, Phoenix. I understand. All of this is a lot. You haven’t been here very long. Whatever happened to make you come here–”
“It’s not that. I am interested in someone else,” I told him softly.
“Oh.” He stuck his hands in his pockets. “Is it- Give me your wrist.”
I hesitantly held my wrist out to him. I watched as he took my watch off before turning it over to deploy a button on the bottom of it before handing it back to me and doing the same thing to his watch.
“Do you want to be with R.H.M.?” He asked quietly.
“Maybe,” I answered, looking away from him.
“Well, that explains a lot. He’s a good guy.”
“What does it explain?” I questioned.
“When I told him I was going to pursue, he had this look in his eye. I had never seen it in his eyes before. And I’ve been here for a long time,” he replied.
“Do we have to tell him if we are going to be involved with someone here?”
“Yes.”
“Why?” I asked, startled.
“Because with the nature of what happens here, he wants to make sure that both parties are comfortable with the relationship. The last thing he wants is for one of us to have a setback. He only does it to protect us. He never gets involved and lets us develop our own relationships. If there is an issue, he addresses it and helps the best he can.” He stopped at the stairs that would carry us up to my door. “You are a sweet person, Phoenix. I hope he wakes up to realize that. He’s never responded well to women that wanted him. Just promise me something.”
“Sure.”
“Don’t let him hurt you. It’s never ended well for any woman that has tried to ‘save’ him. He’s not interested in being saved. He just wants to bury himself in Eden. He doesn’t seem to understand that he is a human too.” When I remained quiet, he met my eyes. “I’m serious, Phoenix. Whatever his past holds, it’s not good. He doesn’t talk to anyone.”
I nodded. “Alright. I’ll try not to.” I cleared my throat nervously. “Do you want to hang out for a little bit?”
He shook his head as a small smile lifted his lips up. “Nope! Not if Rose is making her special brownies. She wants a girls’ night. Enjoy your night and I’ll come over tomorrow if it’s okay?”
I nodded. “Yes. I’d like that.”
“l see you tomorrow.”
“Wait! Can I hug you?” I asked.
He opened his arms to me, and I immediately moved into them, hugging him tightly. “Thank you for understanding.”
“Of course. Don’t forget to push that button again. He’ll come looking if your watch is off for too long,” he instructed before walking away.
I shook my head, grinning as I walked into the house. I went straight to the bathroom to shower before Rosemary came over. If what Armadillo said was true, I was in for a long night. I didn’t want to be dirty while I did it. Sugar laid down on one of the rugs in the bathroom. I bent down to scratch her ears for a moment before stripping and getting in the shower. In less than ten minutes I was done and was heading into the bedroom to get dressed when there was a knock on the door. Frowning in the direction of it, I tightened the knot in the towel as I went to answer it. Surely the brownies couldn’t be done yet. I pulled the door open, stepping back as R.H.M.’s eyes swept over my body. I tensed as I narrowed my eyes on him.
“Yes?”
“Turn your watch on, Princess.”
I frowned at him. “Princess?” I scoffed.
“Yes, Princess,” he repeated.
“I’m not your ‘princess’.”
“Leah,” he said exasperated. “I said I was sorry.”
“For what?” I asked, giving him another chance.
“For… ummm–”
“Whatever, R.H.M.,” I snapped as I yanked the watch off to turn it back on. “There. Done. Is there anything else?”
“Princess–”
I shut the door in his face and hurried back to my room to get dressed. I was so tired of his refusal to admit that he liked me back. When another knock echoed through the house, I groaned as Sugar rushed down the hallway to the door. As I marched down the hallway again, I wondered what stupid thing he was going to say now. I opened the door, ready to snap at him again before swallowing my angry words down when Rosemary held up a steaming casserole dish with a brown cake in it. I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Burnt cake?”
She burst out laughing. “No. Brownies. I know the top probably looks burnt, but I promise you it’s not. Can I come in and set this down? It’s burning my hands.”
“Yes. Come on.”
I moved back to let her in, which she did quickly. I glanced around the front yard, looking for R.H.M., but he was gone. I sighed before closing the door to follow Rosemary to the kitchen. By the time I walked in, she already had two plates along with forks and glasses of milk waiting for me. I blinked in surprise as she began to cut into the brownies.
“You’re moving so fast,” I told her. “Are you part Energizer bunny?”
“No! I have news,” she giggled. “I am so excited.”
I leaned against the counter, smiling at her as her excitement started to finally overcome my frustration with R.H.M. “What’s going on, Rosemary?”
“Me and Taco have to leave Eden,” she blurted.
“First off, Taco? What a name. Why do you have to leave?”
She beamed at me. “Because you can’t be here pregnant.”
My eyes widened as her words registered. “You’re pregnant?”
She nodded. “We just found out!”
I rushed around the counter to hug her. “That’s amazing. Congratulations.”
She hugged me back, and I wanted more than anything for her hug to curb my sadness over losing my daughter. It always happened when I heard someone say they were pregnant. I pulled back to smile at her, praying she didn’t notice how tense I suddenly became.
“I’m so happy for you guys.”
“Thank you! Now, wait until you taste these brownies. They’re perfect.”
“Yeah. Perfect…”