Surprise Visitors
Leah
I laughed when Sugar landed on the ground after trying to leap into the air to catch the ball I had thrown. She immediately bounded up to chase it as it rolled across the grass. I enjoyed playing with her so much. It always made me giggle like a little child and made me happy. I held out my hand and she dropped her ball into it before backing away to bark at me with wild excitement. I threw it as hard as I could, cackling with laughter as I watched her run it down like a little kangaroo.
“Phoenix, will you please come to my office,” R.H.M.’s voice came through my watch.
I rolled my eyes as I lifted it to my mouth. “Yes. I’ll be right there.”
When Sugar came back over to me, I patted her head as I carried her ball into the house before placing it on the counter and getting her some water. I watched her lap it up for a moment before leaving the house to go to his office. When I turned onto the short street that led to his office, my steps faltered when he stood with two strange men. My heart began to beat wildly in my chest, making it painfully tighten as I continued to walk toward them. R.H.M. smiled softly at me when I stopped in front of them, but my eyes were glued fearfully on the two men he was with.
“Phoenix, this is Heav–”
“Joseph,” the taller man said, interrupting R.H.M. as he held out his hand to me.
I shook it while the other man introduced himself as Caleb before also shaking the other extended hand. I tilted my head as I studied them.
“Are you attorneys?” I asked as who they were clicked in my head.
Not only had Ramira told me about their brothers, but so had he. Joseph smiled at me.
“Yes. I am a divorce attorney, and Caleb is a defense attorney.”
I turned toward R.H.M. with my eyes narrowed on him. “Why are they here?” I asked, wanting to rage at him for not giving me a head’s up that he was once again asking people to come see me without my permission.
“I asked them to come see you. I thought–”
“But why?” I cut him off, getting more annoyed about their sudden appearance.
“To help you file for divorce,” R.H.M. told me, frowning.
I narrowed my eyes even more on him. Was he seriously angry that I was questioning why his brothers were here? He had no right to spring this on me like this. It should have been a conversation between the two of us before he took it upon himself to make decisions for me. I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Not interested. Is that all? May I go?”
R.H.M. heaved a deep sigh as he nodded. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is,” I snapped before turning back to Caleb and Joseph. “It was very nice to meet you two. Be safe on your journey home. I apologize for wasting your time.”
“It’s not a waste of a time. I will email ummm–him a few different types of divorce papers, in case you change your mind,” Joseph said, glancing at R.H.M.
“Okay. Thank you.”
I spun around on my heels to storm away. I was so sick of this. I just wanted R.H.M. to wake up and just admit how he felt. It really wasn’t that hard. I wanted a divorce. I hadn’t really thought about it since I got here, but now I had a chance to do it. I was going to catch Joseph later, after R.H.M. was forced to stew in my irritation a little. I went straight to Rosemary’s house, waving at her when I saw her outside knitting. As I approached the stairs to her porch, she moved over to allow me to sit down. I watched her hands as she effortlessly continued her work.
“What are you making?” I asked.
“Ummm… a blanket,” she told me slowly.
“For your baby?”
“Yes.”
“Can you teach me how to do that?” I requested.
“Of course.” She glanced at me. “What’s wrong?”
“Hmm?”
“You just bypassed the baby comment with no change on your face. What’s on your mind?” She repeated.
“There’s this guy–”
“And I bet if we asked R.H.M., he would start off by saying there’s this girl. So how about we drop the anonymity and just use his name. It’s clear to everyone here that the two of you like each other,” she told me.
“It’s against–”
“The rules. We all know,” she said, waving her hand. “None of us care. We are happy that he is finally interested in someone. He’s been alone for so long. He’s been there for all of us. It’s nice to see him wanting someone. It means he isn’t alone anymore. So, start over, but use his name.”
“Well, there’s this R.H.M.,” I giggled for a moment before turning serious again. “He won’t admit how he feels and it makes me very angry. Then he invited his brothers–”
“Wait! He has brothers?”
“Ummm…”
“Damn, girl. He must really, really like you. Brothers,” she repeated, shaking her head. “Who’d have known.”
“Well, they’re here to help me with something because he asked them to, but he didn’t tell me about it before he came. That along with the not wanting to tell me how he feels has me so angry. I just want to scream at him and hit his pretty little face!” I admitted.
“So, do it. Not the hitting part, but the screaming part. Well, maybe don’t scream. But talk to him. Be direct. He’s a man, honey. Men can be very stupid. He’s been alone so long that he probably doesn’t remember what it’s like to be in a relationship. If you are worried about talking to him or what to say, try to ask his brothers. They might be able to give you better advice on how to deal with him,” she suggested.
“That’s actually a really good idea! I didn’t even think about it. Thank you,” I gushed before standing up. “Can I come back later for a lesson on knitting?”
She grinned up at me. “Do you really want to learn or are you looking for a coping skill?”
“Coping skill. Is it that obvious?”
“Yep. I’ll be here all night. Come back whenever.”
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