Page 42 of Little Etheldreda Riding Hood

“This one’s heavy,” Darla says. “Think he sent money?”

“Ha, never.”

Darla opens it and immediately it starts playing an 80s power ballad. The singer of the song manages to get out a line about how they’ve been through so much together before Darla slams it closed.

“Has he been trying to get hold of you lately?”

I nod. “Every way but carrier pigeon.”

“Did he break up with his girlfriend, fiancée, whatever she was?”

I shake my head. “I blocked all of them and have stayed off social media. I don’t want to know. I just want to move on.”

“Well, if he’s been rejected, he might be looking to come back to Old Reliable.”

I snort. “Thanks, Darla. That description makes me feel all sorts of things, none of them good.”

She laughs. “Wolves are…interesting. Persistent for sure. You may need to have a talk with him or let Zach do it for you.”

“Why Zach?”

She rolls her eyes. “Seriously, Red?”

I close my eyes and smile. “Fine. I’d rather be the one doing the talking. I don’t need a protector.”

“Do it sooner rather than later. This,” she holds up the stack of cards, “is already looking pretty nuts.”

The cards are quickly forgotten, though, because there are too many other things going on to let Morgan occupy much space in my thoughts. Zach and I quickly fall into a routine, taking turns cooking dinner every night, falling into bed, then napping for a little bit before heading in to our overnight jobs. It’s nice to be on the same schedule, even if it’s not a normal one.

I go into Soojin’s Thursday night to find the restaurant filled with long stem red roses. It smells amazing. “Randy’s upping his game finally?” I ask her as I wash my hands and tie an apron on.

She shakes her head. “No, they’re for you.”

Of course they could be from Zach, but my stomach already knows the truth before I’ve even read the card she hands me. I open the tiny envelope and pull out the typed notecard.

HOPING YOU’LL FIND YOUR WAY BACK TO ME LOVE, M

I want to scream. Harassment and gaslighting? Like all of this is just a tiny blip in our relationship? I start gathering them up and head out to the dumpster, only to have Soojin stop me. “Don’t waste them. I can take them to the old folks’ home. They’d love them.”

“Are you sure?”

She nods. “But what are you going to do about this?”

I sigh, pull out my phone, and log into one of the social media accounts I’ve been ignoring. I find Morgan, unblock him, and open up a chat box.

I cannot find my way back to you because I didn’t get lost. You left, remember? Six months ago. You are wasting your money and your time. Please stop this. We are done. Better luck with the next girl.

I’m tempted to sign off with “with absolutely no love, Red” but using the word “love” in this type of message seems like asking for trouble. I’m sure he’d just see it as a sign of hope that the word was even included.

Immediately, “Morgan is typing” appears at the bottom of my screen.

Red, I hope you loved the flowers. Roses always make me think of you. Remember the time when…

He continues on and on until I turn off the phone so I don’t have to hear the dings of his constant pleas to have me reconsider.

“He seems pretty persistent,” Soojin says. “Have you told Zach?”

“He knows,” I say, telling her a half truth. There’s eight hours between me and Morgan. He’ll give up, eventually. There have to be closer girls who can stroke his ego and other parts. I’m literally just some human. We’re a dime a dozen. If he’s fucked things up with Willa, then there will be half a dozen girls I know personally after him, and if the wedding’s still on, then he’s never had a problem finding a side chick before.

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