Page 55 of Desperate Haste

Fucking prick.

God I love him.

My hand reaches for the door but as I go to turn the doorknob, a small, elderly woman whom I’ve never met nor seen before opens the door and startles me.

“Hello, come on in. Please take your shoes off.” She waves a hand towards the inside of the house where there are other sets of shoes neatly lined up along the wall. By the looks of things, I’m the last to arrive.

“Thank you,” I reply slowly, punctuating each word as I say them, wondering who the stranger is. She looks like she could be Kolbi’s aunt, or grandmother, but I’ve met the family he has here in Charleston and I don’t remember her. Once I slide my shoes off, I hurry down the hallway and into the dining space where we play so I can ask about her before she comes in behind me. When I make it to the end of the hall, I find Kolbi and Hank setting up the table and Conrad cracking open a beer in the kitchen. Bailey and Magnolia are standing around the counter, staring at a fresh plate of what look like brownies.

“‘Sup, Malcolm,” Hank calls out with a smile.

“Hey, brother, glad you could make it,” Kolbi adds, pulling his chair in behind him and taking a seat at the table.

“Uhh, Kolbi, who’s the little old lady that just opened your front door and asked me to take off my shoes?” I turn to look behind me and she’s hanging up the jacket I tossed on the staircase like I normally do when I come over. “Now she’s hanging up my jacket. Dude, did you get a housekeeper?”

Before he can reply, Magnolia nearly bounces around the kitchen island and looks behind me, beaming ear to ear.

“No, silly, that’s Ms. Ruthie.” She says it as if I’m supposed to know who that is but before I can even reply, she takes a few steps behind me and gives the old woman a hug. “Ms. Ruthie raised me growing up, and over Christmas she decided to come and live with Kolbi and me. She has her own space in the guesthouse now.”

I watch as the woman’s short and stout frame walks over to the counter where the tray of brownies sits and lifts it from the marble countertop. She then passes Bailey who has a cheek full of the sweet treat, gives her a cordial nod, and heads towards me before holding the tray out to me as an offering. “I baked these for your ‘game night.’ Please be mindful, they contain nuts. If you’re allergic, I’m happy to make a fresh batch for you.”

“Uhhh,” I sputter before taking a brownie from the tray. “I’m good with nuts, thanks.”

“Honestly, nuts make everything better,” Conrad hums as he takes a bite of his own brownie.

“Ms. Ruthie, how many times do I have to tell you that you don’t have to work anymore or take care of things? You’re supposed to be relaxing, remember? Let me take care of things around here.” When Magnolia tries to take the ceramic tray from her hands, Ms. Ruthie does a surprisingly agile spin move for a woman her age to deflect her.

“Oh hush, sugar. Thisismy job. This is what I do. Go on now and spend time with your guests, don’t be rude, and remember your manners.” She chastises Magnolia who just smiles happily back at her, not minding it in the slightest. When Ms. Ruthie disappears into the pantry, I look at Kolbi with a perplexed expression.

“I can’t believe it either, brother.” He shrugs.

“Sit down, Malcolm, we need to get started,” Conrad barks and I reply by flipping him the bird before taking my own seat at the table.

In the excitement of meeting Kolbi’s new housemate, I forgot about the text I’d sent to Ophelia and pull my phone out of my back pocket to check to see if she has texted me back. Ever since she shared her story with me last weekend, we’d started to text each other daily. It’s as if the veil had been lifted between us and we can finally see one another clearly—and I can’t get enough of what I see.

Every new day I spend talking to her, I learn something new about her—what she likes, her sense of humor, and her favorite things. I’ve started a note in my phone of the things she mentions so that I can read them and remember them for good. I never want to forget a single thing about her. She lights up my life in a way I never thought possible and I’ll do anything to keep her light close.

I guess some people will say we’re dating now, but that word hasn’t been tossed around yet. I know how she feels about dating and relationships, and now that I understand why she feels the way she does, I’m not going to push it. I’m going to follow Marshall’s suggestion and let her come to me whenever she is ready. I’ll wait for her for hundreds of years if she needs me to.

“No phones at the table.” Conrad sighs with an eye roll, already exasperated by my presence after only a few minutes.

“Fuck you, Connie,” I say nonchalantly, unlocking my phone and opening my messages.

“That’s the rule,no phones at the table,” he presses again.

“Actually, it’s ‘no phones while we’re playing,’ and technically, we aren’t playing yet,” Hank corrects and I grin at him from across the table and blow him a kiss. He and Kolbi laugh as Conrad sulks in his chair next to me.

Little Fox:

I have an early day tomorrow but if you’re done before eleven I won’t say no if you just show up on my doorstep

I feel the corner of my lips pull back as I type my response.

“I never thought I’d live to see the day,” Kolbi proclaims with an air of arrogance to his voice. My eyes shoot to him and he’s looking at me with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“It’s happened,” Hank muses, reaching for Kolbi’s hand and holding it in his. They beam at me with pride and look like two parents who have watched their child take their first steps.

“Rest in peace, my dude,” Conrad deadpans, slapping a hard hand down on my shoulder.

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