Page 31 of Trophy
Allison felt bad for him and worried and incredibly annoyed with Dee. What was wrong with the woman, anyway? Why wouldn’t she just leave him alone?
Allison wanted to do something but knew there was nothing to do. If she went over there, she would cause more problems and Rob would be even more embarrassed. So she kept watching—getting more and more upset by the fight as it continued for almost ten minutes.
Eventually Dee headed for her car, but Rob was right behind her. He was trying to take the keys away, which must mean Dee was drunk. This thought was confirmed when, with great difficulty, Rob herded Dee into the passenger seat of his truck and then backed it out of the drive.
Poor Rob. What a way to spend the evening.
Allison told herself the issue was settled now, so there was no sense in hovering near the window anymore. She put away her wine glass and straightened up the kitchen and living room, although they hadn’t been that messy.
She thought about going to bed, but it was barely after nine. She was tired but also kind of wired, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep. She would have called Vicki, but her friend was going to the symphony tonight.
Allison turned on her front door light and grabbed her broom, stepping outside to sweep her front stoop and the short walk to the driveway. It needed to be done occasionally. It didn’t have anything to do with being outside to see when Rob got home.
The concrete was eventually spotless, and Rob still hadn’t returned. With a sigh, Allison gave up and went back inside.
She was closing and locking the front door when she heard a car on the street outside. She peeked back out the blinds to see Rob’s truck returning.
She waited for him to get out, but he didn’t.
He just sat in his car for a really long time.
There didn’t appear to be anyone in the passenger seat, so maybe he was just on his phone or something. But why was he just sitting like that? He should go back inside and get comfortable.
She kept watching, getting more and more worried for no reason that made any sense. She knew something was wrong with him.
Eventually her concern overcame any hesitancy she normally would have felt. Rob had never invited her over to his house, but she was just going up the driveway to check on him. She was wearing cropped yoga pants and a pink tunic top that always slid off one of her shoulders. She slipped her feet into her favorite silver flip-flops and walked across the street.
Rob still hadn’t gotten out of his truck. His head was tilted back and his eyes were closed, and he looked terrible, like he could barely move.
She knocked on the door of the truck.
He jerked visibly and opened his eyes, visibly shocked as he reached over to open the door. “What are you doing here?”
“Sorry,” she said, feeling silly now that she was here. “I just saw… saw what happened earlier, and then I saw you sitting out here. I was… I was worried.” She dropped her eyes, hoping he wasn’t going to tell her she was being stupid or send her away.
His voice softened slightly. “I’m okay. Nothing for you to worry about.”
“You seem like something is wrong.”
He looked like he was going to say something, but then he gave a little shake of his head. What he said was clearly not what he’d been about to say. “I’m just tired.”
“Then you should go inside and take it easy.”
“I am.” He slid out of the truck and straightened up, putting on a smile that didn’t ring quite true to Allison. “I hope your evening didn’t get interrupted by all the noise out here.”
She smiled back, since he obviously wanted to get back to normal interaction between them. “Not really. I was just signing up to take college classes.”
“Oh yeah? What classes are you going to take?”
He looked better, either from her presence or from thinking about something else. Allison decided she wasn’t going to leave him yet. She didn’t want him to go inside and stew about whatever had upset him. “I’ll tell you about them if you invite me in. I’m on my feet all day, you know.”
“Of course you are. You can come—” He broke off, as if he’d just remembered something.
She pretended she hadn’t noticed the interruption and walked up his front steps. He had no choice but to come too and unlock his door.
She realized why he was reluctant as soon as she walked inside. The place was a mess. The door opened into a pleasant great room with good hardwood furniture and big windows. But there were newspapers and mail and empty glasses on every surface, and the floor was covered with shoes, socks, tools, and what appeared to be the contents of an entire junk drawer. She could see into the connecting kitchen, and it was just as messy.
She was absolutely positive that this was what he hadn’t wanted her to see.
