Page 74 of The House Guest
“Shockis not a strong-enough word.” I shook my head. “How.Why…are you here?”
“It’s hard to explain.”
“How did you know where I live?”
“It’s not that hard to find someone these days. Simple internet search.”
Of course.Not everyone specifically avoided Google like I had for the past five years.
It was a miracle I remembered the time. “I have to go pick up my daughter from preschool. I can’t be late.” I paused. “I…have a daughter now.”
“I know,” he said softly.
“You do?” My eyes widened. “How would you know that?”
“I was hoping we could talk.” He looked down for a moment. “I’m sorry I chose a bad time to come by.”
I shook my head. “I don’t know…” Silence filled the air.
“Primrose, look me in the eyes, please.”
I realized I had been looking at the floor. I was afraid of what looking into his eyes would do to me, what it would cause me to remember.
And sure enough, when my gaze met his, a feeling of torturous nostalgia came over me. The same deep sadness that had been in his eyes the last time I’d seen him was there now.
“Please…” he breathed. “I know you don’t owe me anything. But Ineedto talk to you.” He reached into his pocket and handed me a sticky note. “I wrote down where I’m staying here in town, along with my number. It’s not the same one I used to have. Not that you’d still have the old one. I wouldn’t blame you if you’d completely erased me in every possible way.” He exhaled. “I’m not leaving Cincinnati, though, until I’ve had a chance to speak with you. I’ll wait as long as necessary until you have a moment to talk to me.”
What the hell is this about?“I’ll see what I can do,” I finally said.
“Thank you.” He nodded and took a few steps back. “I’ll let you go get your daughter.”
I watched blankly as he got into his car and drove away.
After he was no longer in sight, I closed the door and leaned my back against it, attempting to catch the breath that felt like it had been sucked out of my body. I was confused and scared about what he could possibly have to say to me. The list of questions I had for him was certainly long.
The alarm on my phone went off, scaring the crap out of me. I always set a ten-minute warning in case I lost track of time, never wanting to be late for preschool pickup.
I quickly entered Dorian’s number into my phone, along with the address on the sticky note, before headingout to my car. I took in some of the cool September air, hoping it might calm the turmoil inside me.
The tree-lined ride to the preschool felt like a blur, as my thoughts spun out of control. When I got to the pickup line, I didn’t even know how the hell I’d gotten there.
Today was Wednesday. I decided the only time I’d be able to meet with Dorian was two days from now, on Friday. That was the next time Rosie had preschool. Curiosity might kill me before then, but I didn’t have the kind of life where I could just leave the house whenever I wanted to on a whim. Not to mention, Dorian didn’t deserve to have me jump at the chance to meet him. He wasn’t dead after all. Therefore, I could go back to being angry, since I no longer had to mourn him. I almost laughed at that.You’re ridiculous.
As I sat in the pickup line, waiting for Rosie to appear with her teacher, my mind continued to race. Dorian had looked so handsome. Perhaps my memory of him had faded just enough to make me forget exactly how stunning he was. He had the same gorgeous mane of black hair, the same beautiful face, and the same amazing smell. And he also had the same ability to make me feel things I knew I should be forgetting.
The back door of my car opened, and I forced a huge smile as Rosie arrived.
“She had a great day,” her teacher said.
“That’s awesome!”
Rosie handed me a picture she’d drawn. It looked like a colorful fish.
“So nice, honey. You’re really getting good at drawing. Good job.”
“She’s on her way to becoming an artist like her mom.” Mrs. Harrington winked.
After the teacher shut the car door, I looked in the rearview mirror at Rosie’s little face. Her cheeks were red. She loved school, but she also looked forward to coming home each day. Such a happy girl. My daughter was an absolute joy.
