Page 19 of Saint
‘Walking the path less traveled is hard. But the happiness of your children is worth it.’
– Ophelia’s Secret Thoughts.
Chapter 7
Ophelia
The moment we pulled into the driveway, Mr. and Mrs. Robbins headed out of their house.
I climbed out of my car and said, “I’m so sorry. We’re running late.”
That was when Soraya, who had unbuckled herself, opened her door and said, “We met Mr. Saint. But he told me it was just Saint. So, Monnie can’t yell at me for being disrespectful. Did you know he’s six foot two? Did you know his favorite superhero is the Hulk? He looks like a Hulk. And... and... he got me this.” And that was when she took in a deep breath and held up her Barbie doll for them to see.
Mr. Robbins looked at me and lifted a brow, a twinkle in his eye, and asked, “You met Saint. Huh?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, but Mrs. Robbins slapped him in the gut with the back of her hand, “Hush, you. We can grill her later. Right now, our little Soraya girl has something she wants us to see.”
At her words about grilling me, I groaned.
Which caused both of them to laugh.
After they had seen Soraya’s doll, we unloaded the trunk, brought the tree in, and with an old record player I had scored at a garage sale last week and a Christmas vinyl record, we decorated our tree.
Of course, I popped popcorn, and we made a garland out of it.
It was as we were putting the final touches on the tree that Mrs. Robbins asked, “So, what did you think about him?”
I looked at the red glass ornament and sighed, “He was nice.”
I felt Mrs. Robbins’s eyes on me, and then I sighed.
We may not have lived here long, but I knew Mrs. Robbins wasn’t going to let this go.
“He told me that he had watched some punk jip me a tip. Figured that had I gotten that tip, I would have been able to get Soraya that doll.”
“Which is true. I’ve never seen a better mother than you, dearie.” Mrs. Robbins told me.
And for the second time that day, I felt tears well in my eyes.
I looked at her and smiled, “Thank you.”
She winked, then said, “Continue.”
“Well, when he talked to Soraya, he didn’t stand at his full height. No, he lowered himself down, so he was at eye level with her. And not once when she talked to him a million miles a minute, did he get frustrated with her. And... well... he carried our bags to the car and put them in for me. No one has ever done that for me but Mr. Robbins.”
“Did I hear my name? Wait, I didn’t. Because you won’t call me that.” I giggled as Mr. Robbins entered the living room.
I chuckled as I asked, “Will it make you happy if I call you by your name?”
He nodded, “Extremely. That Mr. Robbins makes me feel old as dirt. And after I made Lilly come twice this morning, I don’t feel so old.”
“Harold!” Mrs. Robbins gasped.
I started laughing, and I couldn’t help it.
Mrs. Robbins was rolling her eyes.
When I got my laughter under control, I looked at him and said, “I’m pleased to hear that, Harold.”
