Page 112 of The Last Man on Earth
“I had it furnished,” she says like it’s no big deal. “Decorating can come later at your discretion. I don’t know your taste.”
“It’s okay,” I say. “Thanks for doing that.”
She leads us inside, where everything looks and smells brand new. It’s gorgeous. The kind of house that people photograph for magazines.
My parents take slow looks around, still in awe. Dorinda tells me the gate guard has already been instructed that nobody gets in without prior approval.
I thank her. She gives me a stiff hug before heading out, reminding me that I can call her at any time.
When the door closes behind her, Daddy locks it, and silence settles in.
I wander around the kitchen, running my fingers over the cool marble countertop. Just outside the patio doors, I see a deck and a large pool. It’s beautiful. All of it.
I still don’t feel like myself, and now I’m in yet another unfamiliar place. But something about this house feels comforting.
Maybe it’s that Vincent put me here.
My mom sets her purse on the counter, then brings me a bottle of water.
“How are you feeling?” she asks.
I take a few long swigs, then sit my big self on a counter stool. “Confused.”
“Why is that?”
“He’s still engaged to that other lady. He hasn’t even mentioned leaving her.”
She sighs. “Give him some—“
“Time. Yeah. That’s what everybody keeps saying.” I blow out a breath. “I’m not trying to be selfish, but I’m pregnant and alone and dealing with a lot right now.”
Daddy sits next to me at the island. “He’s had enough time.”
“The man’s still going to funerals!” My mother says. “I saw pictures of one today.”
“Where?”
She shrugs. “Shara sends me links to all the blogs.”
“Don’t take but a minute to send a text,” Daddy says.
My mother shoots him a look, but he doesn’t back down. He never does.
We all end up in the living room on the world’s coziest sectional couch. They’re watchingJudge Judyand I’m watching my eyelids when my phone buzzes.
My sister.
“Hey.”
“Did you see it?” she asks, no greeting at all.
“See what?”
She texts me a link, which I open without thinking.
It’s a video on The Shade Spot.
It’s Vincent, that woman, and their kid, all leaving a park. A voice from behind the camera shouts, “Villain, are you happy to be reunited with your family?”
