Chapter 2 #2
‘’Cause you picked up her life she threw on the floor, left the hall lights on, walked out, and locked the door. That’s how she knows the difference between a boy and a man. Take a drunk girl home.”
Reina looked up from her phone and quietly started to say, “That’s —”
“That video is about me,” I interrupted, my voice thick with tears. “My dad wasn’t violent, but he wasn’t there either. Do you think that’s why I am the way I am?”
“Oh, honey,” Rosie said as she came over and bent down to wrap her arms around me.
“I think you need to talk to someone, Darcy,” Reina said as she reached down and took my hand, and Rosie let me go. She helped me stand and then studied my face for a second before she wiped another tear from my face. “I’ll call my cousin to ask when she can get you in for an appointment, okay?”
“I’m fine, Reina,” I said as I forced a smile. “It’s just . . . There have been times over the years when I’ve done . . . Things have happened that I . . .” I bit my lip before I took a step back so that her hands fell off my shoulders. “I’m okay. I’m just in my feelings, you know?”
“And that’s fine. She’ll just help you talk through those feelings.”
“I’ll be okay,” I assured her.
“You’ll be better than okay, sweetheart. We’ll make sure of it.”
◆◆◆
I pulled my front door closed behind me and then turned around to enter the code above the doorknob, smiling as I remembered the day it was installed.
“Can I help you?” I asked when I answered the door and saw a clean-cut man I didn’t know standing on my porch with a backpack slung over his shoulder, holding a plastic bag that had the logo of a hardware store on it.
“You must be Darcy,” the man said as he swapped the bag to his other hand so he could reach out to shake mine. I put my hand in his as he said, “My name’s Josh Forrester. I’m one of the —”
“You’re one of my landlords!” I interrupted when I recognized his name. “It’s nice to meet you. Is everything okay?”
“Everything’s great, but I got a request asking me to change the lock on your front door.”
“Reina or Rosie?”
“Both,” Joshua said with a grin. “I brought a keyless entry, and it will only take me a minute to install it.”
“I’m sure that’s not necessary,” I assured him. “I hate for you to have to go to the trouble of —”
“It’s no trouble at all,” he assured me. “There would only be trouble if those crazy women found out I didn’t take their demands seriously.”
I laughed because I knew he was right. Reina and Rosie were fun and hilarious, but they had an intensely motivated side too.
I had found that out when they jumped into action the day after my mishap I’d told them about and not only made me an appointment with a psychologist but also accompanied me, probably to make sure I didn’t skip it.
Within an hour, I had a new lock that didn’t require a key to open and had made a new friend who just happened to be a Marine and was very serious about the safety of his tenants.
It wasn’t a long walk from my front door to Emerald’s office.
As a matter of fact, I could see her door from mine, but it took long enough for me to start sweating and wondering why my sisters and I couldn’t have moved to a place with a more temperate climate.
We should’ve gone to San Diego, where they don’t have temperature extremes like they do in Denver or here in Rojo.
As I walked up the steps of the home Emerald used as her office, which was right next to the house she shared with Adam, another of my landlords, I calculated how many weeks we probably still had before we started to experience fall weather - something I was looking forward to more than I cared to admit.
“Your internal monologue must be about a very serious subject,” Emerald said as she held the storm door open for me. “You look like you’re contemplating quantum physics.”
“I was mathing, and I’m not a math kind of girl,” I told her with a laugh.
“What are we counting?”
“How many weeks it might be before we get some cooler weather.”
“Honey, it’s only the end of July. We’ve still got August and most of September to get through before there’s a chance of that.”
“Hence the look on my face.”
“Luckily, I’ve got the thermostat set to morgue, so we’ll be chilly while we talk today.”
“I can’t wait,” I said as I followed her down the hall toward the room she used for our sessions. “I got some good news today.”
“Tell me all about it,” Emerald ordered as she sat down at one end of the couch and relaxed against the arm.
I kicked off my sandals and took the other end of the couch, criss-crossing my legs as I settled in for today’s session.
I had never been to any type of therapist before meeting with Emerald, so I had always imagined a stuffy office where it would be hard to get comfortable enough to open up.
It wasn’t that way here at all. Apparently, Emerald used to live in this house.
The furniture was comfortable and inviting, and the decor was understated but classy.
It felt like I was hanging out with a friend in their home rather than spilling my guts to a professional.
“Obviously, my sisters and I moved here planning to stay. With us getting closer to opening the store and my sister being offered a full-time position at the middle school, it feels even more permanent.”
“That’s great! I know both students and teachers at Bowie. It’s just a wonderful school. I’m sure she’ll be happy there.”
“Her entire life has changed for the better since we moved to Rojo. She’s over the moon and happier than I’ve possibly ever seen her.”
“I’m glad she’s settled. Now it’s your turn.”
“Shrink me, Doc. I’m ready!”