Page 15 of David's Proposal

“What happened?” I ask, my voice a whisper.

“Please don’t be mad.”

“I’m not mad…” I say, perhaps too loudly. “Well, I am a little mad. Why did you do that? And why couldn’t you talk to me? Does Thea know about that?”

“No.”

“Oh…”

“Please don’t do that.”

I sigh.

How could I not sigh?

This is a disaster.

“I’m not doing anything, but what do you expect from me?” I say.

Her sigh is worse than mine, a mix of regret and powerlessness.

Mine was fueled by frustration and panic.

“Is this about that man?” I ask, ready to tell her what I have learned about the man who messed with her head.

“I don’t want to talk about him.”

She’s firm, leaving no room for negotiation, yet I feel responsible for her. And telling her what I know about that man is a step of great importance.

“There’s something new about that man,” I say.

“I don’t want to talk about him.”

She sounds mad.

“Even if it’s important?”

“I don’t care how important it is. I don’t want to know anything about that man.”

“What did he do? Did you two meet again after last Sunday?”

“What part of‘I don’t want to talk about him’you don’t understand?” she barks.

I go silent.

I’ve never seen her so riled up about something, and if she says he’s not important, then he is not important.

“One last thing I need to ask, and then I’ll leave you alone. Did he do something bad to you?”

A few moments pass while a variety of scenarios float in my head.

“He didn’t do anything to me,” she says after a while.

Maybe that’s the problem, but I’m happy to hear that she’s fine and I don’t need to call the cops or something.

“Okay. Since we can’t talk about him… How was your flight?”

“Uneventful.”

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