Page 77 of David's Love

He gives me a soft smile, and my eyes slide over his hands, checking ardently for any signs of physical violence.

“Let me get this,” I say, pointing to his jacket.

He sheds it and hands it to me before I take it to the bedroom and put it on a hanger in the closet.

It’s like he’s come home.

When I return, I find him in the kitchen at the table, his elbows on the table and his sleeves rolled up.

I pour him a cup of tea and start making the sandwiches.

“I don’t have anything else in the house. Would you rather drink coffee?”

He stops me with a clipped gesture.

“Tea is good.”

He drinks his tea while I focus on the food.

“I handed him to the cops,” he eventually says, and I lift my eyes and freeze.

He nods.

“So, was he up to no good?”

“I don’t know his intentions, but he admitted he was here because of you.”

“Did you get his name?”

He smiles.

“It took some convincing,” he says, and I don’t know what he means by that. “His name is Keith… something. The cops have his information.”

I turn to stone.

It’s one thing to suspect that it’s him and quite the other to have the confirmation.

I feel like I need to sit.

I don’t do it and go back to making the sandwiches.

“What did you tell him?” I ask.

“I told him I’d kill him if he came near you again, and I'd make it look like an accident.”

“He believed you?” I ask, slicing a tomato with a shaky hand.

“Every word of it. It’s the truth,” he adds, and I stop and look at him, the knife in the air still connected to my hand.

“I’m not joking about this,” he says, a faint smile on his face. “Do you know this guy?” he asks in a different tone.

I put the knife down and start assembling the sandwiches. Slices of bread, cheese, ham, tomatoes, and lettuce get acquainted with each other.

“You know him too,” I say, and he cocks an eyebrow at me.

“I do?”

“He’s the‘boyfriend’.”

---