“My, my, my. Is Daniel Anthony losing his abundant charm?” Sandra Anthony quipped from where she stood under the shade that the front porch provided, shading her eyes and watching him water the garden plants. She had also been watching a few minutes ago, as he tried to converse with the new neighbor and had gotten snubbed for his efforts. It was a refreshing sight to behold, and she was laughing a little as she teased him about it, thinking that it was a little callous of her, but enjoying herself immensely, nonetheless.“Watch your tongue, woman, or you’re going to be really, really sorry. What on earth do you mean by the comment you just made?” Dan asked her, furrowing his brows in mock anger, but that only made her laugh harder.“Well, it’s not every day that one gets to see Almighty Mr. Handsome Playboy get turned down by a woman … for the second time.”“Now, you’re really asking for it. You had better behave, otherwise, if I put down this watering can, you’re going to be really so
The get-together that evening was a noisy affair that Becca really enjoyed. For the first time in a long time, she was really having fun. It was almost as though she already knew the people who were there because everyone was really friendly and all of a sudden, she was fiercely glad that she had come to this place. This place would be good for her. She could feel it in her bones. All the loneliness and uncertainty that she had been feeling seemed to drift away that evening.“Having a good time?” Dan, her neighbor, and the host of the get-together asked her, coming over to where she was talking with one of his friends.“Oh, yes. I am. Thanks for inviting me.” Becca replied. The friend walked away, leaving the both of them together.“Do you mind if we step out for some fresh air?” Dan asked, and at her nod, took her elbow and led her onto his balcony.“So, how are you finding Ohio?” Dan asked her, watching her intently.“Oh, it’s a cool place. I like this neighborhood.”“Hmm. That's go
“You’re looking good, Meghan.” Ryan complimented, smiling at his sister as he sat down opposite her and her husband, Craig who was one of his closest friends, in the dining room of their house. They had invited him for dinner, as they had been doing for the past four months since he and Becca divorced, but as usual, he kept giving them excuses.Of recent, his sister had started to give him the cold shoulder, and he knew that it was because she knew he was avoiding her and her husband. He hated having Meghan mad at him, so he had had no choice but to honor her invitation this evening. Angela slid into the seat beside him, tossing her hair and placing her purse on the table.“Thanks, Ryan. I can’t say the same about you, though. Hello, Angela.” Meghan replied, her expression tight. He guessed that she was not happy that he had brought Angela along. He himself was not thrilled that Angela had insisted on tagging along, but in the end, he had decided that it was probably better for him. H
“Be careful, big sis. You don’t want to hurt yourself or the baby.” Toby, Becca’s younger brother chastised, hurrying over to collect the traveling box that she was holding from her hands. Becca resisted the urge to roll her eyes at him, but she understood his concern very well and allowed him to take the traveling box from her, so long as doing so eased his mind. For the past two months, she had been living with her brother, after going to visit him when she fell sick. He lived in the same city in which her grandparent’s nursing home was, so she just spent some time with them all, and was now going back to her house. “It’s almost as though I should not leave, Toby. I’ll miss you so much.” Becca said, grabbing him in a bear hug, which he enthusiastically returned. Becca hid a smile. She remembered when he was just entering his teens. He would have recoiled from such a public display of affection in public. “You can stay with me all you want, big sis. If not for school, I would have g
For the next few days, Becca remained closeted in her house, but whereas before, she had enjoyed being indoors, now, she was sick of staying inside the house. She had to get a job fast, or she was going to go crazy. Remembering that Sandra next door, had promised to link her up with a job in the school where she worked, Becca contemplated whether to go over to the woman’s house to get details of the job or not. She did not want to have to meet Dan again, because from what she could see about Sandra, she was going to make a very good friend, and Becca did not want anything to come in the way of that, as she needed new friends here.Deciding that to hell with it, she got up and made her way slowly over to her neighbor’s house, hoping to high heavens that Dan would not be around. She was in no mood to tell a grown man who should be responsible, how to behave. She soon got to their door and knocked on it, gently at first, and then when there was no answer, she knocked louder. It was only
Becca froze on the phone, as words escaped her, and even though she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out of it. What was Ryan calling her brother for? Why on earth was this man bent on making her life miserable? Now, that she was finally getting over him and what he had done to her, glad that he had forgotten about her existence, he was springing up from whatever hole he had come out from, to come and torment her once more. She became aware that Toby was still talking, so she got herself together and listened to him.“…I give it to him?”“Sorry. What did you say? I zoned out a bit there.” Becca told him, so he repeated himself.“I was saying that he asked me if I have seen you and that he was looking for you, but did not know where you were. He also said that he went to your house, but you had sold it off to someone else.”“And what did you tell him?”“Um, I told him that I had seen you and you just left my place, so he asked me to send him your number an…”“Toby!” Becca exclai
It had been raining earlier, but now, the rain had stopped, and so the Hunters dressed up, as they had been about to do before it started raining, in preparation to go to Ryan’s house for dinner. Craig had already finished wearing his clothes and was all set, but as usual, had to wait for his wife to take her precious time doing her thing. He stood patiently by the door, watching her wipe the eyeliner from her eyes for the third time, and shook his head. “You already know we’re late because of the rain. The earlier we go, the earlier we can come back home. You look beautiful to me. Come on, Meghan, let’s go.” Craig urged his wife, trying not to sound impatient. It only took a little for Meghan to burst into tears nowadays. “Don’t worry. I’ll get it right this time around, and then we’ll be on our way, okay? Please grab my bag and put my phone and purse in it. Thank you.” She told him, and he went to do as she asked. Left to him, there was no point in still going for this dinner that
Craig froze, wondering what sort of mess he had gotten himself into, and glanced back at his car, hoping that Meghan would remain inside the car. He was gratified to see that she was still seated in it. From this distance, he could not see her expression, neither did he know if she knew what was going on, but that was good. He would deal with this annoying situation and they would go home, and he would not be caught dead on this road again, especially at this time of the night. Surreptitiously, he glanced around to see if there were any passersby, but the street was totally empty of human presence, making it look like it was only him, Meghan, and their assailants who were in the world. The boy who had first pointed a gun at him saw him glancing around, and said in a harsh tone.“Do you think we’re fucking around? Empty your fucking pockets right now, if you don’t want me to blow your fucking brains off!”“Alright, alright. Calm down.” Craig tried to placate him, raising his hands in s