Once I got home, I was feeling uneasy, but I couldn't directly ask Bonnie about it. Then, my mom called. She already knew that Bonnie had come to Caladonia, and Orlando was the one who told her.
"What on earth does she want? Is she deliberately pestering you? You and Neil are divorced already, what else does she want?" My mom was fuming.
I responded with a hint of irritation, "She's here as a student, and happened to work at Orlando's company. Some stuff happened, and she quit."
"Did Neil go too?" Mom hit the nail on the head.
I didn't deny it.
Mom was really pissed. She thought Neil and Bonnie were just bullying me. She wanted to give Neil a piece of her mind over the phone, but I stopped her. "Mom, just let me handle this. You and dad need to take care of yourselves, especially you. You can't get too worked up, okay?" I worried that mom's health might take a toll if she got too upset.
Mom knew what I was like; no amount of talking would change anything. I would have to face this on my own, so she didn't say anything more.
Thankfully, the next few days were peaceful, with no disturbances. My morning sickness started to ease up, too. The doctor said that for most people, it got better after the first few months. But what I was really worried about was my baby bump. I could hide it for now, but in two or three months, it would be hard to keep it under wraps.
"Excuse me." Early on a weekend morning, as I was about to go out shopping, I saw a moving company bringing furniture upstairs, and the door to the apartment across from mine was wide open.
The residential area that I lived in was mid-range, not anything fancy. But it was close to both my office and Harold's house, so Orlando chose it for me.
The apartment across from mine had been empty for a while, but it seemed like it had been rented out. I didn't think much of it. After a glance, I took the elevator downstairs. When I returned from shopping, the door across from mine was closed. It looked like they were all moved in.
"Ms. Finch?" Just as I was about to close my door, Louis came out of the elevator, his face full of surprise. "You live here too?"
I stared at him in shock. "You're the one who moved in across the hall?"
Louis grinned. "Yeah, more accurately, it's me and Neil. It's close to my office, so we're staying here for now."
I was taken aback. Neil was living across from me now? Wasn't he living with Bonnie?
"Why the long face? You don't seem… too thrilled about us being your neighbors." Louis sounded worried. "Is it because it's awkward being neighbors with Neil after the divorce?"
Of course it was awkward. I even suspected that Neil deliberately moved here to make me uncomfortable. If Bonnie found out we were neighbors, she would definitely get jealous.
What was he thinking?
Seeing that I didn't say anything, Louis sighed. "Looks like he hurt you pretty badly."
"It's all in the past. I hope you guys enjoy living here." I managed a smile, then closed the door.
Even though Louis and Neil were the ones living across from me, I never saw Neil. Every time I went to and from work, Louis was always the only one around. That was fine. I didn't want to see Neil anyway. If all went well, I would move away in a while.
"Off work, Ms. Finch?" Louis would always greet me first. He was always enthusiastic.
"Yes." I nodded.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Reborn, Reawakened, Rekindled