Love and Other Countries by Hannibal Shana

Author:Hannibal, Shana
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-07-24T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 3

T he pair arrived at his house. It was beautiful, two stories. A large porch and back patio. A firepit in the backyard, surrounded by plenty of forest. He had an open floor plan, a large kitchen island, but lacked things that made it feel like home. No pictures. No children’s toys. Not one piece of furniture out of place.

“Do you actually live here? It seems kind of sad.” Sadie noticed.

“Yeah, come sit with me.” He led her to the armchair. He sat down and placed her on his lap. Her legs hung over the arm of the chair. “I know we just met, but I feel like I can trust you. Can I trust you?”

“Yeah, but this is starting to sound sketchy.” The smile left Sadie’s face. “Listen, I have a small business in this relatively small town. I won’t air your laundry, just like I’d hope you wouldn’t air mine.”

“Nah, I got you. What happens between us, stays between us.” Donovan stated.

“Ok. So, what’s the deal? I need to know, so I can decide if you get these panties tonight or not.” She tried to make a joke.

“Yeah, so I was married for five years. It started off normal. We met after I finished college. She was older than me. I met her at my first job. She took care of me. Whatever I wanted, she bought it. I was young, so I was with it. So, I wanted a house. You know, the American dream. She agreed, but insisted that I put the house in my name only. That didn’t bother me. At least if she divorced me, I could keep the house. So, I put it in my name. She still paid for everything.”

“Wait a minute. Did she leave you?” Sadie asked.

“Can I finish the story, please?” He tilted his head in front of Sadie.

“Fine! Just so you know, I don’t have a lot of patience.” She laughed.

“I can tell.” He waited. “Ok, where was I? Oh yes, she paid for everything. So, I just put all of my money in my savings account. She insisted we kept our accounts separate. We never actually got married, but this was close enough for me. Our lives were normal for about a year. Then, one day, she never came home. I called her phone, it said the number was disconnected. She was gone. I went down to the police. They acted like she didn’t exist. A month later, the FBI came to my house. They asked if I’d known a woman. They showed me her picture, but her name was different.”

“So, what did you say?” Sadie waited patiently.

“I said no. I didn’t want to get caught up in anything she had going on. I always wondered why she insisted I put things in my name. All this time, I never really knew who she was.” He rubbed his chin with his thumb and pointer finger.

“So, she’s never reached back out to you?” She asked.

“Nope. Nothing. For years.” He paused.

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