It's Lust, Not Love

Part 28

 There are some words in this chapter that may be offensive to some. Please know that I would never, ever say these words myself and do not condone the use of them. I am only using them to make a point.

Rowland’s POV

“Good morning, Mr. Fairbanks.”

“Morning, Meredith.”

I was at the post office, I usually went each Saturday but I had been busy with Ana or work lately so I hadn’t had the chance to pick up my mail.

Meredith worked the desk at the post office every morning. She would have been sort of pretty in her youth, and maybe then I would have appreciated all the winks and flirtatious smiles thrown my way, but from a 50+ year old woman? No thank you. But she was sweet enough so I let her have her fun.

“I’ve missed you, sugar! I thought you had moved or something dreadful! I’m so glad you’re still here!” She gushed.

“No, I just had some stuff to take care of, that’s all.”

She handed my mail over to me with a wink and motioned me in close.

Ah, the weekly gossip. It was a little ritual of hers; Meredith would tell me all the juiciest bits of gossip she heard every week. I hadn’t seen her for a couple months so I prepared to be bombarded with all the latest news.

“Where shall I start, where shall I start?” she giggled gleefully. “Well, it turns out Mrs. Remignton, you know the owner of that fabulous little hair salon on the boardwalk, got cancer! She has to wear a wig! How ironic, seeing as she owns a hair salon!" Meredith giggled with glee.

"And then the…oh, what’s their names? Oh! The Sandavals are getting a divorce! Terrible, just terrible! Mrs. Sandaval was more than happy to tell me about her husband’s cheating."

"Oh, and did you see the papers a little while back? It turns out one of the teachers at our very own Huntington High School had an affair with one of his students! Isn’t that just disgraceful?” She shook her head sadly.

“What is our country coming to? That poor girl was probably forced into the little affair too. Come to think of it, he had the same last name as you, Fairbanks! You wouldn’t happen to be a relation, would you?” She cackled. “No, of course not!”

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to smile. Stupid Lewis, what had he been thinking? But deep down I knew what he was thinking, I knew exactly.

“Well, I think I should get going now, Meredith.”

“See you next week Mr. Fairbanks!”

Back at home, I tossed the mail on the coffee table and was about to have some lunch when an envelope caught my eye. Well, actually it wasn’t the envelope so much as the return address on it.

200 Flinders Street

MELBOURNE VIC 3000

Melbourne…Australia…my hometown. A letter from…Lewis?

I opened up the envelope carefully, making sure I didn’t rip the address, and took out the letter.

Dear Rowland,

I’d like to begin with saying I used a fake address to send this letter. Well, it’s not fake, but it’s not my real address either. I am in Australia, in Melbourne for the time being. I visited mum and dad’s graves again. I gave them flowers on your behalf.