Love isn't easy

Chapter 21: November 10, 2015

November 10, 2015

Lisa pulls her keys out of the knob as she walks into the shadowy apartment.

"Roseanne."

The twenty-six-year-old looks around confused because the apartment is never this dark or silent. Normally Roseanne is watching something on the TV or her computer, or she's blaring music while painting, or - like it had become common as of late - she'd be making a pre or post-dinner snack. The quiet was unusual. Lisa waits for Roseanne to answer as she takes off her coat and hangs it on one of the hooks by the door.

"Babe?"

Lisa heads for the master bedroom paying close attention to where she steps. She is wary to avoid the floorboards that are known to creak annoyingly loudly. Roseanne might be sleeping. She's been doing a lot of that recently as well.

—

Lisa opens the door to their moderately sized bedroom hoping to find her wife there but comes across an empty bed instead.

"Roseanne?"

The bathroom light is off. Evidently, Roseanne isn't in there either. Lisa fishes through her bag for the phone and pulls it out dialing Roseanne's number while she begins to undress. Lisa perks up her ears to see if she can hear the ringtone anywhere in the apartment. Nothing. Roseanne answers on the third ring.

"Hi, you."

Lisa holds her phone between her cheek and her shoulder. Her fingers find their way to the metal zipper fastening her pants.

"Hey. I just got home and you're not here. Where are you?"

"Don't be mad."

Lisa's hands stop moving down the line of buttons on her shirt and shift to hold the phone instead. With Roseanne that could mean such a vast array of things that Lisa can't even figure out where to begin panicking.

"What happened? Are you okay? Is the baby okay? Where a..."

Lisa starts mindlessly rattling things off. Roseanne interrupts her.

"Dante needed me to come in for a bit to give him my opinion on a piece he was looking to buy but I'm almost done. He sent a car to pick me up and I'll take another car home. I won't get on the train."

"Roseanne! You are due any second now. What?!"

Lisa paces around the room thinking about the thousand and one disastrous scenarios this little unexpected outing could lead to.

"He tried emailing me pictures of it, but I needed to see it in person. It's a big purchase. I couldn't not show up. He's been really great about accommodating me. It was the least I could do."

Lisa begins digging through drawers and pulls out the first comfortable pair of jeans she sees.

"I'm coming to get you."

"Lisa don't be absurd. I still need to do some things to make the sale official. There will be a car that will pick me up at the entrance of the gallery and that will then drop me off right at the front door of our building. I'll be home in an hour. Maybe two."

"Roseanne..."

Lisa attempts to communicate how flustered and concerned this makes her and Roseanne knowing her wife as well as she does, can read all of it.

"Dante is here, the seller is here, and so is Jihyo. I'm not alone. I'm safe and I will stay that way. I'm just working through the transfer of ownership paperwork now. We'll be home soon. In one piece. Promise."

Lisa, resigned to Roseanne always getting her way, gives in.

"If anything happens will you call?"

Lisa sighs into the phone and runs her hands through her hair.