True Affair

Puzzle Piece

I grip onto thin fabric as an obnoxiously loud ring sounds. I wiggle my head, trying to rid myself of the noise and return to peaceful slumber. I sleepily laugh; remembering the number of jokes that were made before my eyes shut. The amount of sensuality Michael allowed for me to see. The way his large hands cleansed my body in the shower. The way his face was filled with worry, but my touch calmed his expression. Another loud ring disrupts my groggy memories."Oh, God!" I dig my toes into the mattress. "Michael!" I lift my head groggily with squinted lids.

My eyes widen and absorb the light, and with the widening; brief pain and discomfort. My legs aren't tangled with his, and my hands' arent gripped to his pajamas; he's not here. I whip around my bed as I notice I'm no longer in Michael's quarters, no, I'm not even in Neverland.

My nostrils flare as I inhale my newly appointed scent of fresh lavender. The smell I presumed I had gained from the heated shower last night. To worsen my confusion: my core is not sore as it was last night.

I rub on my forehead as if harshly bumped while dragging my feet toward the unstoppable sound of my living room phone. The hardwood feels almost foreign to me. Having been everywhere else but my own for so long; even the curtains behind the couch and the table, the home phone sits upon don't appear the same.

"Hello?" My impolite phone manners are worsened by my confused and distant speaking voice.

"Uh, Isabelle Shae speak-" a recognizable chuckle sounds and I jump back into a comfortable position in the love seat beside me, imagining the cushions are the callers' arms. "Dad?" I squeal and smile widely. "How are you? You haven't called in so long! I hope you didn't waste your call on me, mother misses you, you should always call her!" I scorn before returning back to a relaxed state."Oh my gosh, how much time do you have on the phone? Do you need your commensary topped up? Because I'll call the front desk right now-"

His chuckle increases in volume. "Mi Amor, dijiste eso en un respiro?" (My love, did you say that in one breath?)

"Si, Papa" I'm almost hysterical, realizing just how much I've missed his voice.

"Mother said you're having a hard time," he pauses. "I want to see you, can you do that for me?"

I shake my head, my earring hitting against the phone's plastic. "Papa, I can't see you like that. I can't."

"Mini, you come here, okay? You'll be okay." His accent is strong and unflattering. "I don't know how long I'll be here-"

"Don't say that!" I yell. "Don't say that" I repeat in a quiter volume.

"Someone you're working for is here, he in unit 13. You see him, you see me. Bester come see me, I need ta see my baby too" he struggles with his English pronunciation, but he is far better at it than he was before his incarceration.

"How do you know that? Papa, who?"

"Guard says your name. Says Nathan name too."

"Papa, my client is in a local prison, not yours" I clench my eyes, listening to myself refuse to see my father, and him having to hear me hesitate.

"I'm in Santa Barabara now got transferred 3 days go" he speaks calmly, his voice slowly turning monotone.

"You got transferred?" I stand straight up. "Who? Who authorized it?"

"Nathan, he came to see me 3 days ago. For your birthday, he did it." Chatter sounded in the background of the other line, and I know my time is short. "Tengo que irme ahora, Mini." (I have to go now, Mini). "Please see me," he pleads.

"I will come to see you, Papa." The line falls flat, and I begin to think about Nathan authorizing my father's transfer.

Since when does Nathan have the seniority to do that?... Who's my father's lawyer again?