Excuse Me, Miss Mills?

Chapter Thirteen

Going back to the house after work was its own special kind of hell. It was a Friday which meant Robin had picked up Roland and there was a weekend ahead of us. I knew I'd have to spend most of my weekend packing and looking for a place to stay.

I stayed in the car in the driveway for close to twenty minutes just trying to convince myself to go in. I almost left again, but just as I was reached for the gearshift I saw Roland's face appear in the window. He beamed when he saw me and waved excitedly. I smiled and waved back at him, knowing I'd have to go inside then.

When I got to the door Roland was waiting for me.

"Regina!" he said excitedly. He waited for me to crouch to run into my arms and hug me. "You're home! You're late though. I missed you!"

"I know, I'm sorry, Roly-poly," I said, smiling and hugging him. "I had some extra work I had to do today. But I'm here now."

"Can we play pirates?" he asked eagerly. "You and me and daddy?"

"I have some more things I have to take care of," I told him, hating that I had to let him down—I was going to be doing even more of that soon. "But maybe in a little bit?"

He nodded.

"'Kay, Gina!" he said happily. He trotted off, yelling for his father that I couldn't play and that they'd just have to be pirates by themselves.

Robin's relieved, "That's fine, we'll have fun without her," stung a little.

I went up to the attic and retrieved the suitcases I had stored up there. Luckily I had quite a few—I'd insisted on buying a set each time I'd decided to purchase new luggage, so I had two three-piece sets. With six suitcases I was sure to be able to fit all my belongings. I carried them down from the attic and to the bedroom, then set to work collecting my things.

It was strange, hearing the sounds of Robin and Roland playing downstairs and not finding joy from it. Every time I heard one of them talking or laughing all I could think of was how sad I was that I'd be missing out on it.

"You did it to yourself," I said quietly, trying to drive home the point. It wasn't Robin's fault this was happening. It was mine.

I managed to get the majority of my wardrobe into the various suitcases, arranging them by type of clothing—slacks in one suitcase, blouses in another, dresses in a third. I filled one of the smaller ones with a couple of outfits, figuring I could live out of that one while I found a new place. I had high hopes it wouldn't take too long to find somewhere else to live.

When my clothing was packed, I went to the ensuite and cleared out my toiletries and soaps. I was halfway through emptying one of my cabinets when I heard small feet on the stairs.

"Roland, come back down here!" Robin said, his voice sharp.

"I gotta ask Regina something though!" Roland's voice answered, and I judged him to be just outside of the bedroom.

Panic lanced through me as I realized what he'd be walking in on. I dropped everything and ran to stop him before he could come into the bedroom but it was too late.

"Where are you going, Regina?" he asked, staring at the suitcases that were packed to bursting. "Are you going on vacation?"

Robin came up the stairs behind him and glared at me over his son's head.

"Roland, let's go downstairs," he said, putting his hand on Roland's shoulder and trying to guide him back downstairs.

"But where's she going on vacation?" he asked his father, confused as anything as he pulled out of Robin's grasp. "Are we going? Are we going somewhere as a family?"