I punched his shoulder before continuing to look in my purse. Sure enough, I found one of her business cards at the very bottom. I took a deep breath as I unfolded my legs and stood to cross the room. I went through a few opening statements in my head on the way over there.
"Hey guys, I was noticing how cute and sweet you were…"
No.
"Hey guys, I think you'd be perfect at the place where I volunteer…"
No.
"Hey, I see you have Down Syndrome."
No.
The last thing to cross my mind before I opened my mouth was that I should have taken more time to plan what I was going to say before I stood up. But now it was too late.
The couple I assumed were the parents looked up and smiled at me as I approached. What have I gotten myself into? What was I going to say? "Heyyy," I said, smiling. "My name's Trish Carmichael." I handed the card I was holding to the mom, and she reached out and took it with a smile. She glanced at it. "Do you guys live in San Antonio?" I asked.
"Yes," the mom said cautiously.
"We live at 682 Mulholland Road, San Antonio, Texas," the daughter said, causing the mom to glance at her with a motherly warning glare.
"I grew up near Mulholland Road," I said, smiling at the girl.
She smiled back at me, and I couldn't help but think about Thomas. I knew this girl would have fun at the Happy House, and I prayed I wouldn’t botch the introduction.
"My name's Mary Katherine, but my mom and dad call me Mookie for short."
I extended my hand to shake hers. "My name's Trisha, but everyone calls me Trish for short."
"Do you like coffee?" she asked.
"I love coffee. I come here so much that they know what I'm gonna order before I even order it."
Mary Katherine cracked up at that statement, which made me laugh right along with her.
"This says Claire Bennett," the mom said, holding up the card as if I must have given her the wrong thing.
"Oh, yeah, I, that's not my card." I laughed nervously. "That's the lady who owns the Happy House. I just volunteer there once a week."
She stared down at the card.
"Anyway," I said. "It's a really cool place, and it's free, so I wanted to give you guys a card in case it was something you'd be interested in. They have classes, and video games, and all sorts of other fun stuff there. I teach a class on Mondays." I paused for a second, but they still seemed sort of confused, so I blurted, "You can find more information on the internet. The website's listed on the card. It was really nice meeting you guys!" I smiled and started to turn away, feeling ridiculous and embarrassed to have gone over there in the first place.
"My mom's name is Sarah Miller and my dad's name is Fred Miller. I'm Mookie Miller, but you can call me Mookie or Mary Katherine."
I couldn't help myself. I reached out and gave her a hug for being so sweet at a time when I was nervous and flustered. "I hope I see you again, Mookie Miller. I think we could be good friends."
"Is that your work?" she asked, pointing at the card her mom was holding.
"I wouldn't call it work because I mainly go there to have fun, but yes, I'm there once a week on Mondays if you want to come hang out."
"Can we?" she asked, staring hopefully at her mom.
"We'll have to see," she said. "I'll look it up and see what it's all about."
"Trish said they have classes and games, and it's free for everybody."
"I heard her, but we still need to do a little research, don't you think?"
Mary Katherine nodded, and I put my palm out to high five her.
"It was super cool meeting you, Mookie Katherine," I said.
She cracked up at that. I put my palm out to her mom and then her dad forcing them to high five me as well, which they did with a smile.
"Sarah, Fred," I said, "nice meeting both of you."
"Nice meeting you too, Trish," Sarah said.
I turned to walk away, feeling much better than I had the first time I tried to leave.
"Looked like that went well," Ryan whispered when I got back to the couch.
"It was a little awkward at first, but we worked it out. I love that girl. Her name was freaking Mookie. Isn't that wonderful? It's short for Mary Katherine."
"I guess it's pretty wonderful," Ryan said amused at my excitement.
I rolled my eyes and punched at his arm.
"Are they going to come to the place?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I don't know," I said. "They might think I was a crazy person and throw away the card, but at least I gave it to them."
The Miller family left a few minutes after I talked to them. Mookie called my name and waved at me as they were on their way out. I blew her a kiss and she blew me one back.
Ryan and I stayed there for another hour before deciding to head home. Annie and Isaac were both there when we arrived. She was sitting at the kitchen table staring at her phone and Isaac was sprawled out on the couch watching television. I had some papers to grade and planning to do for school the next week, so I went straight to my room after greeting the two of them.
I'd been in there for quite a while and was up to my eyeballs in grading essay papers when I heard a knock on my bedroom door. "Come in!" I called.
Ryan opened the door slowly and peeked into my room.
"You can come in," I said, shifting my head from side to side to stretch my aching neck. "I need to take a break anyway."
"Somebody's out here to see you," he said. He was wearing an odd expression that made me sit up straight.
I dropped my red pen onto the stack of papers. "Who is it?" I asked.
"I think it's Shane's brother," he said.
"Brock?" I asked, confusion evident on my face.
He shrugged. "I don't know. I don't really remember what he looks like, but I think it's him."
"What's he want?" I asked.
"How am I supposed to know? I just answered the door and he asked if he could speak with you."
I instinctually touched my hair, knowing it was a total mess from me playing with it while grading papers.
"Is he in the living room?" I asked.
"Of course not. I didn't think you wanted him to come in here." Ryan gestured to his own face with a wave of his hand. "His face is all messed up," he said with a cautious, grossed-out look.
"What do you mean all messed up?" I asked, standing up.
"I mean it looks like he got hit by a truck."
"Are you serious?" I asked, feeling like this whole thing was just a big joke. "Is Brock Rollins really here?"
"Yes!" he said. "Why would I lie about something like that?"
"I don't know, it's just really weird," I said, walking towards the living room.
"Do you want me to tell him to leave?" he asked. "I told him I wasn't sure if you were home when I answered the door."
I shook my head. "Are you sure it was him?" I asked, walking past him into the living room.
"I think so, " he said. "I only met him once or twice."
We had long windows on each side of the front door and I pulled one of the curtains back ever so slightly to get a look at him before I went out there. The guy was standing with his back toward the door, but he certainly fit the description from behind.
"What's he doing here?" I whispered.
Ryan was a few feet behind me. "Do you want me to tell him to leave?" he asked.
"No, I'm all right. I'll see what he wants."
"I'll be right in here," he said. "Just yell if you need me to come rescue you."
I laughed as I cautiously opened the door. Brock turned to me the instant the door opened. Ryan was right, he had a black eye, a cut lip, and a big cut and bruise on his eyebrow. "What happened to you?" I asked, closing the door behind me. It was chilly out, and I felt a little guilty for not inviting him inside, but not guilty enough to do it.
He lifted a shoulder and shook his head imperceptibly. "Nothing," he said.
"Do you know you h
ave a black eye?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said dryly. He just stood there staring at me. "You were right," he finally said.
I narrowed my eyes at him. His hands were in the pockets of his jeans, but at that point, he took one of them out, and extended it. His closed fist hovered in the air between us for a few seconds. It was bruised as well, and I wondered why in the world he was showing it to me. I regarded it, and then looked up to meet his eyes with curiosity all over my face.
"I'm sorry," he said. He turned his hand over as he opened it, revealing my grandmother's ring. It was sitting right there in front of me. I never thought I'd see it again, and the feeling of relief that washed over me was indescribable.
I was only able to enjoy that feeling for a few seconds because it was followed by the realization that he had been lying to me all along. He took it from me, made me ruin a perfectly good relationship, and lied to me about it. Obviously, it took me slapping some sense into him at the gas station for him to realize that he was wrong and finally give it back.
He must have seen my shift in mood as I thought about everything, because his eyes widened and he took a cautious step backward.
"I knew it!" I said, springing forward to snatch my ring off of his hand before he could change his mind and take off with it again. "You're a thief and a liar, Brock Rollins, and I knew it all along! You should have given this back a long time ago. A lot of people got hurt because of you—especially me!"
I angrily stuffed the ring into the pocket of my sweatpants before pushing him roughly with both hands on his chest. My shove took him by surprise, and he teetered as he took a giant step backward with an expression of shock.
"I'm glad you had the decency to return it and everything, but you'll understand if I never want to lay eyes on you again!" I said.
He opened his mouth like he might say something to defend himself, but he changed his mind and shook his head regretfully.
"Goodbye!" I said. Waving the back of my hand toward him to shoo him off.
Chapter 6
My heart was beating a million miles an hour as I turned and walked back into my house. "What in the world was that?" Ryan asked, staring at me curiously from the couch.
"Were you looking out the window?" I asked breathlessly.
He shook his head. "No, but I could hear you yelling at him from here. What happened?"
I stuck my hand in my pocket and came up with my grandmother's ring. I held it in the palm of my hand, gazing down at it as if it was a priceless artifact.
Ryan gasped. "You're kidding!" he said, getting up from his place on the couch to come inspect it. I slid it onto my finger and held it up for him to look at. There was no mistaking it was my grandmother's ring, but I barely recognized it. It had been cleaned, causing every facet of the diamonds to shine brilliantly. I had to assume it had also been sized because it was too big for anything but my thumb before, but it now fit onto my finger perfectly.
"No wonder you were upset," Ryan said, staring at it. "That thing must be worth a million bucks."
I laughed. "Not exactly, but it's priceless to me. I can't believe I have it back." I clutched my other hand over it protectively and held them both to my chest.
"Now you don't have to worry about lying to your family about it," he said, turning to make his way back to the couch.
I followed him and plopped down beside him, feeling like I was on cloud nine.
"I can't believe he brought it back after all this time," he said, looking at the TV.
"I can't believe he still had it. I thought for sure it was halfway to China by now." I couldn't stop staring at it. I held out my hand, watching it sparkle in the light.
"You must have said something right the other night when you slapped some sense into him," he said. "I guess he felt guilty after that."
"I knew he was lying," I said. "I knew it disappeared that night when they were all over here."
"You think he's a kleptomaniac after what happened to him in the military?" Ryan asked.
I shrugged. "I don't know. He definitely had trouble with big crowds. He would get really nervous all of a sudden and stare off into space as if he was imagining something. Shane swore he'd never hurt anybody or take something that wasn't his," I held up the ring as proof, "but I guess he was wrong!"
"At least you got it back," Ryan said, changing the channel.
"Yep!" I agreed.
I went back to my room to finish grading papers. I was slightly distracted by the nerves and adrenaline of the whole exchange, but those feelings faded as soon as I focused on my work.
It was later that evening when my good friend, Carly, sent me a text just to check in. Carly was happily married to Emily Bennett's brother, Micah, so they were all tied into the same family. The Bennett family had three children. Thomas, the oldest, was the one who had Down Syndrome and was the inspiration for the Happy House. Carly's husband, Micah was the middle son, and the youngest, Emily, was newly engaged to my ex-boyfriend, Shane. It went without saying that my friend, Carly, knew about everything that had gone down with my grandmother's ring and the subsequent break up with Shane, so when she sent a text, I knew I would tell her what happened with Brock returning it.
Carly: "Hey Chica, just checking in to see what's up and remind you that Micah's CD release party is next weekend. Hope you can still make it."
Me: "I'm glad you reminded me. I'll mark my calendar. Friday, right? BTW, I was right about Brock Rollins stealing from me! I yelled at him the other night at a gas station, and today he showed up at my door with my grandma's ring!"
I pressed send on the text, and within a minute, my phone rang. I smiled as I picked up, knowing Carly would be shocked and curious to hear the details.
"Are you serious?" was the first thing out of her mouth when I picked up the phone.
"Yes."
"You swear?"
I laughed. "I swear! I'm wearing it right now."
I looked at my own finger, still having a hard time believing it was there.
"I don't believe it!" she said. "I hang out with Brock on a regular basis, and I just can't believe he had your ring. I can't believe he would steal from you!"
"Well, believe it," I said, shaking my head even though she couldn't see me.
"Tell me what happened," she said.
"I ran into him at a gas station the other night. I was just coming from a disastrous blind date, so I might have been a little on edge, but either way, I gave him a piece of my mind. I told him how special the ring was to me and that I knew he stole it, and the next thing you know, he's knocking on my door with it in his pocket. Oh, and I slapped him across the face too."
"You slapped him when he brought the ring back?" she asked.
"No, I pushed him when he brought the ring back. I slapped him the other night at the gas station. It was like something you'd see in a movie. I just slapped him right across the face with all the fury of a girl who had been through a year's worth of useless blind dates."
Carly was quiet on the other end for several long seconds. Part of me thought she would be amused by my story, but I didn't hear her laughing.
"Are you there?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm here," she said, seeming sad or confused, or both.
"Can you believe it?"
"No, I actually can't," she said. "I really can't. Brock's such a good guy. It makes me feel funny that he did that."
"I know, it's crazy," I said. "And to top it all off, he showed up on my doorstep with bruises all over his face like he'd been in a bar fight or something.
She was quiet on the other end. "Seriously?" she asked, finally.
"Yes."
"Do you think the two are related?"
"What two?"
"The bruises and the ring?"
I laughed. "How could they be related?"
"I don't know," she said. "The whole thing is just really weird."
"It's not that weird," I said. "Some people are just kleptomaniacs. Maybe the milit
ary did it to him."
"He has no use for your grandma's ring, Trish. His business has really taken off."
"It hadn't when he took it," I said. "Maybe he pawned it because he needed the money back then, and went to get it back once I called him out on it."
She sighed. "I don't think it works that way."
"Well, all I know is I have the ring," I said.
"I'm definitely glad you got the ring."
"Me too. Hey, before I forget, when's Micah's album party thing? Is it Friday or Saturday?"
"It's next Friday," she said. "But I'm sure Brock and Shane will be there, if that's an issue."
I let out a little groan.
"I really hope you can come," she said. "There's gonna be tons of people there. I'm sure you'll be able to avoid them."
"You can count me in," I said. "I'll probably bring Ryan if that's okay."
"For sure. The more the merrier. I was gonna tell you to mention it to the roommates."
"I'll talk to you before then," I said.
"Yep," she said. "Love you bunches."
"Love you too."
I went back to grading my papers. I only had a few more to go before I was done, and afterwards, I got in the shower and then went into the living room to make myself a snack and watch some TV. Isaac and Ryan were both on the couch.
"She emerges!" Ryan said.
"What are you guys watching?"
"Basketball highlights," Ryan said.
"Where's Annie?" I asked.
"In her room," Isaac said. Isaac had been sweet on Annie ever since he and his girlfriend broke up a few months ago. He would never tell her that because he was too shy, but I could tell.
I didn't care about basketball, but I was brain-dead from grading papers so I sat on the couch with them and spaced out on the television. My phone was sitting on the coffee table in front of us, and Ryan nudged me when the screen lit up.
"What?" I asked, not seeing it.
He pointed at my phone, and I picked it up. It was a text from Carly that said: "Call me when you can."
She never sent cryptic messages like that, so I instantly pressed the button to call her as I stood up to step into the kitchen.
"You okay?" I asked when she picked up.
Finally My Happy Ending (Meant for Me Book 3) Page 4
