Henri was on her mind all night, long after she’d gone to bed. She dreamed about him. An odd, fluttering of colorful, misshapen images that recounted their time together over the last few days. When she woke the following morning she found herself still consumed by him, her cheeks burning hot with emotions she hadn’t experienced since she was a teenager growing up in Seoul. From the gentle way he spoke to her the night before, when he told her honestly what he thought about her, to his insistence on seeing her home safely; his actions gave her feelings that she couldn’t explain, that she didn’t even want to consider. Damn him. Why did he have to be nice to her? Why couldn’t he have just taken her iness at face value and left her the hell alone? From a logical standpoint, it made sense that he would linger in her subconscious. It made sense that she would continue to think about him when she struggled to understand his actions. He was sweet. He was charming. He flirted with her when she’d purposefully berated him like a child. She just didn’t get him! What possessed that man to turn her bitterness into something sweet she’d never understand. She wasn’t a good person. So, why did he continue to try? Why even bother? Alice grumbled to herself when her phone buzzed on the nightstand. She grabbed it and accepted the call without thinking.

    “Hello?” she asked, her voice laden with sleep and the barest hint of a hangover. 

    “Good morning, love.” The world around her went cold. Drained completely of warmth and color. She felt her stomach tighten, her esophagus clenching like a fist as she tried to remember how to breathe. Panic, blazing hot and searing, pierced her mind until she beat her emotional response back into submission. Alice cleared .

    “The do you want? And why do you keep calling me?”

    “I was thinking about making trip up north this weekend to bring you the rest of your things. It wouldn’t be a problem for me. I want to see you. I miss you, baby,” he said, his voice soft, reminiscent of the way he sounded when they first met. Alice sank deeper into her pillows, glancing from her manicured nails to the sun rising outside her bedroom window. She had to remind herself that he wasn’t really there, that the sugar-laced words he spilled came from hundreds of miles away, and not the cold side of the bed next to her. It was just like him to start calling again. Now that everything had completely settled into place and she’d gotten her life back in order. Now that the nightmares had stopped and she could sleep through the night; it was his voice she was forced to hear first thing in the morning. Had she known he would manage to find her number again, she wouldn’t have even bothered getting a phone. 

    “No, that’s fine. You can sell whatever I left. Donate it or throw it away, I don’t care,” she replied, not bothering to mask her irritation. She wouldn’t stoop to his level. Alice refused to trade pleasantries, to pretend that everything between them was alright. “I don’t want you anywhere near here, to be honest.” 

    “Don’t be like that, Al. I miss you. Rudy misses you. Don’t you, boy?” She could hear the dog in the background, excited and no doubt running in circles. She fought down the pangs of sadness that rose to the surface, threatening to expose her. It was just like that sonofa to try this on her. The tactics of desperate men were almost laughable.

    “That’s too bad. Perhaps you should let someone adopt him, lord knows you don’t have a single nurturing bone in your ing body,” she snapped and he fell silent. 

    “Which is exactly why I need you around. You were always better at taking care of things than I was. All the more reason for us to visit.”

    “I don’t think that’d be a good idea.”

    “Why not? You know, I woke up this morning to the smell of breakfast cooking in the kitchen. I thought you’d broken in to make me eggs,” he chuckled. “But it was the neighbors wife over next door, cooking her husband a meal. Not mine. Not my beautiful wife. I miss seeing you, babe. Dressed in nothing but a t-shirt…your hair a mess…the smell of your perfume…You’re all I think about.”

    “Then get a hobby, Joseph. Look, let’s cut to the chase; what do you want?”

    “…A man can’t call to hear his wife’s voice every once in a while without wanting something? Maybe I just miss you. Ever considered that?”

    “You don’t have a wife, . Unless there’s something you want to tell me?” she asked. He chuckled, the sound as dark and intimidating as she remembered it.

    “You’re still my wife, Alice. The divorce hasn’t been finalized yet, which means you’re still mine, despite whatever independent bull you’ve been telling yourself. You can move away, you can change your name and your phone number, but don’t you ever confuse the fact that you’re not still my wife, babydoll.” His voice was chillingly calm, but dripping with venom. She recognized his threat loud and clear.

    “Go yourself, Joseph, and stop calling me.” She pulled the phone away from her face, only to freeze at his sharp snarl.

    “Don’t you hang up the goddamn phone! Now, listen, I want to see you and it’s every God fearing mans right to see his wife when he damn well pleases. If you just tell me where you are I can be there in just—!”

    “Do you think I’m ing stupid, Joseph? Do you know how much I went through, how much money I spent to make sure your wouldn’t be able to find me?” She sat up in bed, the sheets pooling round her waist as she railed into the receiver. “My father almost lost his military pension trying to get me the out of Illinois and you think I’d ruin it by telling you where I am?”

    “You don’t get to decide—!”

    “No, you don’t get to decide! This is my life and I’ll be damned if I let you it up again. Why can’t you just leave me alone?!”

    “Because I still love you, Alice. And I know you still love me.”    “Don’t flatter yourself, Jo.”

    “And I’m coming to see you, baby, real soon. Isn’t that right, Rudy?” She could hear his voice changing, growing darker as the dog yelped in pain in the background. “We’re going to take a trip up to Syracuse and if I have to hunt your down, you’re never leaving my side again. Understand? Alice Peters? I’ll see you sooner than you think.” 

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