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“Nothing you really need to worry about,” he replies, and my mouth sets in a thin line.
“Caleb, talk to me.”
With a shake of his head, he mumbles, “It’s just work stuff.”
“Okay, do you at least want to talk about it?” I ask.
“Not really.”
Standing near the door, I watch him as he peels off his belt and slacks, throwing them haphazardly onto the bed before sliding into a pair of his black joggers.
As he turns toward me, he looks as if he’s just remembered something. “Actually, there is one thing I need to talk to you about.”
I lean against our dresser. “Okay, hit me.”
It takes him a moment to reply as if he’s trying to gather his words or decide how he’s going to phrase them—which has me a little concerned.
“Adam called me today,” he says plainly.
Uh-oh.
“Apparently, there’s a guy who works at Sage’s club who had a fire at his house last night. He basically called to ask if we’d let this guy stay in our rental room above the garage, but I told him that’s crazy, right? The guy’s a?—”
He pauses, staring at the door as if he’s watching to make sure our daughter is out of earshot. Then he whispers the next two words.
“Sex worker.”
Maybe if he had told me this a year ago, I’d respond with shock or horror. But after everything, I’m not sure anything could surprise me now.
“What did you say?” I ask without much reaction.
The way he phrased that question made it sound as if he’s already told his brother no or that he wants me to side with him and tell him how crazy that is, although, to be honest, it’s not all that crazy to me.
“Well, I mean, I told him we have a little girl to protect here,” he says, waving his hand toward the kitchen where Abby is still working on the cookies. “I can’t just let strangers come stay at our rental room.”
I nod to show that I hear him and then carefully reply, “I thought that was the whole plan of the rental room.”
“Yeah, but not…sex workers.”
I put up my hands to stop him. I know my husband is not that ignorant. Whatever is really bothering him has to be more than that. Subtly, I work around the topic.
“Okay. Let’s forget that part for now. Sageownsthat club, and we trust her immensely. So just because somebody works there doesn’t mean they’re dangerous, Caleb.”
This only makes him look more frustrated.
“I know, but fuck, it makes me uncomfortable.”
“I understand, but it’s not fair for you to judge somebody you haven’t even met,” I reply.
He scratches the back of his neck for a moment before glancing at me.
“Actually, I have met him.”
“Oh?”
“He was a…a friend of Isaac’s,” he stammers.
“Oh.”
