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I wanted to tear his head off. “Know what?”
“Saundra stumbled on a secret last night. Something that I didn’t plan to tell her until after graduation and the wedding. I’m sorry.”
A secret.
I wiped my eyes. “What does the secret have to do with Yero?”
There was a pause. “Yero? It has nothing to do with him.”
This was some crazy shit. “Yes, it does. Saundra told him that she doesn’t want to see him and the wedding is off.”
“Sweet Jesus,” he moaned. “Tell my daughter that I love her. Tell her I never meant to hurt her like this. Tell her not to start hating all men because of me.”
By now I was shaking the telephone console in frustration as Yero massaged my shoulders. “Phil, if you love Saundra, you’ve got to tell me the secret so I can help her.”
“Asha, if I do that she’ll hate me forever.”
“Then what are we supposed to do, Phil?”
He whispered something to someone and then came back to the phone. “Saundra needs your love and some professional help. Yero should just be patient.”
“Professional help? You mean a shrink?”
He sighed. “Yes, a psychiatrist. I’ll pay for it.”
“Put Evelyn on the phone.”
“Evelyn is not here. She and I broke up, too.”
I didn’t know what else to say.
Chapter 38
SAUNDRA
I managed to squeak through my final exams and complete registration for the upcoming and last semester. God must have just held my hand each step of the way because it all felt like an out-of-body experience. Asha has been real sweet about everything and she must have said something to Phil because he has backed off.
Yero is another story. Up until yesterday, he was showing up every day, but I kept telling the doorman not to let him upstairs.
Christmas is one week away. I’m amazed at how much has happened to all of us in just a few weeks. Hopefully, Nick will take Asha away on a winter vacation. I’d rather sleep through the holidays than pretend to be cheery for her sake.
Asha gave me some pamphlets about where to go for grief counseling, the warning signs of clinical depression and a book called Letting Go and Moving On. On top of all that, one night she pushed a business card into my hand. It was a referral to some psychiatrist on the upper West Side. I hope she doesn’t hit me with any more of that stuff. What I really need is to get out of this city and that will happen in May—right after the graduation ceremony. A train ticket to Los Angeles will be pinned to the blouse underneath my gown.
A few days ago, Asha wanted to know if there was anything I needed. Yes—all my clothes, pets, books, design equipment and the sewing machine. And you know what? Her friend Nick rented a small truck, they changed into matching overalls with matching blue caps and zoomed off into the night. They brought back everything except Blinky. Asha is terrified of snakes.
In fact, Asha doesn’t like the turtles, snails, fish, or my hamster. So, she avoids the living room and spends most of her time in the bathroom, bedroom, or kitchen.
It isn’t fair to restrict someone else’s space so I’m going to surprise her by selling all the animals. I just need to get through the holidays first.
Chapter 39
ASHA
I called ahead and by the time Nick and I showed up for Saundra’s things, Phil was nowhere in sight. There was just a very sad-looking Hugo. He watched silently as we carried stuff out.
Yero and I had a pact. We would share clues and solve the mystery together.
Saundra still refused to tell me what happened; she wasn’t taking Yero’s calls or letting him come upstairs. All she did was brood, take long walks, read and meditate. I plan to give her this one last night of grief and then I’m putting a stop to it.
