Page 4 of The Rose and the Hound (Ashes and Roses #2)

Mr. Edison: Good afternoon, Rose. I would like to touch base with you sometime today to discuss the case. Please let me know when it would be convenient.

He shouldn’t be using my first name. I’d have to set him in his place.

There. That should do it. When he called, I’d put my lists of mantras and questions in front of me (I had printouts) while I spoke to him.

I would not ask him about his day. I would not laugh at anything he said, if he even tried to make a joke.

It was risky opening the door to people.

I had to shut them down in case I became obsessed. This made some interactions difficult.

“You coming out tonight, Rose?” Jason Barr asked. He was a nice enough colleague, and I knew a bunch of people were going, but I couldn’t risk it. Jason Barr had nice eyes.

“No, thank you. I have commitments tonight.” Good, firm answer. No leeway there. No emotion.

“Right, well. Okay. Maybe next Thursday?” he replied.

No, not next Thursday. I politely shot down the idea and disappeared into the bathroom to read my phone.

Jason Barr was a colleague, and I engaged on a very casual, light basis with colleagues.

Using his surname helped distance him too.

I scanned the list. Jason Barr used a warm tone but didn’t ask me for one-on-one company.

His body language was friendly and open, but he maintained a social space between us.

Social space, I thought. A four-to-ten-foot boundary.

At this distance, he could not touch me, and I could not touch him.

He wasn’t in my personal space or my intimate space.

He was a colleague. Being me was exhausting.

It was just easier to maintain boundaries with everyone than overthink every interaction.

Mr. Edison replied promptly.

Mr. Edison: Yes, 3:30 works for me. Will speak to you then, Ms. Myrtle.

We were back on track. But I was nervous about this afternoon. Should I respond with confirmation or was that unnecessary communication? I could give the message a thumbs up, but that seemed too casual and friendly.

Me: I shall speak to you then.

I knew I was speaking like an eighteenth-century dowager, but it was important to maintain my boundaries. Despite my best attempts to put the meeting out of my mind, I thought about it throughout my shift. I wonder if he had any news? I tried not to get my hopes up.

By 3:20, I was seated in my studio apartment with my printouts in front of me.

I was meeting with Dr. Warren next week and making mental notes of things to ask her.

She was concerned that I may be cutting myself off from others unnecessarily, which would be harmful to my growth, but understood my anxiety about letting people in.

My phone rang at exactly 3:30. Despite knowing who was calling, I answered clinically.

“Rose Myrtle speaking.”

“Hi Rose, it’s Ace. I wanted to run some things by you.”

“Of course, Mr. Edison.” Why was he using our first names?

“Oh, um ... Okay, Ms. Myrtle, so I did some digging today and the owner of the air-conditioning company thinks he has paper records going back decades. They’re not filed in any particular way in terms of the billers, but they are sorted by year.

I organized to go down on Friday to go through the boxes for the year around your conception date.

Would that be okay? I haven’t begun with the lead from the bar because I think it would be easier to find the photocopier serviceman and then rule him in or out. ”

“That sounds most efficient. Thank you, Mr. Edison.”

“Right, well, I’ll do that then. Shall I call you if I find anything?”

“A text first would be fine, thank you. Then we can talk if you have discovered anything.”

I was angry at myself and confused about what to say. I didn’t want to seem rude because I knew he was giving me a cheap rate, but I also didn’t want to let myself over-thank the man and read into things.

“Are you okay, Ms. Myrtle? Is there anything else you feel I should know?”

Why was he asking that? What was he referring to?

“I’m fine, thank you. And I’m grateful for your action in this matter.”

God, now I sounded like a bureaucrat in an official letter.

“Terrific, then we’ll speak then. I’ll call you ... I mean, I’ll text you if anything comes up before then.”

“Thank you, Mr. Edison. Goodbye.” I ended the call before he could respond. I spent the next minute celebrating the success of my phone call. I was doing well.

Consistency in my actions creates stability in my life.

Consistency in my actions creates stability in my life.

Consistency in my actions creates stability in my life.