The Rennillia Series: Volumes 1-5

by M. Sembera

  “Well then, since you’ve never had one, a secretary gets to wear pajamas all day and gets to kiss her boss any time she wants,” I informed.

  Laughing at me, Hert asked, “Is that right?”

  As I nodded he pulled me onto his lap and kissed me.

  Our kiss ended when his phone rang. As I started to get up he held my waist tighter and shook his head. Raising my eyebrow at him as he picked up the phone, I brushed my finger from his ear down his neck. Ignoring his discouraging looks, I thoroughly enjoyed the difficulty he had keeping his tone serious while speaking. When I started kissing his neck he quickly ended the conversation and hung up the phone.

  “Now I know why there are no secretaries at The Office!” he laughed.

  Laughing too, I apologized, “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist.”

  Smiling, Hert inquired, “So I’m irresistible?”

  I nodded, tugging the front of his shirt. Sliding one arm under my legs and the other around my waist, Hert stood up.

  “I’m done working for today,” he shared, carrying me into the hallway.

  As soon as we reached our room Sophia woke up. Sighing, we smiled at each other before he put me down. When I turned toward Sophia’s room, Hert grabbed my side. Pulling me close, he held on tight and kissed me. I stood there for a moment recovering, watching him grab the plate off his desk and carry his sandwich downstairs with a smile.

  As I picked Sophia up and changed her, I smiled at her. She had started trying to say mama. It made me happy, considering she said dada first. The thought of Hert and I with our Sophia filled my heart. How amazing it was to have so much love for them considering I would have never dreamed I wanted to be a wife and mother. I reminded myself all I originally wanted was a devoted father for my baby. She had that. I wasn’t asking for anything else. I thought of our parents. This time instead of dwelling on what Hert and I never had, I felt sad for them. Getting to be Hert’s wife was an incredibly fulfilling addition; we were the family I always wanted and that made everything we had been through worthwhile.

  I carried Sophia downstairs and into the kitchen. Hert was finishing his lunch as we walked in. Handing him Sophia, I took his plate. I smiled at the two of them as Hert took her to the living room to play, while I washed the dishes. It was still difficult to believe that Hert had wanted me for so long. Several times I had tried to recall when I should have realized. Easily detected in photographs, it was difficult to pinpoint from memories. Dwelling on his ‘every time I should have just grabbed you and kissed you’ I stood in the kitchen. Scanning through memories, I stumbled across one, suitable enough to go along with his words.

  In the middle of our junior year Emerson’s parents moved to Spain. The first weekend after they were gone, we planned a sleepover. Void of parental supervision, Emerson’s house became our refuge. Although Jackson and I had just broken up, he came with me to stay the weekend. The moment we walked in, Hert took one look at Jackson and left the room. Rolling my eyes and shaking my head, I watched him walk into the kitchen. Emerson took my bag as Jackson started telling him about the drinking game we were going to play. I heard the back door slam shut. Exhaling loudly, I glanced at the two of them and headed after Hert. Walking through the kitchen, I stepped out the back door and saw Hert sitting by the pool table in the garage.

  Immediately fussing at him, I yelled, “What is your problem?”

  Hert yelled back, “You!”

  Narrowing my eyes at him, I questioned, “What did I do?”

  Getting up, he snapped, “Just forget about it.”

  I shouted at him, “No! If you have a problem with me, then I at least have the right to know why!”

  In a condescending tone, he replied, “You know what, there’s no problem. You can sleep with whoever you want.”

  “What the hell are you talking about, Hert?” I asked.

  It took a minute of staring at him to realize how it must have looked.

  Lowering my voice, I walked over to him, saying, “Hert, although it’s really none of your business, I didn’t bring Jackson so we could sleep together. In fact I broke up with him today.”

  Looking confused, he asked, “Why is he here then?”

  Shaking my head at him, I explained, “We’re still friends. Besides, I like him and he’s a lot of fun to be around. He’s not all cranky like some people.”

  Instantly offended he griped, “Oh, so you like him better than me?”

  Smiling wide at him, I continued, “Awe, I still like you the best.” Placing my arm around his, I assured, “You know you’re my favorite person.”

  Looking down at me, his jaw flexed as he inquired, “Really?”

  I nodded at him right before hearing Emerson’s voice call out, “Are ya’ll playing or what?”

  At the time it didn’t occur to me but now I was certain, if Emerson hadn’t interrupted us, Hert would have kissed me.

  As I continued reminiscing, I recalled another opportunity later that same night. As Jacks would say, ‘I got a little silly’ playing his ‘up the river down the river’ game, I was never very good at card games and this one was no exception. Hert didn’t drink, so he didn’t play. When it was way past time for me to call it a night, Hert, being the only sober one, helped me upstairs. The rest wasn’t exactly clear but I did remember a few things. Hert and I falling at the top of the stairs, him taking me to the guest room instead of Emerson’s room and a hazy conversation before I passed out.

  Complaining as he dropped me on the bed, “This isn’t Em’s room.” I felt dizzy when I tried to get up.

  Hearing him say, “Umhum,” as he started to walk away and I grabbed the side of his shirt.

  “Stay with me,” I suggested.

  The rest of our conversation was vague. However, I remembered the look on his face as he stressed how much he wished I hadn’t been drinking. Unrecognizable then, I was now very familiar with that look. It was possible if I had been sober he would have kissed me. Smiling to myself, I thought, no matter how big a jerk he was when we argued, which was every day, when it came down to it, Hert was honorable. When I woke the next morning, he was asleep on the floor next to the bed.

  Walking out of the kitchen and into the living room, I sat down on the floor next to Hert. As we played with our daughter, I was happy. Out of all the times I had in this house, this was the best.

  Chapter 19

  Another day had just begun as I rolled out of bed to take a shower. Looking at the clock, I noticed I had a good hour before Sophia woke. After showering, I got dressed and headed down the hall. Finding Hert in his office again, I stepped in smiling and shaking my head at him.

  “I thought you were off this week?” I asked.

  Nodding he explained, “I am. It’s just so easy to check on things from here now,” with a smile.

  Laughing, I replied, “Yea, I’ll have to remember to thank Jackson for that.”

  Hert smiled, offering, “I can come out.”

  Shaking my head, I sat down on his lap, saying, “That’s okay, really I was just giving you a hard time.” Wrapping my arms around his neck, I continued, “I was wondering though, since you’re leaving Monday, if you wanted to go do something after we visit your mom on Friday?”

  “I was going to stay here with Sophia,” he quickly answered.

  Sighing, I questioned, “Why won’t you go see your mother?” Before I let him answer, I cautioned, “And don’t tell me it’s so you can spend time with Sophia.”

  Hert sat there staring at me. I continued waiting for his reply, unsure if he was purposely not answering me or if he truly had no answer.

  Sophia woke, temporarily letting Hert off the hook. As I walked to Sophia’s room, I wondered if Ms. Herterand was doing better because Hert had not been visiting her. It sounded horrible but after everything she told me, maybe her guilt drove her insane. I picked Sophia up hugging her tight and thinking, I would go insane if I knew my child had a chance for a better life and I didn’t take
it. Many times I had compared myself to Ms. Herterand. This time I decided we were nothing alike. I left HIM so Sophia could have a good life. Ms. Herterand went back so Mr. Roberts could. It occurred to me that I honestly didn’t know if it was Charles’ cruelty, guilt over Hert or love for Mr. Roberts that sent her over the edge.

  There was no right way to find out why Ms. Herterand had a breakdown. What was I going to do, ask ‘So why exactly did you try to kill yourself?’ adding ‘I mean really there’s so many reasons why you would, so could you narrow it down for me?’. If only I had someone who knew what I knew. It wasn’t really important but it rattled around in my head enough to want someone to discuss it with. Even if Hert knew about his mother and Mr. Roberts there was no way it would be him. He never talked about what happened. Maybe that was the problem. If I could get Hert to talk about what happened with his mother and she continued to get better they could have some kind of relationship. Maybe Hert could move past his overwhelming compulsion to control everything.

  Carrying Sophia downstairs, I decided to figure out a good way to bring Hert’s mother up. I did not want to argue or upset him. Settling on an indirect approach, I promised myself: if he seemed unhappy, I would drop it altogether. Tonight, I was definitely going to try. There was no reason why their relationship could not be repaired.

  I walked into the kitchen saying, “Oh, Hey!” surprised to see Telli sitting at the table with Hert. Telli nodded at me as I placed Sophia in her highchair, saying, “Are you off this week too?”

  Hert smiled saying, “Amila told him about working on the office Sunday. He came by to take a look at it.”

  Smiling at the two of them, I offered, “I was just fixing Sophia some breakfast are ya’ll hungry?”

  Telli replied, “No thank you,” as he stood up.

  Telli was always serious. It was almost difficult to tell if he was being blunt or polite. I imagine that was how Hert came across to others. He leaned over picking a box up marked 'OFFICE FILES'.

  With a confused look I asked Hert, “Are ya’ll working?”

  Hert smiled saying, “No, he just brought over some files that I don’t need at The Office to keep here.”

  Nodding, I smiled back.

  I watched them walk out of the kitchen and into the living room. Handing Sophia her bowl, I couldn’t help wondering what was in the files. Knowing no matter how much I had improved, curiosity would eventually get the best of me, I was smarter now. I knew better than to try and get Hert to tell me. I instantly formulated a plan. He would be gone for a whole week. The files would be completely accessible then. In the meantime, a simple conversation with Jackson would do. If Jacks knew what could be in the files, I could control my anticipation and not take any chances on trying to look before Hert left.

  Occasionally, ‘perfect timing’ happens and today was my lucky day. Looking up as the back door opened, I saw Jackson walk in. Hardly able to contain my excitement, I jumped up from the table.

  “Hey, I am so glad you’re here. Are you off too?” I blurted trying to keep my voice low.

  With a wide smile he replied, “Nah, I just need to see Telli. He’s here right?”

  Nodding, I kept my voice low, saying, “Yea, they’re upstairs in the office. Hey, you wanna help me figure something’ out?”

  With a curious expression he asked, “What?”

  “You know all the files at The Office? Well, Telli brought some here. Do you know what’s in ‘em?”

  Discouraged Jackson stated, “No. No one except Hert has access to them.”

  I disagreed, saying, “Telli does, because he brought them over.”

  “That’s different Ren,” he informed before continuing to explain, “Telli is like what Hert was to Mr. Roberts.”

  Suddenly, I was sidetracked, “So Telli could take over and Hert wouldn’t have to…” Jackson quickly cut me off stating, “That’s a horrible thing to say.”

  Shocked at his comment, I asked, “What’s so bad about that?”

  “Ren their job is really difficult,” he imparted.

  Brushing off his seriousness, I said, “You work there.”

  Defending himself, Jackson stated, “I don’t do what they do.”

  “What do they do?” I asked, hoping he would slip.

  Jackson cautioned, “Ren!” and I knew he wouldn’t tell me anything.

  Letting it go, I replied, “Okay. So do you think you could find out what’s in the files? Nothing specific, just in general.” Then smiling wide, I shared, “You know you’re just as interested as I am. Please.”

  Shaking his head at me with a laugh, he conceded, “Fine. Let me get upstairs before I get roped in to anything else.”

  I shouted, “Thank you!” as he left the room.

  Pleased with myself, I sat at the table while Sophia finished eating. It was adorable the way she picked one Cheerio up at a time, carefully making sure it entered her mouth. After breakfast, Sophia played while I straightened up the house. Jackson and Telli left shortly after lunch. Hert helped me with dinner and when Sophia was down for the night, I realized how quickly the day had gone by.

  Standing in front of my dresser, I thought about talking to Hert. Desperately wanting the last one of our parents to actively participate in our lives, Ms. Herterand was all I had. She was so much better. I hoped she would be well enough, in the next few months, to attend her only granddaughters first birthday. As I turned around, I smiled seeing a distinct look in his eyes. There was no mental debate. All thoughts of anyone other than the two of us vanished. Forgoing pajamas, I headed towards our bed. Of all the relationships that needed tending to, ours was the priority. With no good reason to miss out on what I would be lacking next week, I refused to take even the slightest chance in not fulfilling his silent request. The closer I got, the wider Hert smiled. I knelt on the bed leaning over him. What kind of wife would I be to distract my husband from his purpose? After all there would never be a time when I was unwilling to receive what he had to offer.

  Chapter 20

  It was a little after one in the morning when the phone rang. Hert jumped out of bed to answer it. There was urgency in Hert’s voice as he gave short replies. Knowing something was wrong, I quickly threw on jeans and a t-shirt.

  Before making a call Hert ordered, “Get every towel we have and bring them to the downstairs bathroom.”

  Nodding, I did what I was told. Frantically grabbing towels out of our bathroom, I ran to Sophia’s room grabbing those too. I glanced at her as I left the room to make sure she was still asleep. A million things ran through my mind as I rushed downstairs. I placed the towels on the counter of the downstairs bathroom.

  When Hert passed through the living room, I caught his arm and urged, “Hert.”

  He grabbed me tight and kissed my forehead, saying, “Jackson’s on his way. The doctors coming, Telli’s hurt.”

  The knowledge that my relief came at someone else’s expense made me sick when I thought of Amila.

  Taking some time to prepare myself, for what was coming, I watched Hert walk circles around the living room. Thinking it could have just as easily been Jackson or worse, Hert, I started to cry.

  Begging him, I asked, “Please tell me what’s going on. What if it was you? Could this have happened to you?”

  Looking compassionately at me, he revealed, “I swear to you Renni, this wouldn’t happen to me.”

  Confused, I didn’t get the chance to question him further. The back door swung wide open. Two men were dragging someone into the house. Hearing the front door open and shut, I looked over seeing Jackson and Dr. Chepelli rush in. I started to panic when I looked back and realized, although he was almost unrecognizable, it was Telli the men were dragging.

  Concentrating, I took slow controlled breaths. Jackson placed his hand on my back as I watched everyone else disappear into the bathroom.

  “Are you okay?” Jackson asked.

  Grabbing Jackson’s arm, I stated, “Come on we have to go get A
mila.”

  Hert stepped out of the bathroom, ordering, “No, she doesn’t need to be here.”

  “Yes, she does! If it were me, I would want to be here!” I shouted.

  Hert stared at Jackson as he agreed, “She’s right, man.”

  Feeling our time would be wasted on an argument, I pulled Jackson with me as I headed out of the front door. The two of us ran to his car. Quickly getting in, we drove to Amila’s house.

  Frequently reaching out and rubbing my shoulder, Jackson kept his eyes on the road. When we were almost there, I couldn’t stand not knowing what was going on any longer.

  Looking over at him, I asked, “What happened to him?”

  Jackson looked grim, replying, “Tire iron.”

  “What?” I blurted.

  Taking a breath, Jackson explained, “Apparently, Telli has some issues or problems or something. He goes out, a lot. He fights a lot too.”

  Nodding, I leaned my head back saying, “I didn’t know he was like that.”

  “We’re here,” Jackson shared.

  Sitting in the car, I stared at her house. Finally working up the courage to be the bearer of bad news, I got out and walked to the door.

  The door swung open before I had a chance to knock.

  “Telli’s hurt. Can you come to the house with me?” I softly asked.

  Amila’s face went from anger to fear in seconds. As I stood there, she started shaking her head. Tears streamed down her face. Nodding, she slowly walked out of the door. I closed it behind her and put my arm around her as we walked to the car. I felt Amila leaning on me. Suddenly Jackson jumped out of the car rushing toward us as Amila and I fell to the ground.

  Falling hard on my back, I felt the wind knocked out of me as I struggled to catch my breath. Jackson lifted Amila off of me.

  “I think she fainted,” I shared, checking to make sure she was still breathing.

  Jackson and I lifted Amila to her feet as she started to open her eyes. Not having the chance to ask her if she was alright, we had to quickly shove her into the back seat when she started to have a meltdown. Perfectly understandable, however, it did appear we were kidnapping her. Finally getting her in the car, we swiftly left before she woke the neighborhood. It was truly the saddest thing I had ever seen. She curled up in the backseat crying so hard she was shaking until no more sound came out. My eyes welled up with tears as Jackson placed his hand on my shoulder. Covering my face with my hands, I couldn’t imagine being in her place.