November Rain by Daisy Harris

it.”
    Joe started his walk again, but Wade kept at his side, holding the door open for Joe to get out on the stoop.
    â€œAre you doing okay around the house? You never answered my texts, but I figured you’d call if you needed anything.”
    â€œI’m fine. My boyfriend’s been helping me out.” Joe might be a mess, but at least he still had a hot young thing panting after him. Wrong it might be, but that ego boost was the only thing holding him together.
    â€œThat’s good, then. At least you’ll have someone to drive you to PT.” Wade chuckled, but Joe wasn’t in the mood for any cheering up.
    â€œI’ll see you when I get a therapy schedule from the doc.” Joe pulled out his phone. He should have called the cab company from inside where he could stay dry. But if Mainer didn’t want him back at work, Joe wasn’t going to hang around the hallways looking for sympathy conversation.
    â€œYou need a ride home?”
    â€œNo.” Phone to his ear, Joe glanced at Wade. “Do you mind if I make a call?”
    Wade hesitated, but in the end said, “Yeah. No worries. I’ll see you soon, I guess.”
    â€œI guess.” The cab company’s number was ringing, and Joe was glad when Wade disappeared inside the building.
    â€œThis is Orange Cab. What is the address of your pick up?”
    Joe told the canned-sounding voice where he was.
    â€œWe don’t have any cars in the area right now. Your wait will be forty-five minutes. Is that okay?”
    With a growl, Joe rubbed his eyes. “Yeah. I guess I can wait.”
    â€œSo, when are we going to meet this girlfriend of yours?” Solomon leaned against the doorjamb, watching Elias fold his shirts.
    â€œI told you. I’m not seeing anyone.” Elias had no idea how long he could go on like this. Of course his brother would wonder when Elias didn’t come home most nights. “I’ve been staying at friends’ houses.”
    â€œWhy?” His brother stepped into Elias’s room, quietly shutting the door behind him. “Is something going on? Or are you bothered by Sara? I know she’s been depressed.”
    â€œNo.” Elias shook his head. His sister-in-law had actually been somewhat happier lately. At least it seemed like it.
    The sound of a vacuum cleaner rose over the CD of Ethiopian music Sara was playing. It wasn’t the type of thing Elias normally listened to, but Elias bobbed in time to the beat. “I like her. I always have.”
    Solomon lowered his eyebrows, giving a quick nod. Elias had never been sure how his brother felt about his bride. Sometimes Elias even suspected that Sara’s unhappiness rose in part from being less than satisfied with her marriage. Still, Solomon would never say anything negative about her.
    â€œMaybe she likes having the house to herself.” Elias motioned his brother closer. “And for you two to be alone.”
    â€œPerhaps.” His brother’s shrug was nervous, one of those gestures that made Elias wonder what happened between Solomon and Sara behind closed doors.
    â€œAre you okay?” Elias would hate to have missed some problem with his brother because he was busy with Joe.
    â€œNo.” Solomon stood taller, crossing his arms. Then, with a reluctant dart of his eyes, he added, “Though I thought Sara wanted a child. She was so unhappy it hadn’t happened yet, and then…” He glanced behind him, at the door and the humming of the vacuum cleaner and the twang of the music.
    â€œShe doesn’t want a baby?” Elias had no idea if his brother meant his wife was no longer interested in sex or whether she’d simply stopped talking about a child. Elias wasn’t even sure Sara knew about birth control, though she must since Solomon had taken her to a doctor for a checkup when she first arrived in Seattle.
    â€œI’m just confused.” His brother pinched