Red Sun by Raven St. Pierre

out soon. But just when the storm had almost passed, I could hear the sound of feet shuffling in the direction of the back room and I hurried to pretend that I was busy at work rather than being nosey.
                  The door flung open.  “Solei, honey, come up front.”
                  I shoved a paper in the folder I was holding and put it back in the drawer.  “Ok, but can you just give me a few more minutes to finish this up first?” I asked.  If I could hold out just a little while longer, he’d be gone and I’d be free.
                  Ruthann fanned her hand at the papers and smiled.  “That can wait ‘til later.  Jolon’s asking for you.”
                  I sighed.  What could he possibly have to say to me now?  Was it going to be another sorry shot at changing the tide of our relationship?  I didn’t have time for that or him.  If I didn’t tell Ruthann something, she was gonna make me go see what he wanted.
                  “Ruthann, please, please, please don’t make me talk to him.  Please,” I whispered, holding my hands in praying position.
                  Her eyebrows pulled together as she became confused by my behavior.  I promised to explain everything to her if she’d give me a pass this one time and she agreed.  When she went back to the front, the door was slightly ajar and I could hear her speaking clearly this time.  “Sorry, Jolon.  She’s busier than I thought.  Maybe you can catch her when you come in tomorrow.”
                  I could hear him sigh, probably guessing that I just didn’t want to see him.  “Sure,” he replied, and then a few seconds later I heard the door again when he left. 
                  Ruthann didn’t hesitate to return to the office and find out why I was avoiding Jolon like celebrities avoid paying taxes.  She approached me with a look of concern.  “What’s going on?  Did he do or say something to upset you?” 
                  I closed my eyes and shook my head.  “Nothing like what you’re thinking.  It’s just…..I just don’t like him.  Does that sound bad?”  I asked.  “He’s rude and short with me all the time.  And Saturday was bad too.”
                  She pulled up a chair and sat across from me to listen.  “What happened Saturday?”  I looked up from the floor and into her eyes, finding her reminding me more and more of my mom now that she was worried about me.
                  I paused while I thought of how to translate my feelings into words.  “Well, I went over there to give him the stone sample and he was cold as usual.  But then his brother came out, Elan, the nice one.  He invited me in for a drink and Jolon was just…..well, he was Jolon.  He went out of his way to make me uncomfortable and then, out the blue, he springs this insincere apology on me like I’m supposed to just forget about everything.  I don’t operate like that.”  I was out of breath when I finished speaking.  The situation exasperates me to no end.
                  Ruthann was silent and I could tell that there was something she wanted to say to me, but wasn’t sure how or even if she should say it at all.  I waited while she deliberated and finally decided to speak.  “Solei, sometimes people change.  They start out one way and then either time, or circumstances, or even other people can completely make them into someone else.”  She paused and reached across to put her hand on mine.  “I’m not making excuses for anything Jolon’s done or how he’s treated you.  He owes you that apology and then some it sounds like.”  She took another breath.  “But just be very, very patient with him.  He doesn’t mean to be the way he is, but he’s dealing with a few open wounds that haven’t had a whole lot of time to heal just yet.”  Her kind smile made